ANN ARBOR—Interviewers from the University of Michigan Institute for Social Research will begin contacting Detroit community members this week for a new study on social relationships, forgiveness and well-being.

Funded by the John Templeton Foundation, the study will include interviews with 1,200 residents of Wayne, Macomb and Oakland counties. Participants will be drawn from different racial/ethnic groups: African-Americans, whites and Americans of Middle Eastern and North African descent.

“This study is important because it will provide important information about how people’s family and friends in the Detroit area both help and hinder social relationships in daily life,” said U-M sociologist Kristine Ajrouch. “The information will help in developing strategies for improving health and well-being.”

Ajrouch is co-principal investigator of the study, with U-M developmental psychologist Toni Antonucci.

Established in 1949, the University of Michigan Institute for Social Research is the world’s largest academic social science survey and research organization, and a world leader in developing and applying social science methodology and in educating researchers and students from around the world. Visit home.isr.umich.edu.