The Notre Dame Study of Health & Well-being Datasets

The Notre Dame Study of Health & Well-being (NDHWB) is a longitudinal study that examines the complex dynamics of stress, resilience, and health outcomes across multiple timescales. The study employs a variety of data collection methods and analytical techniques to investigate these relationships.

Study Start and Participants:

• The NDHWB began in 2005 and initially included 775 individuals in mid- and later life.
• In Year 6, an additional 229 young adults were added to the sample.
• Participants were drawn from a five-county area surrounding the University of Notre Dame.
• The sample is diverse in age (18 to 91 years at Wave 1), sex (58% female), and race/ethnicity (84% Caucasian, 10% African American, and others).
• The sample includes a range of educational backgrounds and income levels.
• The study has been approved by the Institutional Review Board at the University of Notre Dame #19-09-5533.

Longitudinal Data Collection:

• The NDHWB includes 10 annual waves of longitudinal data.
• These waves involve questionnaires that measure social and psychological stress, resilience resources, and emotional, cognitive, and health functioning.
• Participants completed a global questionnaire packet which they returned by mail.
• There are 5 bursts of 56-day diary data collected biennially for the mid- and later-life and 2 daily bursts for the young adult cohort.
• Daily diaries started within two or three weeks of the global questionnaire and continued for eight weeks.
• The daily diary questionnaires were administered in "batches" that were counterbalanced within and between people.
  
  By collecting data across these multiple waves, the NDHWB aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of the interplay between stress, resilience, and health outcomes over time. The study’s focus on dynamic systems and multi-timescale assessments allows for a detailed examination of how stress and resilience processes change and interact across different contexts and life stages.