About the Study

UCNets is the University of California Berkeley Social Networks Study, a longitudinal study funded by the National Institute on Aging (R01 AG041955-01), with Claude Fischer as Principal Investigator. The objective of the UCNets study is to understand how network composition changes over time as a result of life course transitions – e.g., graduation, marriage, retirement or widowhood – and how these changes are related to health status and outcomes.  Using mostly addressed-based sampling from six San Francisco bay area counties, the study recruited participants in two age groups (cohorts) – 21-30 year-olds and 50-70 year-olds — to maximize the possibility of experiencing a life transition.  There are 3 waves of interviewing. Two have been completed (winter 2015-2016, and winter-spring 2017) and a third wave is currently in the field.  There are a total of 1,159 respondents in Wave 1, 1,016 in Wave 2 and we expect approximately 875 in Wave 3.  Social network composition is based on 9 name-eliciting questions, with follow-up detail on homophily, relationships and social roles. The instrument also includes a household census, school and employment activities, physical and emotional health, and SES and demographic questions for the respondent and spouse.  Waves 2 and 3 ask mostly the same questions, with some dropped and a few added, most importantly addressing any changed in the named network. Visit http://ucnets.berkeley.edu for documentation and information about how to obtain data.