Information has been gathered on NLSY97 respondents' attitudes, expectations of the future, non-cognitive tests, and activities such as weekly activities, political and community participation, and computer use. Table 1 summarizes the NLSY97 topics available in this section.
| NLSY97 User's Guide Topic | Universe Restrictions | ||
| Attitudes | |||
| Justice Systems | Conjecture on events that might follow a hypothetical arrest | All ages in rounds 1-4 | |
| Parents | Respondent rates parents' behavior | 12-14 year olds in rounds 1-4 | |
| Peers | Estimates of peers' positive and negative activities and behaviors | All ages in round 1 and round 8; "Best friend" questions in round 6 | |
| School | Opinions about school environment, including teacher quality, discipline, and safety | All ages in round 1 (for those enrolled in school) | |
| Self | Scale similar to Achenbach's Youth Self Report | Ages 12-14 in round 1 | |
| Domains of Influence | Who the respondent turns to for advice for a number of issues | All ages in rounds 7 and 9 | |
| Mental Health Measures | Respondent rates their mental health via Mental Health Inventory | All ages in rounds 4-6, 8, 10, 12, 14 and 17-18 (See Health section for description.) | |
| Risk Assessment | Respondent rates their willingness to take risks in various settings and scenarios | All ages in round 14 | |
| Miscellaneous Attitude Questions | Opinions about different topics; varies by round | All ages in rounds 10 and up | |
| Expectations Respondent's and parent's beliefs about what the respondent's future might be | Ages 15 and 16 in round 1; All ages in round 4-5. Age 16 in round 6. | ||
| Religion: Preferences, Beliefs, & Practices | All ages. Respondent's religious preferences in rounds 1, 9, 12, 15, and 18-20; Beliefs and practices in rounds 6, 9, 12, 15, and 18-20; worship/church attendance in rounds 4-15, 17-20; partner's religion in all rounds; parent's religion in round 1. | ||
| Time Use Amount of time respondent spends on various activities | Round 1: Ages 12-14 (16--not enrolled or employed.) Rounds 2 and 3: >=15--not enrolled or employed. Rounds 6, 11-15, and 17-18: time spent on TV, computers, sleep. | ||
| Political Participation Voting habits, etc. | All ages in rounds 8, 10, 12, 14 | ||
| Computer & Internet Access Respondent's computer and internet use; Questions vary by round | Rounds 7 and up, all ages. | ||
| Community Participation & Volunteerism Any unpaid volunteer work; reason for participation |
Rounds 9, 11, 15, and 16; all ages. | ||
| Speech Data Audio data (converted into numerical data) collected to learn about the connection between a worker's speech and labor market success. | Round 15; African-American and Southern white respondents, as well as a sample of the rest of the survey cohort. | ||
| Note: Age restrictions as of 12/31/1996 unless stated otherwise. | |||