Household Composition
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Household, Geography & Contextual Variables
Household Composition
- Household and Family Composition
- Household Identification and Linkages - Multiple Respondent Households
This section describes variables related to household and family composition, household identification, linkages between members of multiple respondent households, and household residence. Some familiarity with the following survey instruments which gather information on households is necessary: the Original Cohort Household Record Cards, the Original Cohort "Household Roster," and the household screeners that were used to select respondents for the various cohorts. The "Survey Instruments and Other Documentation" section provides detailed descriptions of each of these instruments. This section does not delineate variables pertaining to characteristics or experiences of household members, the presence of partners within the household, or geographical areas of residence. Those interested in information collected specifically on household members should explore the individual topic of interest, e.g., age, sex, educational status, etc. The availability of information on partners is discussed in the Marriage & Fertility section. Finally, those interested in information detailing respondents' geographic residence, e.g., state, county, or SMSA, should reference the Geographic Residence & Environmental Characteristics topical discussion.
Household and Family Composition
During each survey year except the 1968 Older Men mail survey, a complete listing of family or household members is available from the "Household Roster" or household enumeration section of the questionnaire. This household section listed household/family members and, for each member, specified information such as that member's relationship to the respondent, his/her age, school enrollment status, and highest grade completed, and work experience information such as number of weeks worked, hours worked per week, and occupation. In general, household record items were transcribed from the Household Record Cards, documents that were completed before the interview began. As an exception, certain telephone interviews did not update all information on the Household Record Cards; new information was collected directly on the household roster.
User Notes
Information about family or household members collected in the roster section of the questionnaire can be identified by searching for "household record" using the any word search.
Older Men. Table 1 provides a list of the types of information collected in the household roster in each interview. In addition, it depicts whether the roster referred only to members related to the respondent or to all household members. During earlier survey years of the Older Men, only family members (i.e., related household members) were included on the household roster; in more recent years, all household members were listed. However, variable titles were not changed to reflect this difference. Thus, 'Household Record - Family Member # 5: Relationship to R,' may actually provide a relationship to the respondent of an unrelated household member. Users should examine the household roster section of the questionnaire to determine whether unrelated household members were listed in a given year.
Table 1. Older Men Household Roster Questions 1966-90
Key: F = Family members, H = Unrelated household members; Numbers indicate age restrictions
Survey year | Relationship to R | Age/birth date (DoB) | Enrollment status | Highest grade attended | Highest grade completed | Enrolled in college/ univ. in past year? | Weeks worked last year | Usual hours/week worked | Occupation (if worked in past year) |
1966 | F | F 6-24 |
F (14 and up) |
F (14 and up) | F (14 and up) | ||||
1967 | F | F age | F 6-24 | F 6-24 | F 6-24 | F (14 and up) | F (14 and up) | F (14 and up) | |
1969 | F | F age | F 6-24 | F 6-24 | F 6-24 | F (14 and up) | F (14 and up) | F (14 and up) | |
1971 | F | F age | F 6-24 | F 6-24 | F 6-24 | F (14 and up) | F (14 and up) | F (14 and up) | |
1973 | F | F age | F (14 and up) | F (14 and up) | F (14 and up) | F (14 and up) | |||
1975 | F | F age | F (14 and up) | F (14 and up) | F (14 and up) | F (14 and up) | |||
1976 | F | F age | F 6-24 | F 6-24 | F 6-24 | F (14 and up) | F (14 and up) | F (14 and up) | |
1978 | F | F age | F (14 and up) | F (14 and up) | F (14 and up) | F (14 and up) | |||
1980 | F | F age | F (14 and up) | F (14 and up) | F (14 and up) | F (14 and up) | |||
1981 | F, H | F, H DoB | F, H (3 and up) | F, H (3 and up) | F, H (3 and up) | F, H (14 and up) | F, H (14 and up) | F, H (14 and up) | |
1983 | F, H | F, H both | F, H (3 and up) | F, H (3 and up) | F, H (3 and up) | F, H (14 and up) | F, H (14 and up) | F, H (14 and up) | |
1990 | F, H | F, H age | F, H (3 and up) | F, H (14 and up) | F, H (14 and up) | F, H (14 and up) |
In addition to the information depicted in the table, the 1981 Older Men household roster included a question asking whether the respondent and each household member were living together in 1976. If not, a follow-up question asked why they decided to live together (e.g., marriage, health, financial help, share expenses, etc.). These questions were repeated in 1983 with a reference date of 1981.
The 1990 survey design includes more than one household roster. In the sample person questionnaire, Older Men respondents living at home responded to roster questions as in past surveys. In addition to the data in Table 1, this roster asked whether the respondent and each household member were living together at the date of the last interview and, if not, why they decided to live together. If the Older Men respondent was living in a long-term care institution, a similar but separate roster asked him to report characteristics of the members of his household just before he entered the institution. An additional question inquired whether each member was still living in that household at the interview date. Finally, the respondent reported whether he had lived with each member at the date of his last interview, but the follow-up question was not asked of institutionalized respondents.
The same pattern was repeated in the widow questionnaire, addressed to widows of Older Men respondents. Widows living at home were asked about their current household, including the questions on whether they had lived with each member at their husbands' last interview date. Widows living in long-term care institutions answered the same questions about their former household that appeared in the sample person questionnaire.
Young Men. Table 2 lists the information gathered in the various Young Men household roster in each interview. In all surveys of the Young Men, the actual household roster included only family members. However, in later surveys, some information about unrelated household members was collected on a separate but similar roster. These data are included in the table below and can be located in the data set by searching for the phrase "household members not related to R" in variable titles.
Table 2. Young Men Household Roster Questions 1966-81
Key: F = Family members, H = Unrelated household members; Numbers indicate age restrictions
Survey year | Relationship to R | Age/birth date (DoB) | Enrollment status | Highest grade attended | Highest grade completed | Enrolled in college/ univ. in past year? | Weeks worked last year | Usual hours/week worked | Occupation (if worked in past year) |
1966 | F | F age | F 6-24 | F | F | F (14 and up) | F (14 and up) | F (14 and up) | |
1967 | F | F age | F 6-24 | F 6-24 | F 6-24 | F (14 and up) | F (14 and up) | F (14 and up) | |
1968 | F | F age | F 6-24 | F 6-24 | F 6-24 | F (14 and up) | F (14 and up) | F (14 and up) | |
1969 | F | F age | F 6-24 | F 6-24 | F 6-24 | F (14 and up) | F (14 and up) | F (14 and up) | |
1970 | F | F age | F 6-24 | F 6-24 | F 6-24 | F (14 and up) | F (14 and up) | F (14 and up) | |
1971 | F | F age | F 6-24 | F 6-24 | F 6-24 | F (14 and up) | F (14 and up) | F (14 and up) | |
1973 | F | F age | F (14 and up) | F (14 and up) | F (14 and up) | F (14 and up) | |||
1975 | F | F age | F (14 and up) | F (14 and up) | F (14 and up) | F (14 and up) | |||
1976 | F | F DoB | F (3 and up) | F (3 and up) | F (3 and up) | F (14 and up) | F (14 and up) | F (14 and up) | |
19781 | F, H | F, H both | F (3 and up) | F (3 and up) | F (3 and up) | F (14 and up) | F (14 and up) | F (14 and up) | |
19801 | F, H | F, H both | F (3 and up) | F (3 and up) | F (3 and up) | F (14 and up) | F (14 and up) | F (14 and up) | |
19811 | F, H | F DoB H age |
F (3 and up) | F (3 and up) | F (3 and up) | F (14 and up) | F (14 and up) | F (14 and up) | |
1 Information for unrelated household members was collected on a separate roster rather than being combined with the regular household roster. |
User Notes
Although gender was generally not collected, it can sometimes be inferred from the relationship codes assigned to family and household members. For example, the code for sister identifies a given household member as female. However, some members were assigned a generic code such as "parent--sex not specified"; in these cases, gender cannot be determined.
Users should be aware that relationship codes for family and household members varied across survey years. Figure 1 below provides information about the relationship codes used in different surveys to classify relationships between the respondent and members of his household.
Figure 1. Relationship Codes by Survey Year: Older and Young Men
Older Men 1966-78, Young Men 1966-76 | Older Men 1980-90, Young Men 1978-81 | ||
Code | Relationship | Code | Relationship |
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 | Spouse Child (sex not specified) Son Daughter Parent (sex not specified) Father Mother Parent-in-law Sibling (sex not specified) Sister Brother Grandchild Other relative | 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 | Codes 1-13 as before, plus: Father-in-law Mother-in-law Grandmother or grandparent Grandfather Adopted son or son by marriage Adopted daughter or daughter by marriage Other blood relative-male Other blood relative-female Other in-law relative-male Other in-law relative-female Partner-male Partner-female Boarder-male Boarder-female Other nonrelative-male Other nonrelative-female Other nonrelative (sex not specified) |