The National Longitudinal Surveys contain a wide array of topics. The general categories are listed below with some examples of the variables included in the surveys:
- Education, Training, and Achievement Scores: Information about high school and college experience, types of training, and cognitive test scores
- Employment: Extensive history of employment over time, including wages, hours, occupation, industry, and job search
- Household, Geography, and Contextual Variables: Household composition, location, and demographics
- Dating, Marriage, and Cohabitation: Dating history, marital status and changes, and cohabitation history
- Sexual Activity, Pregnancy, and Fertility: Contraceptive use, pregnancy details, and child birth dates
- Children: Number of children, birth dates, characteristics, and residence status
- Parents, Family Process, and Childhood: Information about respondents' parents, parenting behaviors, and childhood
- Income, Assets, and Program Participation: Household income, types of assets, and participation in government assistance programs
- Health: Health status, weight, and health conditions
- Attitudes, Expectations, and Non-Cognitive Tests: Personality traits, expectations about the future, locus of control
- Crime and Substance Use: Criminal behavior, alcohol, and drug use
- Survey Methodology: Sampling weights, interviewer characteristics, sample type
Each cohort has an online User's Guide, which describes the topics covered in the surveys. These guides are a good place to start to find general information available in each of the surveys:
- NLSY97
- NLSY79
- NLSY79 Children and Young Adult (NLSCYA)
- Mature and Young Women (NLSW)
- Older and Young Men (NLSM)
Within these guides, see the cohort-specific asterisk tables, which provide the variables available within a topical area, and the years the questions were asked.
Downloadable fact sheets
Visit our NLS Brochures and Data Briefs page to view a listing of cohort summaries and survey topics in PDF format.