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National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 (NLSY97)

Dating/Sex, Marriage/Cohabitation & Fertility/Children: An Introduction

The NLSY97 survey provides data on respondents' experiences with dating and sexual activity, marriage or marriage-like relationships, pregnancy, and children. Tables 1 and 2 summarize the topics available and any global universe restrictions affecting those topics.

Table 1. Sexual activity and dating topics and universe restrictions
NLSY97 User's Guide Topic Round 1 Universe Round 2 Universe Rounds 3 and 4 Universe Rounds 5 and up
Dating all ages all ages all ages all ages
Intercourse, Birth Control Use, and Pregnancy >14 >=14 as of 12/31/97 all ages all ages
Marital & Marriage-Like Relationships
Includes marital and cohabitation status, as well as details on spouse/partner. For rounds 1-8, a marriage-like relationship was defined as a sexual relationship in which partners of the opposite sex live together; in rounds 9 and up, the phrase "of the opposite sex" was removed from the definition.		 >=16 as of 12/31/96 >=16 as of 12/31/97 >=16 as of 12/31/98 (R3) or 12/31/99 (R4) all ages
Table 2. Fertility, pregnancy, and children topics and universe restrictions
NLSY97 User's Guide Topic Round 1 Universe Round 2 Universe Rounds 3 and 4 Universe Rounds 5 and up
Fertility and Children
Information gathered on respondents giving birth and fathering children. Details about each live birth include birth date, sex, residence.		 all ages all ages all ages all ages
Pregnancies not ending in live birth Female >=14 as of 12/31/96 >=14 as of 12/31/97 all ages all ages
Adopted Children
Details about adopted children include birthdate, sex, residence, etc.		 child reported on household (HH) roster >=17 as of 12/31/97 or child on HH roster >=17 as of 12/31/98 (R3) or 12/31/99 (R4) or child on HH roster all ages
Child Care
Includes type of child care used, number of hours, who paid for child care, etc.		       Females with resident child under age 13 answer basic child care questions. Rounds 5, 9, 12, 15, and 17 included an expanded series of questions that provided more details about child care, along with some questions about hypothetical child care asked to respondents without children.