In 1985, times were tough for young Canadians. So the ETSresearch team started a longitudinal survey of the social and psychological effects of unemployment among university graduates, which would follow them for 14 years. This longitudinal study of the University of Alberta Class of 1985 ran in parallel toProject 1(Edmonton High School Graduates Class of 1985) until 1999.
Five hundred and eighty-nine graduates of the University of Alberta’s five largest faculties (Arts, Business, Education, Engineering, Science) were surveyed in 1985, 1986, 1987, 1989, 1992, and 1999. By the end of the 20th century, the young adults who had first participated in this study in the mid-1980s as (approximately) 23-year-olds were now adults, averaging about 37 years old.