The Minnesota Population Center (MPC) provides aggregatedata and microdata that have been integrated and harmonized to maximize crosstemporal and cross-spatial comparability. All MPC data products are distributed free of charge through an interactive Web interface that enables users to limit the data and metadata being analyzed to samples and variables of interest to their research. In this article, the authors describe the integrated databases available from the MPC, report on recent additions and enhancements to these data sets, and summarize new online tools and resources that help users to analyze the data over time. They conclude with adescription of the MPCs newest and largest infrastructure project to date: a global population and environment data network.

Research underscores the changing nature of marital quality over the life course, highlighting the centrality of parental status. We use 2003-2007 American Time Use Survey data to examine how much time husbands and wives spend together. Our analyses consider the relevance of life stage, which we measure as the age of the youngest child in the household. We expect that the time spouses spend together will change as children age. To unpack this change, we consider both the time couples spend together as a couple and time together in the presence of others, anticipating that there may be distinctions.

Rapid changes in living arrangements and marital status suggest the need for further consideration of the behavior of individuals in diverse households, especially those with individuals who are divorced or cohabiting. Using new data from the American Time Use Survey, we examined how gender, living arrangements, and marital status affect social relationships with kin and non-kin. This paper focuses in specifically on the differences between married and cohabiting individuals. Findings indicate that both women and men in cohabiting relationships have higher odds of spending time with non-kin and lower odds of spending time with kin than those who are married. However, when cohabiting partners were included as kin in the analyses, there were no significant differences between married and cohabiting individuals. Results suggest the importance of conceptualization of kin and non-kin groups. They also suggest that cohabiting and married couples may be more similar to one another than previously thought.

OBJECTIVE To examine who reported using unsolicited prostate cancer screening decision aids distributed as part of a randomized controlled trial, whether reported use varied by type of aid (video or pamphlet), and what affect reported use had on study outcomes. METHODS A total of 1,152 men aged 50 and older from four medical facilities in the United States were randomly assigned to pamphlet, video or usual care (control). Materials were mailed 2 weeks prior to clinic appointments in general internal medicine. Outcomes were assessed by phone survey 1 week after appointments. Analyses examined the reported use of materials by study group, the association between patient characteristics and reported use, and the impact of reported use (adjusting for patient characteristics) on a 10-item knowledge index. RESULTS Fifty-six percent of those randomized to receive the video and 50% of those randomized to receive the pamphlet reported using the materials. Reported use of the video was higher for patients who had greater than a high school education (OR 1.73), were married (OR 2.20), and reported no prior abnormal prostate cancer screening test results (OR 3.39). Reported use of the pamphlet did not vary by patient characteristics. In intent-to-treat analyses (ignoring reported use), individuals randomized to the video and pamphlet groups had significantly higher knowledge scores relative to the control group (7.44, 7.26 and 6.90 respectively). Adjusting for reported use modestly increased the estimated differences across treatment groups but did not substantially change conclusions about the relative effects of these aids on knowledge. CONCLUSIONS Only half of men receiving unsolicited prostate cancer screening decision aids before a visit reported using the aids, and who reported using them varied by type of aid. Efforts to broadly implement decision aids may need to offer a variety of approaches, and incorporate creative strategies to enhance reaching all population subgroups.

"An interdisciplinary journal." Published in Beverly Hills, Calif. by Sage Publications, 1970-19.