
UGU-LIFE
UGU will contribute to a unique research project with a large programme support from the Swedish Foundation for Humanities and Social Sciences. The programme will identify factors that contribute to good learning ability throughout life and explore ways to improve learning in old age.
Short description
Older people face unique learning challenges, but differences between older people are best understood from a lifespan perspective because learning in childhood prepares for later learning. In this program, we study learning in older adults in the context of their childhood experiences and their genetic predispositions.
People in the sample have answered UGU's student surveys as children and belong to our first two birth cohorts; 1948 and 1953.
Older adults face unique learning challenges stemming from changing health, cognitive function, motivation, and sociocultural and individual expectations. However, differences between older adults are best understood over a lifetime because knowledge and skills acquired in childhood lay the foundation for later learning. Effects of unequal access to learning opportunities in childhood may also be magnified during adulthood as they continue to determine further learning experiences.
The aim is to identify factors in childhood that predict lifelong learning ability, map the challenges faced by older adults and identify older people who struggle with learning. With this knowledge, later in the program we will develop interventions aimed at facilitating learning for older people.

Sample
In the first phase of the research program, we will collaborate with Statistics Sweden to reach out to the UGU cohorts in 1948 and 1953 (original number ≈ 10,500 per cohort). We estimate that about 70% of those born in 1948 (i.e. 7,350) and 76% of those born in 1953 will be alive (i.e. 8,000) by 2025. Based on previous surveys, such as the HEARTS study on retirement in Sweden, response rates are still relatively acceptable in these birth cohorts. The response rate may also be higher due to the fact that the people concerned participated in the UGU studies as children and can appreciate the possibility of follow-up. Assuming we have a response rate of 50%, we get data from about 3,675 participants born in 1948 and 4,000 participants born in 1953.
Workpackage 1 - Lifespan Survey: Survey-based follow-up of UGU cohorts (approx. 8000 participants), including assessment of cognition and learning as well as geno-typing.
Workpackage 2 - Lifespan Learning: In-depth data collection of the learning process of an ecologically relevant task over several days. The tasks will also be of relevant characteristics and conditions (approx. 400 participants).
Workpackage 3 - Intervention: We design an intervention that facilitates learning based on identified modifiable factors from previous research areas and test effectiveness in an RCT.
Workpackage 4 – Generalized Intervention: We develop and evaluate the effectiveness of interventions that facilitate learning in socioeconomically disadvantaged groups.