ORANJ BOWL℠ (Ongoing Research on Aging in New Jersey:  Bettering Opportunities for Wellness in Life)

The goal of the ORANJ BOWL℠ panel is to enable scientists to understand how characteristics of people and of the environment promote successful aging. The ORANJ BOWL℠ panel includes a representative sample of 5,688 adults aged 50-74 living in New Jersey.

Participants were recruited between November 2006 and April 2008 using telephone cold calling.  Eligibility included:

1. - Age 50 – 74
2. - Living in New Jersey
3. - Able to participate in a one-hour English language interview

Screening interviews determined whether any eligible persons lived in the household.  If two or more age-eligible persons were identified, all were listed in a Kish table, and one was chosen via computerized gender-weighted random algorithm.  No substitutions were permitted.

1. - 151,246 phone numbers were dialed
2. - 32,678 households completed the screen
3. - 1,060,838 calls were made
4. - An average of 7.01 calls made to each case

1. - ORANJ BOWL℠ achieved a response rate (RR5) of 58.73% and a Cooperation Rate (COOP3) of 72.88%, consistent with or better than average RDD response rates.

The ORANJ BOWL℠ sample included:

1. - 2,067 men and 3,621 women
2. - Mean age of 60.7 years
3. - Education ranged from those who had not completed high school (5.4%) to those with a doctoral degree (4.2%).  Modal education was a high school diploma (28.3%), with 19.5% completing a four-year college degree
4. - 83.8% White; 11.8% African American
5. - 56.7% were married; 17.3% were divorced, 14.2% were widowed, 2.6% were separated, and 9.2% had never been married.
6. - Mean household income was between $30,000 and $80,000 (29.8%), with 19.1% reporting income less than $30,000 and 41.1% reporting more than $80,000.

Each ORANJ BOWL℠ panelist participated in a 60-minute baseline telephone questionnaire that included information about demographic characteristics, physical and mental health, functional ability, sleep, pain, life events, household composition, social network, life satisfaction, subjective age, health behaviors (smoking, drinking, BMI, exercise, annual health checks), hospitalizations, religion and spirituality, work history, volunteer behaviors, and leisure activities. Panelists reported on the foods they typically ate and the beverages they consumed. 

Click here for the complete baseline questionnaire.

One year after the baseline questionnaire was completed, a mail questionnaire was sent to ORANJ BOWL℠ participants.  This questionnaire included the NEO personality inventory and questions assessing successful aging.  The Time 2 Questionnaire may be found here (Male; Female)

In 2011, funding from the UMDNJ Foundation provided the resources to mail a brief questionnaire to ORANJ BOWL℠ participants. The questions were focused on successful aging. The Time 3 Questionnaire may be found here.

Funding from the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR; HITEP130008-01-00) and the Rockefeller Foundation (2012_RLC 304; PI: George Bonanno) enabled us to administer a questionnaire assessing the effects that neighborhood characteristics have on adaptation to Hurricane Sandy. The Time 4 Questionnaire may be found here.

In summer of 2015, with the funding from the National Institute on Aging, we began following up with participants to learn about the effects of Hurricane Sandy on their functional ability and their resilience over time after the Hurricane. Research assistants are currently in the process of contacting each participant for interview and obtaining valuable information. The Time 5 Questionnaire may be found here.

The Time 6 interview asks many of the same questions we’ve asked before as we seek to understand successful aging in the context of Hurricane Sandy.

ORANJ BOWL utilizes Geo-stuff provided by Texas A&M University GeoServices. Stemming from research at the Texas A&M University Department of Geography, TAMU GeoServices offers a number of geographic information processing services. These services are provided to the greater geospatial community to assist in geospatial-related research and data processing, analysis, and visualization.

Project Director: Francine Cartwright

Research Assistants:
Donna Argibay
Diane Barsuglia
Renie Crowder
Samira Davis
Sandra Esposito
Ellie Farma
Maryanne Gutknecht
Noreen Lecane
Brenda Leese
Grace McBride

Program Assistants:
Kathleen Amundsen
Jillian Mazurek

George Bonanno, Ph.D., Columbia University, Teachers College, New York, NY
Zachary Christman, Ph.D., Rowan University, Department of Geography & Environment, Glassboro, NJ
Ellen Cromley, Ph.D., University of Connecticut School of Medicine, Department of Community Medicine and Health Care, Farmington, CT
Karen Eshraghi, M.S.W., Independent Database Consultant, North Wales, PA
Allison Heid, Ph.D., Independent Consultant, Ardmore, PA
Miriam Rose, M.Ed., Independent Data Management Consultant, Cleveland, OH
Laura Sands, Ph.D., Virginia Tech, Center for Gerontology, Blacksburg, VA
Seran Schug, Ph.D., Rowan University, Department of Anthropology, Glassboro, NJ
Maureen Wilson-Genderson, Ph.D., Independent Statistical Consultant, Short Hills, NJ
Alex Zautra, Ph.D., Arizona State University, Department of Psychology, Tempe, AZ

Pruchno, R.A., Wilson-Genderson, M., & Heid, A.R. (2016). Multiple chronic condition combinations and depression in community-dwelling older adults. The Journals of Gerontology Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences. Published online March 1, 2016 doi: 10.1093/gerona/glw025

Christman, Z., Pruchno, R., Cromley, E., Wilson-Genderson, M., & Mir, I. (2016). A spatial analysis of body mass index and neighborhood factors in community-dwelling older men and women. International Journal of Aging and Human Development, 83(1), 3-25.

Heid, A.R., Pruchno, R., & Cartwright, F.P. (2016). Exposure to Hurricane Sandy, neighborhood collective efficacy, and post-traumatic stress symptoms in older adults. Aging & Mental Health. Published online February 25, 2016 doi: 10.1080/13607863.2016.1154016

Wilson-Genderson, M. & Pruchno, R. (2015). Functional limitations and gender differences: Neighborhood effects. International Journal of Aging and Human Development, 81(1-2), 83-100.

Pruchno, R., Heid, A.R., & Wilson-Genderson, M. (2015). Resilience and successful aging: Aligning complementary constructs using a life course approach. Psychological Inquiry, 26(2), 200-207.

Cromley, E.K., Wilson-Genderson, M., Christman, Z., && Pruchno, R.A. (2015). Colocation of older adults with successful aging based on objective and subjective measures. Applied Geography, 56, 13-20.

Pruchno, R.A., & Wilson-Genderson, M. (2015). A Longitudinal examination of the effects of early influences and midlife characteristics on successful aging. The Journals of Gerontology, Series B Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 70(6), 850-859.

Pruchno, R., Wilson-Genderson, M., & Gupta, A.K. (2014). Neighborhood food environment and obesity in community-dwelling older adults: Individual and Neighborhood effects. American Journal of Public Health, 104(5), 924-929.

Wilson-Genderson, M., & Pruchno, R. (2013). Effects of neighborhood violence and perceptions of neighborhood safety on depressive symptoms of older adults. Social Science & Medicine, 75(12), 2307-2316.

Pruchno, R. & Wilson-Genderson, M. (2012).  Adherence to clusters of health behaviors and successful aging.  Journal of Aging and Health, 24(8), 1279-1297.

Cromley, E.K., Wilson-Genderson, M., & Pruchno, R.A. (2012). Neighborhood characteristics and depressive symptoms of older people: Local spatial analyses. Social Science & Medicine, 75(12), 2307-2316.

Pruchno, R., Hahn, S., & Wilson-Genderson, M. (2012).  Cigarette smokers, never-smokers, and transitions:  Implications for successful aging.  International Journal of Aging and Human Development, 74(3), 193-209.

Pruchno, R.A., Wilson-Genderson, M. & Cartwright, F.P. (2012). The texture of neighborhoods and disability among older adults. The Journals of Gerontology, Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 67B(1), 89-98.

Pruchno, R.A. Wilson-Genderson, M. & Cartwright, F. (2010).  A two-factor model of successful aging. The Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 65B(6), 671-679.

Pruchno, R.A., Wilson-Genderson, M., Rose, M., & Cartwright, F.  (2010). Successful aging: Early influences and contemporary characteristics. The Gerontologist, 50(6), 821-833.

Updated: 10/24/17

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