• Older Men cohort
• Young Men cohort

Older Men cohort

The Older Men surveys provide researchers with a variety of family background data, collecting information on parents and respondent's family background at age 14 or 15.

Parents

In the 1966 interview, each respondent was asked about the birth countries of his parents and grandparents; Table OM1 depicts the results. In addition, the respondent reported the life status of both his parents and his wife's parents in each personal interview except 1990.

Respondent's background

The 1966 survey asked respondents where they were born and how long they had lived at their current residence. Of the 5,020 respondents interviewed, 267 (5.3 percent) were born outside the United States. The data also include a comparison of the respondent's birthplace and his residence at the 1966 interview date (e.g., same state; different state, same region; different region; born outside U.S.).

Information was also collected during the initial interview about the living arrangements of Older Men respondents when they were 15 years old, including with whom the respondent lived and whether the residence was in a large or small city or in the country. In addition, the survey collected the occupation and the highest grade completed of the head of the respondent's household.

If the respondent had lived with his mother when he was 15, the 1971 interview asked whether she worked for pay at that time. This survey also gathered information about whether a language other than English was spoken in the home when the respondent was 15 years old. If so, the language was recorded; in the data, this information is grouped as follows: Spanish; German, Dutch, Scandinavian (Swedish, Norwegian, etc.); French, Italian, Portuguese; Slavic; and other. Finally, in 1971 the respondent reported the state in which he last attended high school.

Young Men cohort

The Young Men surveys provide researchers with a variety of family background data. The surveys have collected information on three primary topics: parents, siblings, and the respondent's family background at age 14 or 15.

Parents

In the 1966 interview, each respondent was asked about the birth countries of his parents and grandparents; Table YM1 depicts the results.

In the 1966 interview, the respondent reported the life status of both his parents and his wife's parents. For all respondents who did not live in their parents' household, the first four surveys asked about the number of weeks worked by the respondent's parents, whether they usually worked full- or part-time, and their occupation. This information is available in the "Household Roster" for respondents still residing with their parents.

Siblings

The Young Men provided information about their siblings in two different surveys. The 1966 interview asked respondents how many brothers and sisters lived outside their home. It also collected the age, highest grade attended, and highest grade completed of the oldest sibling. In 1976, a full collection of information about siblings was included in the survey. Respondents were asked to state the total number of siblings they had and to provide the sex, birth date, and highest grade completed of up to 10 siblings who were not living in their home at the interview date. Information about siblings in the respondent's household is available in the "Household Roster."

Respondent's background

The 1966 survey asked respondents where they were born and how long they had lived at their current residence. Of the 5,225 respondents interviewed, 124 (2.4 percent) were born outside the United States. As with the Older Men, the data include a comparison of the respondent's birthplace and his residence at the 1966 interview date.

Information was collected during the initial interview about the living arrangements of respondents when they were 14 years old, including with whom the respondent lived and whether the residence was in a large or small city or in the country. The survey then collected the occupation of the head of the respondent's household, as well as the highest grade attended and completed by his mother and father. The 1966 survey also asked whether magazines and newspapers were available in the respondent's home at age 14 and whether anyone in the household had a library card. Finally, the 1971 interview gathered information about whether a language other than English was spoken in the home when the respondent was 15 years old; answers were grouped in the same categories as the Older Men.