National Longitudinal Survey of Mature and Young Women (NLSW)

Age

Mature Women cohort

The data set includes the respondent's date of birth and age as of the initial survey year. The initial survey year age variable, 'Age, 67,' was provided by the Census Bureau based on information collected during the 1966 household screening; complete information is available for most respondents. As age inconsistencies were discovered, Census made date of birth information available in the late 1970s. Two additional age variables were then collected in the "Household Roster" section of the questionnaire for those interviewed in 1987 or 1989 (i.e., 'Age of Respondent, 87' and 'Age of Respondent, 89').

During the 1981 interview, respondents were asked whether the Census birth date information was correct. In 144 cases, the respondent reported a birth date different from that originally provided by Census; the 1981 variable contains revised birth dates for those cases. The 1987 and 1989 "Household Roster" collected additional date of birth information for the respondent. During the 1995-2003 surveys, the respondent was asked to confirm or correct the most recent birth date information available.

Table MW1 provides reference numbers for date of birth and age variables; Table MW2 presents age distributions for the Mature 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 MW1. Reference numbers for date of birth and age variables
Year Date of Birth of R Age of R
1967 R00022.01-R00022.03 R00022.00
1981 R04916.00-R04916.20  
1987 R0817100.-R08173.00 R08174.00
1989 R09205.00-R09207.00 R09208.00
1995 R16067.00-R16070.00 R16071.00
1997 R35040.00-R35043.00 R35044.00
1999 R42763.00-R42766.00 R42767.00
2001 R54450.00-R54453.00 R54454.00
2003 R65133.00-R65136.00 R65137.00

Table MW2 presents age distributions for the Mature Women. In order to construct the most accurate ages possible, ages were created using the most recent date of birth information available. That is, information from the 2003 interview was used first, then 2001 data, then 1999, etc.

In some cases, the date of birth was incomplete. If the respondent did not report a year of birth in any of the three interview years, then no age was calculated. There are two respondents for whom this applies. If no month of birth was recorded for a respondent, then the respondent was assigned a birth month of June. If no day of birth was recorded, then the respondent was assigned to be born on the 30th of the month. This method of calculating ages places a number of respondents out of range for the age requirements for the sample. Respondents should have been aged 30 to 44 as of March 31, 1967. Calculating ages as of this date indicates that 16 of the respondents were younger than 30 and 44 of the respondents were over the age of 44.

Table MW2. Ages of interviewed respondents by survey year: 1967-2003 (Note MW2.1)
Age 1967 1968 1969 1971 1972 1974 1976 1977 1979 1981 1982 1984 1986 1987 1989 1992 1995 1997 1999 2001 2003
<= 29 16 7 5 3 2                                
30 241 9 1 1 1                                
31 302 233 9 1 1 2                              
32 352 293 223 1 1 1                              
33 310 343 282 8 1 1 2                            
34 311 298 324 222 9 1 1 2                          
35 265 299 288 270 215 1 1 1                          
36 295 257 291 313 262 9 1 1                          
37 331 287 248 279 311 208 1 1 1                        
38 352 324 277 282 270 249 8   1 2                      
39 357 342 308 243 273 301 207 7 1   1                    
40 353 343 330 269 239 259 249 195 1 1                      
41 350 335 326 300 266 265 296 242 7   1 1                  
42 365 336 317 315 294 232 247 284 188 1 1                    
43 378 353 326 311 313 254 261 239 236 7 1 1 2                
44 373 365 333 316 305 284 223 243 275 186 7 1   2              
45 97 357 354 316 306 306 246 214 231 229 179 1 1                
46 9 94 344 326 310 301 273 228 239 266 221 7 1   1            
47 11 9 91 345 317 293 287 257 202 225 256 172 1                
48 7 11 9 332 338 300 286 278 219 231 216 215 7 1              
49 1 7 11 88 316 303 282 280 248 194 218 245 163 6 1 2          
50   1 7 8 88 323 282 266 267 210 186 211 210 162 1            
51 2   1 11 9 308 298 274 270 238 203 212 248 201 7            
52 1 2   7 10 86 304 284 256 262 234 177 204 237 163 1 1        
53   1 2 1 7 9 298 276 260 261 257 197 207 198 191 1          
54     1   1 11 84 279 272 246 249 230 178 203 236 6 1 2      
55 1     2   7 9 79 261 245 235 248 186 172 192 155 1        
56 1 1   1 2 1 11 9 266 260 234 241 224 181 199 187 1   2    
57   1 1   1   7 11 76 252 248 226 241 222 163 225 6 1      
58     1     2 1 7 9 255 249 228 239 236 168 185 143 1 1 2  
59       1   1   1 11 74 244 238 224 238 201 192 160 6 1   1
60 1     1 1   2   6 9 72 232 221 217 226 163 207 135 1 1 2
61   1         1 2 1 11 8 240 227 212 223 166 169 158 5 1  
62     1     1   1   6 11 70 223 218 213 190 176 211 129 1 1
63           1     2 1 5 7 229 214 193 213 159 163 153 5  
64       1     1   1   1 11 70 224 213 219 148 178 201 122 1
65         1   1 1   2   5 7 68 203 198 175 150 155 149 4
66                     2 1 11 7 210 181 197 148 158 196 119
67           1     1       5 10 62 202 197 175 143 149 145
68                 1     2 1 6 6 188 188 184 146 162 193
69             1     1       1 11 196 177 190 163 133 148
70               1   1 1   2   5 57 181 176 180 138 156
71                     1     2 1 6 172 162 173 156 124
72                 1     1       10 175 172 171 161 130
73                       1     2 5 54 151 157 166 157
74                   1     1     1 6 173 167 154 159
75                     1   1 1     10 51 140 143 164
76                           1   2 5 5 157 152 140
77                       1     1   1 9 47 124 135
78                             1     5 3 139 146
79                         1       1 1 9 47 125
80                           1         4 3 129
81                               1   1 1 8 44
82                             1         5 2
83                                       1 7
84                                         4
85                               1         1

Total Interviewed

 5083 4910 4712 4575 4471 4322 4172 3964 3812 3677 3542 3422 3335 3241 3094 2953 2711 2608 2467 2318 2237

Not Interviewed

   173 371 508 612 761 911 1119 1271 1406 1541 1661 1748 1842 1989 2130 2372 2475 2616 2765 2846

Birth Year n/a

 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Note: Table MW2 is based on R00022.01-R00022.03 (1967), R04916.00-R04916.20 (1981), R08171.00-R08173.00 (1987), R09205.00-R09207.00 (1989), R16068.00-R16070.00 (1995), R35041.00-R35043.00 (1997), R42763.00-R42766.00 (1999), R54450.00-R54453.00 (2001), and R65133.00-R65136.00 (2003), with the most recent date of birth variables used when available.

Note MW2.1: Age of respondent is calculated as of June 30 of the interview year.

Important information: Mature Women

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. Furthermore, a respondent may be inconsistent in different interviews in reporting her age. The date of birth inconsistencies are documented in the codebook. Birth date corrections were made in 1981. The birth date corrections should be used carefully and users are advised to make any additional corrections on a case-by-case basis.

There are varying numbers of out-of-scope cases in the Mature 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. CHRR has 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.

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.

Related Variables In addition to the information collected on the respondent, most surveys have also collected age data on household members. See the Household Composition section of this guide for more information.
Survey Instruments & Documentation 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 is asked in a particular survey year, an open coded answer box for the respondent will be found in the "Household Roster."

Young Women cohort

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; Table YW2 presents 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 and 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 YW2. Ages of interviewed respondents by survey year: 1968-1982 (Note YW2.1)
Age 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1975 1977 1978 1980 1982 1983 1985 1987 1988 1991 1993 1995 1997 1999 2001 2003
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 98                    
30         3 159 329 383 362 388 423 399                    
31           3 299 290 369 383 367 411 104                  
32             151 324 274 346 364 353 405                  
33             4 294 309 363 364 341 427 107                
34               147 278 265 331 362 365 400 98              
35               4 142 302 349 322 368 417 394              
36                 4 270 254 344 370 354 399              
37                   142 290 247 356 354 355 95            
38                   4 258 283 360 364 342 386            
39                     135 246 271 357 345 387 84          
40                     4 134 294 352 334 341 369          
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

Interviewed

 5159 4930 4766 4714 4625 4424 4243 4108 3902 3801 3650 3547 3720 3639 3508 3400 3187 3019 3049 2900 2806 2859

Not Interviewed

   229 393 445 534 735 916 1051 1257 1358 1509 1612 1439 1520 1651 1759 1972 2140 2110 2259 2353 2300

Birth Year n/a

 23 15 10 8 7 5 2 3 3 3 3 3 5 3 2 2 2 3 2 3 3 3

Note YW2.1: 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).

Important information: Young Women

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.

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 & Documentation 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."