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National Longitudinal Survey of Mature and Young Women (NLSW)

Mature and Young Women Cohorts: An Introduction

Mature Women cohort

Official title

National Longitudinal Survey of Mature Women part of the Original Cohorts from the National Longitudinal Surveys (NLS) program.

Status of survey

Not active. The most recent interviews of the Mature Women respondents took place in 2003.

Age of cohort

Born between 1922 and 1937. At the time of first interview, Mature Women respondents' ages ranged from 30 to 44. The respondents were 59 to 85 at the time of their last interviews in 2003.

Number of respondents in the survey

5,083 individuals were initially interviewed in round 1. Approximately 44 percent (2,237) of the round 1 sample were interviewed in 2003, the last survey year.

Gender

All women. The NLS Original Cohorts project also interviewed two men's cohorts, the Older Men and Young Men cohorts.

Race/ethnicity (in initial survey)

  • White: 3,606 (70.9%)
  • Black: 1,390 (27.3%)
  • Other: 87 (1.7%)

Number of survey rounds available to the public

21 rounds. Mature Women respondents were surveyed regularly, either every year or every other year. Public data are available for no charge at www.nlsinfo.org/investigator

Types of information gathered in the survey

Funding Sources for the Mature Women

The Mature Women interviews were originally sponsored by the Office of Manpower, Automation, and Training (now the Employment and Training Administration), part of the U.S. Department of Labor. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) provided funding for later rounds of the survey and currently oversees the NLS program.

Young Women cohort

Official title

National Longitudinal Survey of Young Women, part of the Original Cohorts from the National Longitudinal Surveys (NLS) program.

Status of survey

Not active. The most recent interviews of the Young Women respondents took place in 2003.

Age of cohort

Born between 1943 and 1953. At the time of first interview, respondents' ages ranged from 14 to 24. The respondents were 49 to 61 at the time of their last interviews in 2003.

Number of respondents in the survey

5,159 individuals were initially interviewed in round 1. For the last fielding period in 2003, a total of 2,859 women were interviewed, 55.4% of the original sample.

Gender

All women. The NLS Original Cohorts project also interviewed a similar cohort of Young Men that was the same 14-24 age range, as well as the Older Men cohort.

Race/ethnicity (in initial survey)

  • White: 3,638 (70.5%)
  • Black: 1,459 (28.3%)
  • Other: 62 (1.2%)

Number of survey rounds available to the public

22 rounds. Young Women respondents were surveyed annually between 1968-1973. After 1973, they were generally interviewed every other year or every third year, with the exception of being interviewed two years in a row in 1982 and 1983.  Public data are available for no charge at www.nlsinfo.org/investigator.

Types of information gathered in the survey

Funding sources for the Young Women

The Young Women interviews were originally sponsored by the Office of Manpower, Automation, and Training (now the Employment and Training Administration), part of the U.S. Department of Labor. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) provided funding for later rounds of the survey and currently oversees the NLS program.