Age
Household, Geography & Contextual Variables
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.