Age

Age

 

Young Women Age Variables

The data set includes the respondent's date of birth and age as of the initial survey year. The initial survey year age variable was provided by the Census Bureau based on information collected during the 1966 household screening. As age inconsistencies were discovered, Census made date of birth information available in the late 1970s. For the most part, the date of birth and age variables were collected during fielding of the "Household Roster" (HHR) section of the questionnaire.

Date of birth variables (e.g., 'Month of R's Birth' and 'Year of R's Birth') are provided for the 1968, 1977, 1978, 1982, 1988, and 1991 survey years. During the 1995-2003 surveys, the respondent was asked to confirm or correct the most recent birth date information available. A series of variables including age as reported during the screening interview ('Age, 68') and 'Revised Age of R' at interview date (1968-75 survey years) was also created. These revised variables are considered to be more accurate than the age information originally reported.

Table YW1 provides reference numbers for date of birth and age variables; Tables YW2A and YW2B present age distributions for the Young Women. Data for reported age and birth dates include a small number of inconsistencies. As a result, attempts to restrict the universe according to age-related variables may lead to unwanted or incorrect results. The User Notes below discuss some of the idiosyncratic aspects of these variables.

Table YW1. Reference Numbers for Date of Birth & Age Variables

Year Date of Birth of R Age of R Revised Age of R
at Interview Date
1968 R00420.10-R00420.12 R00031.00 R00420.50
1969 -- -- R01166.50
1970 -- -- R01970.00
1971 -- -- R03119.50
1972 -- -- R03962.50
1973 -- -- R04805.50
1975 -- -- R05345.50
1977 R05576.00-R05578.00 -- --
1978 R06491.00-R06593.00 -- --
1982 R07668.00-R07670.00 R07671.00 --
1988 R11841.00-R11843.00 -- --
1991 R13133.00-R13135.00 R13136.00 --
1995 R16067.00-R16070.00 R16671.00 --
1997 R35040.00‑R35043.00 R35044.00 --
1999 R42763.00-R42766.00 R42767.00 --
2001 R54450.00-R54453.00 -- --
2003 R65133.00-R65136.00 -- --

Table YW2A. Ages of Interviewed Respondents by Survey Year: 1968-1982

  Survey Year
Age1 '68 '69 '70 '71 '72 '73 '75 '77 '78 '80 '82
14 130 -- --   -- -- -- -- -- -- --
15 538 126   -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
16 575 525 128 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
17 524 554 518 125   -- -- -- -- -- --
18 529 505 540 506 123 -- -- -- -- -- --
19 528 510 481 539 496 115 --   -- -- --
20 499 504 482 466 529 479 -- -- -- -- --
21 482 479 488 481 469 498 114 -- -- -- --
22 386 459 463 489 469 439 462 -- -- -- --
23 398 362 441 453 475 453 480 110 -- -- --
24 356 373 347 440 444 455 429 448 103 -- --
25 186 338 368 339 427 423 438 465 417 -- --
26 5 175 327 364 335 412 427 416 448 102 --
27 -- 5 169 328 360 321 405 423 396 415 --
28 -- -- 4 172 324 350 399 420 399 431 101
29 -- -- -- 4 164 312 304 381 398 387 407
30 -- -- -- -- 3 159 329 383 362 388 423
31 -- -- -- -- -- 3 299 290 369 383 367
32 -- -- -- -- -- -- 151 324 274 346 364
33 -- -- -- -- -- -- 4 294 309 363 364
34 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 147 278 265 331
35 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 4 142 302 349
36 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 4 270 254
37 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 142 290
38 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 4 258
39 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 135
40 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 4
 
1 Age of respondent is calculated as of June 30 of the interview year using the 1968 date of birth variables (R00420.10, R00420.11, and R00420.12).

Table YW2B. Ages of Interviewed Respondents by Survey Year: 1983-2003

  Survey Year
Age1 '83 '85 '87 '88 '91 '93 '95 '97 '99 '01 '03
29 98 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
30 399 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
31 411 104 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
32 353 405 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
33 341 427 107 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
34 362 365 400 98 -- -- -- -- -- -- --
35 322 368 417 394 -- -- -- -- -- -- --
36 344 370 354 399 -- -- -- -- -- -- --
37 247 356 354 355 95 -- -- -- -- -- --
38 283 360 364 342 386 -- -- -- -- -- --
39 246 271 357 345 387 84 -- -- -- -- --
40 134 294 352 334 341 369 -- -- -- -- --
41 4 265 252 337 335 368 77 -- -- -- --
42 -- 130 289 239 340 318 348 -- -- -- --
43 -- -- 260 286 321 318 351 76 -- -- --
44 -- -- 127 253 327 311 304 358 -- -- --
45 -- -- 3 121 238 300 300 350 77 -- --
46 -- -- -- 3 266 297 287 310 335 -- --
47 -- -- -- -- 239 218 276 300 331 71 --
48 -- -- -- -- 120 255 288 294 288 322 --
49 -- -- -- -- 3 227 209 294 274 332 76
50 -- -- -- -- -- 117 243 279 285 287 324
51 -- -- -- -- -- 3 220 213 271 279 323
52 -- -- -- -- -- -- 110 238 273 282 291
53 -- -- -- -- -- -- 3 219 205 253 283
54 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 113 231 256 286
55 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 3 214 197 257
56 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 110 212 272
57 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 3 203 206
58 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 106 226
59 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 3 204
60 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 105
61 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 3
Int'd 3547 3720 3639 3508 3400 3187 3019 3049 2900 2806 2859
Not Int 1612 1439 1520 1651 1759 1972 2140 2110 2259 2353 2302
Year n/a 3 2 3 2 2 2 3 2 3 3 3
 
1 Age of respondent is calculated as of June 30 of the interview year using the 1968 date of birth variables (R00420.10, R00420.11, and R00420.12).

Related Variables: In addition to the information collected on the respondent, most surveys also collected age data on household members. See the Household Composition section for more information.

Survey Instruments: The respondent's age and date of birth were derived from the 1966 Household Screener. The respondent's age or date of birth was subsequently collected in the "Household Roster" section of the questionnaire. If the respondent's age or birth date was asked in a particular survey year, an open coded answer box for the respondent will be found in the "Household Roster."

User Notes

Users are encouraged to carefully examine all age and birth date variables when performing any age-related analysis. Birth data collected at the time of screening may have been provided by a family member, giving rise to possible inconsistencies when comparing a respondent's reported age with age calculated from date of birth. In cases where age was unknown, interviewers were directed to obtain a "best estimate" of a respondent's "exact age" at the time of screening and to make corrections later if possible. Finally, a respondent may be inconsistent in reporting her age during different interviews.

There are varying numbers of out-of-scope cases in the Young Women cohort for two reasons: (1) the birth date variables in a handful of cases are inconsistent with the stated age of the respondent and (2) some borderline cases that may actually be in scope for the calendar year of the survey are not necessarily in scope at the time the interview took place. Survey staff have investigated causes of birth date inconsistencies and has discovered that they arise from birth data originally provided by the Census Bureau. Unfortunately, these data are generally not recoverable because many of the affected respondents have since attrited. An additional difficulty is that the date of birth for some cases is not reported. Data are not available for two individuals who were reported deceased between 1968 and 1969.

It may be to the user's advantage to calculate his or her own variable for age based on the reported date of birth. When birth date variables are either unavailable or out of scope, the user may wish to investigate other age-related variables, such as schooling information, in order to establish age.

In select survey years, an 'Age at Interview' variable was created even for those not interviewed in that particular year. Age distributions in the codebook are reported for noninterviewed as well as interviewed respondents; interested users may calculate a more accurate age distribution by deleting respondents who were not interviewed in a given year.