NLSY79 Child and Young Adult

The selected variables for the NLSY79 Children asterisk tables are grouped into two main categories:

1. Child Supplement and Mother Supplement
2. Child Self-Administered Supplement (10 to 14 years old)

I. Child Supplement and Mother Supplement

II. Child Self-Administered Supplement (10 to 14 years old)

• Child
• Young Adult

Child

From 1988 to 2014, the NLSY79 Child surveys asked children 10 and older (10 to 14 starting in 1994) to self report the extent to which they had participated in various illegal activities (i.e. vandalism, shoplifting, and assault) and other delinquent activities such as not following parental rules during the past year. In 2004, the minimum age for these questions was raised to 12 years as the prevalence of these behaviors was so low for 10 and 11 year olds.

The nine items in this Child Self-Administered Supplement series were drawn from a larger set of NLSY79 main Youth items that in turn had been adapted from other previously used self-report delinquency scales. Table 1 details the items in the CSAS antisocial/delinquent behavior series.

Table 1. Child antisocial and delinquent behaviors question names by survey year

In the last year, about how many times have you...	1988	1990	1992	1994	1996	1998	2000-2014
Stayed out later than your parent(s) said you should?	CS884220	CS906611	CS926760	CS942515	CS960815	CS98040A	CSAS040A
Hurt someone badly enough to need bandages or a doctor?	CS884221	CS906613	CS926762	CS942517	CS960817	CS98040B	CSAS040B
Lied to your parent(s) about something important?	CS884222	CS906615	CS926764	CS942519	CS960819	CS98040C	CSAS040C
Taken something from a store without paying for it?	CS884223	CS906617	CS926766	CS942521	CS960821	CS98040D	CSAS040D
Damaged school property on purpose?	CS884224	CS906619	CS926768	CS942523	CS960823	CS98040E	CSAS040E
Gotten drunk?	CS884225	CS906621	CS926770	CS942525	CS960825	CS98040F	CSAS040F
Had to bring your parent(s) to school because of something you did wrong?	CS884226	CS906623	CS926811	CS942527	CS960827	CS98040G	CSAS040G
Skipped a day of school without permission?	CS884227	CS906625	CS926813	CS942529	CS960829	CS98040H	CSAS040H
Stayed out at least one night without permission?	CS884228	CS906627	CS926815	CS942531	CS960831	CS98040I	CSAS040I
From 1988-2000, the Child Self-Administered Supplement (CSAS) was a paper booklet. Starting in 2002, the CSAS is CAPI self-report and fully incorporated into the Child Supplement.

Peer pressure

From 1992 to 2014, children age 10 to 14 were asked whether they feel pressure from friends to:

• Try cigarettes
• Work hard in school
• Try marijuana/other drugs
• Drink alcohol
• Skip school
• Commit crime/engage in violent behaviors

These items are assigned to the CHILD SELF-ADMINISTERED SUPPLEMENT Area of Interest.

Note that, beginning in 2002, these same peer pressure questions are asked of Young Adults who are under age 19.

Documentation for these self-report items on antisocial and delinquent behavior can be found in NLS Investigator by searching the CHILD SELF-ADMINISTERED area of interest in the Child database. [Information on crime, delinquency, and arrest records for the NLSY79 mothers is available as part of a special self-report supplement in the 1980 NLSY79 main Youth interview.]

Behavior Problems

In addition to the child-reported items described above, mothers provided information on their children's behavior problems, starting at the age of four years, in the Behavior Problems Index (BPI).

Survey Instruments	Questions on crime, delinquency, and antisocial behavior are found in the Child Self-Administered Supplement. The Behavior Problems Index is administered as part of the Mother Supplement.
Areas of Interest	Child Supplement Child Self-Administered Supplement Mother Supplement Assessment Items

Young Adult

Young Adult respondents have been asked a variety of questions about contact with the justice system, including any arrests and convictions, as well as delinquent behavior not necessarily resulting in contact with the law.

Delinquency

From 1994 to 1998, the Young Adult Self-Report Booklet included a 17-item series about whether or not the respondent had engaged in various delinquent behaviors in the last year, from mild behaviors such as skipping school to more serious behaviors such as dealing in stolen goods or assaulting someone. In 2000, the frequencies and correlations on these items across the three earlier years were used to winnow down this series to four items. Respondents are asked whether or not, in the last year, they have:

• Skipped a full day of work or school without a real excuse
• Gotten into a physical fight at school or work
• Taken something worth $50 or more
• Seriously threatened or hit someone

In 2000, all Young Adults answered the above four items, but beginning in 2002, these items have been asked only of respondents aged 18 or older.

Since 2002, Young Adults aged 17 and under have answered the nine-item delinquency series that has been used in the Child Self-Administered Supplement since 1988. This series were drawn from a larger set of NLSY79 main Youth items that in turn were adapted from previously used self-report delinquency scales. Respondents are asked how many times in the last year they have:

• Stayed out later than their parents said they could
• Hurt someone badly enough to need a doctor
• Lied to their parents about something important
• Taken something from a store without paying
• Damaged school property intentionally
• Gotten drunk
• Had to bring parents to school about something wrong
• Skipped school without permission
• Stayed out at least one night without permission

Running Away

Young Adults in all survey rounds have been asked how many times they have run away from home and how old they were the first time they ran away. In 1994 through 1998, these questions were in the Self-Report Booklet and asked of all respondents. Since these questions were incorporated into the CAPI questionnaire as part of the 2000 redesign, only Young Adults aged 17 and under who have not previously reported having run away are asked these questions.

Peer pressure

Since 2002, young adults aged 18 and younger have been asked six peer pressure questions that were asked of all 10 to 14 year olds from 1992 to 2014 in the Child Self-Administered Supplement. These young adults are asked whether they ever feel pressure from their friends to:

• try cigarettes?
• work hard in school?
• try marijuana or other drugs?
• drink beer, wine or liquor?
• skip school?
• commit a crime or do something violent?

Behavior Problems

From 1986 through 2016, NLSY79 mothers provided information on their children's behavior problems, starting at the age of four years through age 14. This information was then used to construct the overall Behavior Problems Index (BPI) and its six sub-scales. Researchers can combine the mother reported BPI data with the child's self-reports of their delinquent behaviors in the Child Self-Administered Supplement, plus their self-reports as Young Adults, to look at delinquency from childhood well into adulthood.

Related variables from Young Adult survey years include:

• While Young Adult respondents are not asked explicitly about any school discipline, they do provide information about the main reason for leaving school, as well as the main reason for gaps in secondary school attendance, with one of the answer categories for both being suspension/expulsion.
• A  "type of residence" variable is created for each survey year (RESTYPEyyyy) and identifies any Young Adult respondents who resided in jail at each interview date.
• Since 2004, the YASAMPyyyy variable (found in the Child Background area of interest), which indicates whether or not a child was eligible to be interviewed, has included a category for respondents who were eligible but not interviewed due to incarceration.
• In all survey rounds, Young Adults have been asked about their alcohol and drug use; they also answered a limited number of such questions when they were children.

Comparison to Other NLS Surveys	Information on crime, delinquency, and arrest records was collected from the NLSY79 in a special self-report supplement during the 1980 interview. This supplement detailed respondents' participation in and income from criminal activities and their contacts with the criminal justice system. Beginning in 1988 two sets of questions were asked of NLSY79 children dealing with (1) the extent of each child's self-reported participation during the past year in various illegal activities such as vandalism, shoplifting, and assault and (2) the extent of use and age of first use of cigarettes, alcohol, marijuana, and drugs. The NLSY97 survey asks about participation in and the intensity of various criminal activities in the previous year (round 1). In subsequent rounds respondents were questioned about the number of times they participated in criminal activity since the date of last interview. NLSY97 data collected each year include charges, court decisions, and sentencing including dates of incarceration since the last interview. The 1968 survey of schools attended by Young Men and Young Women respondents included two questions on whether school records indicated that the respondent had been committed to or was on probation from a correctional institution. Also as part of the 1968 school survey, school records were examined for an indication that the respondent had ever been expelled or suspended from school. For more precise details about the content of each survey, consult the appropriate cohort's User's Guide using the tabs above for more information.
Survey Instruments	Questions on crime, delinquency, and antisocial behavior are found in the Young Adult Instrument, Young Adult Self-Report Section.
Areas of Interest	YA Self Report

• Child
• Young Adult

Child

The NLSY79 Child surveys contained a range of information about child attitudes from both the child's and mother's perspective. For the younger children (not young adults) these questions were administered primarily in the Child Self-Administered Supplement (CSAS), completed by children 10 years of age and older. Mothers also reported on their children's attitudes and prospects in the Family & Schooling section of the Mother Supplement.

In 2000 the more sensitive attitude items were moved into the Computer Assisted Self-Interview (CASI) portion of the Child CAPI Supplement that is directed to the mother. After 2000 these same questions were in CASI format in the Mother Supplement. Mothers responded, in CASI format if preferred, to questions about how things were going in each child's life and to rate:

1. how much trouble it has been to bring up this child
2. the child's health
3. the child's relationships with friends, siblings, and with her
4. and the child's feelings about himself or herself

Each round of the NLSY79 Young Adult survey includes a questionnaire section devoted to attitudes. The details of these items for young adults are explained in the Young Adult section below. Readers who are unfamiliar with the NLSY79 mother data will find that main Youth respondents have been administered several scales, a number of which parallel those administered in the Child and Young Adult Surveys, such as the Rotter, the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (Rosenberg, 1965), sociability and Pearlin Mastery Scales (Pearlin and Schooler, 1978; Pearlin et al., 1981), neighborhood quality, attitudes toward women working (family attitudes), and the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale or CES-D (Radloff, 1977). More information about the attitude scales in the main Youth for NLSY79 mothers can be found in the Attitudes & Expectations section of the NLSY79 User's Guide.

Gender roles (Child)

From the 1994 through the 2014 surveys, children 10-14 responded to a series of questions on whether girls should be treated differently than boys. This 6-item scale appeared in the Child Self-Administered Supplement (CSAS). Children were asked how much they agreed with the following:

1. GIRLS AND BOYS SHOULD BE TREATED THE SAME AT SCHOOL
2. A GIRL SHOULD NOT LET A BOY KNOW SHE IS SMARTER THAN HE IS
3. COMPETING WITH BOYS IN SCHOOL WOULD MAKE A GIRL UNPOPULAR WITH BOYS
4. A GIRL SHOULD PAY HER OWN WAY ON DATES
5. IF THERE IS NOT ENOUGH MONEY FOR ALL THE CHILDREN IN A FAMILY TO GO TO COLLEGE, THE BOYS SHOULD GO TO COLLEGE INSTEAD OF THE GIRLS
6. IT IS PERFECTLY OK FOR A GIRL TO ASK A BOY FOR A DATE, EVEN IF HE HAS NEVER ASKED HER

These items are assigned to the CHILD SELF-ADMINISTERED SUPPLEMENT area of interest. Starting in 2000, these questions are named CSAS030A to CSAS030F. 

Peer pressure

Starting in 1992, children age 10 and older (10-14 starting in 1994) were asked whether they felt pressure from friends to engage in certain behaviors (beginning in 2002, the same questions are asked of Young Adults under age 19). They reported on the following items in the CSAS:

• CHILD FEELS PRESSURE FROM FRIENDS TO TRY CIGARETTES
• CHILD FEELS PRESSURE FROM FRIENDS TO WORK HARD IN SCHOOL
• CHILD FEELS PRESSURE FROM FRIENDS TRY MARIJUANA/OTHER DRUGS
• CHILD FEELS PRESSURE FROM FRIENDS TO DRINK ALCOHOL
• CHILD FEELS PRESSURE FROM FRIENDS TO SKIP SCHOOL
• CHILD FEELS PRESSURE FROM FRIENDS TO COMMIT CRIME/VIOLENCE

These items are assigned to the CHILD SELF-ADMINISTERED SUPPLEMENT area of interest.

Risk behavior

In 1994 the NLSY79 Child Self-Administered Supplement (CSAS) introduced a series of questions about the child's attitude toward risky behaviors and planning for the future. The six CSAS ratings of propensity for risk taking ("feelings toward yourself") items were taken from Section F. (Social-Psychology) of the American Teenage Study, which contains 25 items that were intended to create at least three distinct scales. Table 1 indicates the documentation for these items and the age range of the children who answered these questions.

Table 1. Child risk-taking behaviors: How much do you agree or disagree?

Question Text	Question Name
	1994	1996	1998	2000-2014
I often get in a jam because I do things without thinking.	CS942611	CS960911	CS98049A	CSAS049A
I think that planning takes the fun out of things.	CS942613	CS960913	CS98049B	CSAS049B
I have to use a lot of self-control to keep out of trouble.	CS942615	CS960915	CS98049C	CSAS049C
I enjoy taking risks.	CS942617	CS960917	CS98049D	CSAS049D
I enjoy new and exciting experiences, even if they are a little frightening or unusual.	CS942619	CS960919	CS98049E	CSAS049E
Life with no danger in it would be too dull for me.	CS942621	CS960921	CS98049F	CSAS049F
Items asked of Child respondents ages 10-14. From 1994-2000, the Child Self-Administered Supplement was a paper booklet. Starting in 2002, the CSAS was CAPI self-report. For 1994, child risk-taking items were asked in question 47. For 1996-2000, child risk-taking items were asked in question 49. After 2000, the question name and number were the same.

Expectations and aspirations

From 1988 to 2014, NLSY79 Children ages 10 and older (10-14 starting in 1994) were asked a repeat question series about when they expected to marry and when they expected to have children. Children were asked what they thought was the "best age, if any, for you get married" and "best age for you to have your first child." They were also asked about the youngest age they could imagine themselves getting married and the youngest age they could imagine themselves having their first child. This series of questions for children under age 15 are assigned to the CHILD SELF-ADMINISTERED SUPPLEMENT area of interest.

Mothers of children who were at least school age were asked to rate each child's prospects for the future and to estimate how far they thought their child will go in school. Through 1998 and again starting in 2002 these questions, posed in the Mother Supplement, were assigned to the MOTHER SUPPLEMENT areas of interest. In 2000, the future prospects questions were moved to the Child CAPI Supplement and then back to the Mother Supplement in 2002. Since 1988, children ages 10 and older were also asked how far they expected to go in school. Table 2 contains a summary of educational aspiration questions by survey year.

Table 2. Mother and Child reports of educational aspirations

Report	Survey Year	Question Title	Area of Interest	Question Name
Mother Report	1988	SCHOOL & FAMILY BACKGROUND: HOW FAR YOU THINK CHILD WILL GO IN SCHOOL	Mother Supplement 1988	MS880861
	1990	SCHOOL & FAMILY BACKGROUND: HOW FAR YOU THINK CHILD WILL GO IN SCHOOL	Mother Supplement 1990	MS901461
	1992	SCHOOL & FAMILY BACKGROUND: HOW FAR MOM THINKS CHILD WILL GO IN SCHOOL	Mother Supplement 1992	MS921511
	1994	SCHOOL & FAMILY BACKGROUND: HOW FAR MOM THINKS CHILD WILL GO IN SCHOOL	Mother Supplement 1994	MS941643
	1996	SCHOOL & FAMILY BACKGROUND: HOW FAR MOM THINKS CHILD WILL GO IN SCHOOL	Mother Supplement 1996	MS961659
	1998	SCHOOL & FAMILY BACKGROUND: HOW FAR MOM THINKS CHILD WILL GO IN SCHOOL	Mother Supplement 1998	'MS985017
	2000	CHILD BACKGROUND: HOW FAR MOM THINKS CHILD WILL GO IN SCHOOL	Child Supplement 2000	BKGN-44
	2002-2004	CHILD BACKGROUND: HOW FAR MOM THINKS CHILD WILL GO IN SCHOOL	Mother Supplement	BKGN-44
	2006-2018	CHILD BACKGROUND: HOW FAR MOM THINKS CHILD WILL GO IN SCHOOL	Mother Supplement	MS-BKGN-44
Child Self-Report	1988	CHILD SELF-ADMINISTERED: HOW FAR DO YOU THINK YOU WILL GO IN SCHOOL	Child Self-Administered Supplement	CS884171
	1990	CHILD SELF-ADMINISTERED: HOW FAR DO YOU THINK YOU WILL GO IN SCHOOL	Child Self-Administered Supplement	CS906553
	1992	CHILD SELF-ADMINISTERED: HOW FAR CHILD THINKS SHE/HE WILL GO IN SCHOOL	Child Self-Administered Supplement	CS926713
	1994	CHILD SELF-ADMIN: HOW FAR CHILD THINKS SHE/HE WILL GO IN SCHOOL	Child Self-Administered Supplement	CS942413
	1996	CHILD SELF-ADMIN: HOW FAR CHILD THINKS SHE/HE WILL GO IN SCHOOL	Child Self-Administered Supplement	CS960713
	1998	CHILD SELF-ADMIN: HOW FAR CHILD THINKS SHE/HE WILL GO IN SCHOOL	Child Self-Administered Supplement	CS98028
	2000-2014	CHILD SELF-ADMIN: HOW FAR CHILD THINKS SHE/HE WILL GO IN SCHOOL	Child Self-Administered Supplement	CSAS028

Starting in 2004, children age 14 were asked questions in the Child survey about plans for work at age 35 so that all children age 14 are administered a comparable set of such questions. Young Adults have also been asked about expectations at age 35 and prospects for separation and divorce. [NLSY79 mothers have answered questions about their own educational and employment expectations for the future. Interested users should consult the Attitudes & Expectationssection of the NLSY79 User's Guide.]

Child self-perception/self-worth/self-competence

The Self-Perception Profile for Children (SPPC) was administered to NLSY79 children in the Child Supplement. The SPPC is a self-report magnitude estimation scale that measures a child's sense of general self-worth and self-competence in the domain of academic skills (Harter 1982, 1985). Harter's instrument taps five specific domains of self-concept as well as global self-worth. The twelve items selected from the original scale for use in the NLSY79 child survey translate into two subscores, a global self-worth score and a scholastic competence score. The protocol for this assessment is explained and illustrated in the user version of the Child Supplement (available on the Questionnaires page). The assessment, titled "What I Am Like" in the Child Supplement, was completed by children ages eight and over in the survey years 1986-1992 and ages 8-14 in 1994. Beginning with the 1996 survey, administration was limited to children 12-14. A full description of the SPPC items and subscales appears in the Self-Perception Profile for Children section of the topical portion of the users guide on the NLSY79 child assessments.

Child depression or "moods"

The depression or child 'moods' items in the NLSY79 Child (CSAS) questionnaire came from the National Commission on Children (NCC) 1990 Survey of Parents and Children. The specific source for these questions can be found in the 1990 NCC Parent and Child Final Questionnaire and Codebook for Children, questions V432 to V440. (Several other parent-child interaction questions in the CSAS were also drawn from this instrument: V322, V323, V339, V307 for example on spending time with each parent, parent missing activities, peer pressure.) The moods items were self-administered in the Child Self-Administered Section of the Child Supplement instrument by children age 10-14.

Neighborhood safety

In 1992 a question was added to the Child Self-Administered Supplement for children 10 and older about how safe they felt walking and playing in their neighborhood. That same year mothers were first asked to rate their neighborhood as a place to raise children. They were also asked to assess the quality of the neighborhood on a number of dimensions, similar to those also addressed to young adults starting in 1994. The NLSY79 neighborhood quality series, which has continued through the current survey round, is taken from the National Commission on Children Parent & Child Study, 1990 Parent Questionnaire, p.7 (V32, V34-V41).

Survey Instruments	Questions about children's attitudes are included in the Child Self-Administered Supplement. Mothers report on their children's attitudes in the Family & Schooling section of the Mother Supplement. SPPC (self-perception) is administered in the Child Supplement.
Areas of Interest	Child Supplement Child Self-Administered Supplement Mother Supplement

Young Adult

In all survey years, the Young Adult survey has collected some information from respondents on their perceived self-esteem, their feelings of control over their own lives, their levels of depression, their risk-taking behavior, their anger levels, their views of the social world, and their basic personality traits. Many of these questions have been used in previous rounds of the main Youth and the Child Self-Administered Surveys. The patterns of administration have varied across rounds based on age and interview status (see Table 3 below).

Pearlin Mastery Scale

The Pearlin Mastery Scale has been administered to at least some respondents in all survey years. It is a measure of self-concept and references the extent to which individuals perceive themselves in control of forces that significantly impact their lives. It consists of a 7-item scale developed by Pearlin et al. (1981). Each item is a statement regarding the respondent's perception of self, and respondents are asked how strongly they agree or disagree with each statement. Four response categories are allowed: (1) strongly disagree; (2) disagree; (3) agree; and (4) strongly agree. The scale is constructed by adding together the responses from each item to produce a score ranging from 4 to 16. To obtain a positively oriented scale (that is, a scale where a higher score represents the perception of greater mastery over one's environment), negatively phrased questions should have their response sets reverse coded prior to summation. The Pearlin Mastery Scale has reasonable internal reliability (Seeman, 1991) and good construct validity (Pearlin et al, 1981).

Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale

The Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale has been administered to at least some respondents every survey year. This 10-item scale, designed for adolescents and adults, measures the self-evaluation that an individual makes and customarily maintains. It describes a degree of approval or disapproval toward oneself (Rosenberg, 1965). The scale is short, widely used, and has accumulated evidence of validity and reliability. It contains 10 statements of self-approval and disapproval with which respondents are asked to strongly agree, agree, disagree, or strongly disagree. Items A, B, D, F, and G need to be reversed prior to summing the individual items in order for a higher score to designate higher self-esteem. Users should consult the relevant survey year questionnaire for specific wording. Typically, the raw items are summed or the standardized items are averaged to create a summary score. The scale has proven highly internally consistent, with reliability coefficients that range from .87 (Menaghan, 1990) to .94 (Strocchia-Rivera, 1988), depending on the nature of the sample selected.

Risk taking

Since its inception in 1994 the Young Adult survey has included a series of questions about attitudes toward risky behaviors and planning for the future. The six ratings of propensity for risk taking ("feelings toward yourself") items were taken from Section F. (Social-Psychology) of the American Teenage Study which contained 25 items intended to create at least three distinct scales. These items, also used in the Child Self-Administered Supplement, are:

• I often get in a jam because I do things without thinking.
• I think that planning takes the fun out of things.
• I have to use a lot of self-control to keep out of trouble.
• I enjoy taking risks.
• I enjoy new and exciting experiences, even if they are a little frightening or unusual.
• Life with no danger in it would be too dull for me.

Depressive symptoms

The Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) measures symptoms of depression, discriminates between clinically depressed individuals and others, and is highly correlated with other depression rating scales (see Radloff 1977; Ross and Mirowsky 1989). A 7-item version of the CES-D has been included in the Young Adult survey every round, although not all respondents are asked the 7 scale items each survey (see Table 2). This 7-item version, as well as the original 20-item version, has also been administered to the NLSY79 respondents. The decision to use only a 7-item version in the Young Adult survey was based on research by Ross and Mirowsky (1989) and others indicating that scales with fewer items are as robust as the 20-item scale. The item response choices in both the NLSY79 and the Young Adult have been kept consistent with the 1992 NLSY79 (and original Radloff, 1977) responses to the full CES-D: 0 (rarely or none of the time/1 day) to 3 (most or all of the time/5-7 days). An additional 4 CES-D items were added in 2010. A discussion of the CES-D items can be found in the discussion of Health.

Anxiety

Beginning in 2018, the Young Adult questionnaire has included the General Anxiety Disorder Scale (GAD-7). Developed by Spitzer, Kroenke, Williams and Lowe, the GAD-7 asks respondents how often they have experienced certain feelings associated with anxiety in the past two weeks. The items in the GAD-7 are:

• Feeling nervous, anxious or on edge
• Not being able to stop or control worrying
• Worrying too much about different things
• Trouble relaxing
• Being so restless that it is hard to sit still
• Becoming easily annoyed or irritable
• Feeling afraid as if something awful might happen

Respondents indicate how often they have felt this was using the following scale:

• 0: not at all
• 1: several days
• 2: more than half the days
• 3: nearly every day

An anxiety score can be created by summing these seven items. Scores can range from 0 to 21 points, with higher scores indicating greater levels of anxiety.

Anger

A six-item anger scale, developed by Scott Schieman (1999, 2003), was included for the first time in 2008 and continues to be asked of a subset of respondents in each round. Scale item questions ask respondents on how many days in the last week they have:

• Felt annoyed or frustrated
• Felt angry
• Felt very critical of others
• Yelled at someone or something
• Felt rage
• Lost their temper

Resilience

The YA2020 questionnaire included the Brief Resilience Scale (BRS). Developed by Smith, Dalen, Wiggins, et al., the BRS asks respondents how much they agree or disagree with a series of statements. The items in the BRS are:

1. I tend to bounce back quickly after hard times.
2. I have a hard time making it through stressful events.
3. It does not take me long to recover from a stressful event.
4. It is hard for me to snap back when something bad happens.
5. I usually come through difficult times with little trouble.
6. I tend to take a long time to get over set-backs in my life.

Respondents indicate whether they agree or disagree using the following scale:

• 5 STRONGLY AGREE
• 4 AGREE
• 3 NEUTRAL
• 2 DISAGREE
• 1 STRONGLY DISAGREE

A resiliency score can be created by reverse coding items 2, 4, and 6, then summing the six items and dividing by 6. Higher scores indicate greater resiliency.

Personality traits

The Ten-Item Personality Inventory (TIPI) was added to the Attitudes section in 2006. This scale, developed by Gosling, et al., (2003), is a measure of the Big Five personality traits (Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism). The TIPI consists of 10 pairs of personality traits that the respondents are asked to rate how well describes them on a scale from 1 (Disagree strongly) to 7 (Agree strongly). These pairs are:

• Extraverted, enthusiastic (E)
• Critical, quarrelsome (A, reversed)
• Dependable, self-disciplined (C)
• Anxious, easily upset (N)
• Open to new experiences, complex (O)
• Reserved, quiet (E, reversed)
• Sympathetic, warm (A)
• Disorganized, careless (C, reversed)
• Calm, emotionally stable (N, reversed)
• Conventional, uncreative (O, reversed)

In 2012 and 2014, the Young Adult Survey also included the mini-IPIP (International Personality Item Pool), an alternative measure of the Big Five personality traits. The 20-item mini-IPIP was developed by Donellan, et al., (2006) as an alternative to the 50-item International Personality Item Pool that was particularly amenable to administration in large scale surveys. The mini-IPIP consists of 20 statements, and respondents rate how accurate each statement is for them on a scale from 1 (Very inaccurate) to 5 (Very accurate). These statements are:

• I am the life of the party (E)
• I sympathize with others' feelings (A)
• I get chores done right away (C)
• I have frequent mood swings (N)
• I have a vivid imagination (O)
• I don't talk a lot (E)
• I am not interested in other people's problems (A)
• I often forget to put things back in their proper place (C)
• I am relaxed most of the time (N)
• I am not interested in abstract ideas (O)
• I talk to a lot of different people at parties (E)
• I feel others' emotions (A)
• I like order (C)
• I get upset easily (N)
• I have difficulty understanding abstract ideas (O)
• I keep in the background (E)
• I am not really interested in others (A)
• I make a mess of things (C)
• I seldom feel blue (N)
• I do not have a good imagination (O)

In 2012, those who were not interviewed in 2010 were scheduled to take the TIPI. A random subset (25%) of them were selected to also take the mini-IPIP. Additionally, a random subset (25%) of those interviewed in 2010 were selected to take both the TIPI and the mini-IPIP. In 2014, a random 12.5% of all respondents interviewed in 2014 were chosen to take both the TIPI and mini-IPIP. This administration pattern allows researchers to compare these two scales.

Gender roles (Young Adult)

In 1994 through 1998, some Young Adults answered questions on women's roles and family attitudes that were also asked of NLSY79 respondents in 1979, 1982, 1987, and 2004. These questions were not administered in the 2000 Young Adult survey; however, they were included in the 2002 questionnaire for Young Adults ages 17-18 or 23 and over. The Women's Roles questions were again skipped in 2004 but were asked of all Young Adults in 2006. In 2008, only those not interviewed in 2006 were asked these items. These were asked of all respondents again in 2010, with the addition of three gender role items taken from the International Social Survey Program (ISSP) Family and Changing Gender Roles III questionnaire which was administered in 2000 in approximately 35 countries. In 2012, the original set of gender role questions was not asked, but all respondents were asked the new gender role items. In 2014, respondents ages 17 to 20 answered the original set of gender role questions, while all respondents were asked the new gender role items. For the gender role questions, the YA respondent agreed or disagreed with the following statements:

• A woman's place is in the home, not the office or shop.
• A wife who carries out her full family responsibilities doesn't have time for outside employment.
• A working wife feels more useful than one who doesn't hold a job.
• Employment of wives leads to more juvenile delinquency.
• Employment of both parents is necessary to keep up with the high cost of living.
• It is much better for everyone concerned if the man is the achiever outside the home and the woman takes care of the home and family.
• Men should share the work around the house with women, such as doing dishes, cleaning and so forth.
• Women are much happier if they stay at home and take care of their children.

The added ISSP items are:

• Having a job is the best way for a woman to be an independent person.
• People in a committed relationship, either married or living together, are generally happier than people who are not in a committed relationship.
• It is better to be in a bad relationship than in no relationship at all.

Since 2004, the youngest Young Adults (ages 14 to 16) have been asked the gender role items from the Child Self-Administered Supplement (see Gender Role information in the Child section above). One additional item, directed to all YAs, asking about the acceptability for cohabiting couples to have children, was added in 2008.

Political questions

In 2006, a series of political questions were included at the end of the Young Adult Self Report section (see questions Y19453.00 [YASR-76A] through Y19472.00 [YASR-93]) for all respondents ages 21 and over. In the YA2008, some of the political questions, first fielded in 2006, remained the same while some questions were removed and new ones added (see questions Y22617.00 [YASR-76A] through Y22652.00 [YASR-93]), with some being asked of everyone 18 and over and some asked only of those 21 and over. These political questions were interviewer-administered, even for in-person interviews. Both rounds included a voting behavior question. Party affiliation and political leaning questions remained the same, but some of the attitudinal and behavioral questions were dropped with others added to replace them. The questions concerning mother's and father's politics during childhood were asked of all eligible YAs in 2006, but only of those new to the sequence in 2008. A small subset of these questions was included in the NLSY79 in 2008 (see questions T21839.00 [ATT-POL-77] through T21845.00 [ATT-POL-84]). The sequence of political questions is based on questions from the American National Election Studies (ANES) and were included in our surveys through a grant received by Jon Krosnick and Arthur Lupia.

Discrimination

In 2012, the Young Adult survey introduced several questions about perceived discrimination. One series (Q16-10A through Q16-10J), asked of those 21 and older, is about major instances of discrimination. A second series (Q16-11A through Q16-11K), answered by all respondents, asks about day-to-day discrimination. The discrimination questions were asked in 2014 to those respondents who did not participate in the 2012 survey round. In 2016, 21 and 22 year olds were asked the major discrimination items and those not interviewed in 2014 were asked the day-to-day discrimination items. In 2018, all respondents 21 and older were asked about major discrimination, and all respondents 14 and over were asked about day-to-day discrimination. The discrimination questions were asked in 2020 to those respondents who were not interviewed in the 2018 survey round.

These questions were originally developed by Dr. David Williams, Professor of Public Health, African and African American Studies, and Sociology at Harvard University for the Detroit Area Study. They have since been incorporated into MIDUS and the National Survey of American Life. Research has linked people's perceptions of discrimination to various areas of the later life course including mental and physical health problems and to academic performance.

Knowledge of the World of Work

In survey years 1994, 1996 and 1998, new Young Adults were asked a series of questions based on an abbreviated version of the "Knowledge of the World of Work" scale included in the 1979 round of the NLSY79. This set of questions asks respondents to pick one of three statements that best describes the duties of each of 10 commonly held jobs. A total score can be calculated by awarding one point for each correct answer (Kohen and Breinich, 1975; Parnes and Kohen, 1975; Parnes, et al., 1970). They were also asked a number of items pertaining to hypothetical job offers. Each job offer contained a wage offer as well as a brief description of the job duties, and respondents were asked whether or not they would accept the offer. These two series were removed in the 2000 redesign in order to streamline the survey and accommodate telephone administration. 

Expectations

In each round, first-time Young Adult respondents, ae well as those aged 23 and 24, indicate whether they would like to be married and have a family at age 35. Through 1998, all respondents also indicated whether they would like to be working at age 35. Starting in 2000, the work expectations question was changed to ask the respondent whether they would continue to work if they had enough money to live comfortably at age 35. Finally, in each round all respondents report how many children they expect to have and when they expect to have their first/next child.

References

Donnellan, M.B., Oswald, F.L., Baird, B.M., & Lucas, R.E. 2006. "The mini-IPIP scales: Tiny-yet-effective measures of the Big Five factors of personality." Psychological Assessment 18(2), 192-203.

Menaghan, Elizabeth G. "The Impact of Occupational and Economic Pressures on Young Mothers' Self-Esteem: Evidence from the NLSY." Presented: Annual Meetings of the Society for the Sociological Study of Social Problems, Washington, D.C., August 9, 1990.

Pearlin, Leonard I.; Lieberman, Morton A.; Menaghan, Elizabeth G.; and Mullan, Joseph T. "The Stress Process." Journal of Health and Social Behavior. 22 (December): 337-353, 1981.

Radloff, L. S. 1977. "The CES-D Scale: A self-report depression scale for research in the general population." Applied Psychological Measurement, 1 (3), 385-401.

Rosenberg, Morris. Society and the Adolescent Self-Image. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1965.

Ross, Catherine E., and John Mirowsky. 1989. "Explaining the Social Patterns of Depression: Control and Problem Solving--Or Support and Talking?" Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 30 (June), 206-219.

Schieman, Scott. 1999. "Age and Anger." Journal of Health and Social Behavior 40(3), 273-289.

Schieman, Scott. 2003. "Socioeconomic Status and the Frequency of Anger across the Life Course." 46(2), 207-222.

Seeman TE. 1991. "Personal control and coronary artery disease: How generalized expectancies about control may influence disease risk." Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 35, 661-669.

Smith, B.W., Dalen, J., Wiggins, K. et al. The brief resilience scale: Assessing the ability to bounce back. Int. J. Behav. Med. 15, 194–200 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1080/10705500802222972

Spitzer RL, Kroenke K, Williams JBW, and Löwe B. 2006. "A Brief Measure for Assessing Generalized Anxiety Disorder: The GAD-7." Archives of Internal Medicine 166(10):1092–1097. 

Strocchia-Rivera, Lenore. Self-Esteem and Educational Aspirations as Antecedents of Adolescent Unmarried Motherhood. Ph.D. Dissertation, The University of Texas at Austin, 1988.

Comparison to Other NLS Surveys	The NLSY79 respondents have been asked a number of attitude and expectation questions over time, including many of the same scales as those used in the Young Adult. When the Young Adults were between the ages of 10 and 14, they potentially answered a variety of attitude and expectation questions in the Child Self-Administered Supplement. The NLSY97 Youth Questionnaire collects information about the respondents' perceptions of the justice system in each round. The round 1 NLSY97 survey attempted to ascertain the impact that school has had on the feelings of well-being experienced by various youths. Respondents who were enrolled at the time of the survey were asked to agree or disagree with statements regarding their school's environment and their teachers. In round 1 respondents were also asked about their perception of their peers' activities and behaviors. The Mature Women and Young Women were asked about their attitudes toward working roles. The NLSY97 respondents, the Young Women, and Young Men have all answered questions about their educational and employment expectations for the future; however, the specific questions and reference periods have varied widely. For more precise details about the content of each survey, consult the appropriate cohort's User's Guide using the tabs above for more information.
Survey Instruments	Questions on attitudes and expectations are found in the Young Adult Instrument, Section 16, Attitudes.
Areas of Interest	YA Attitudes YA Self Report YA Birth Record (fertility expectations)

• Child
• Young Adult

Child

The child survey regularly collected a range of detailed information on each child's current health conditions and health history. Table 1 gives an overview of the types of reports of physical development and mental health asked over the survey rounds for children.

Table 1. Health Data in the NLSY79 Child Surveys

Child Health	1986	1988-1992	1994	1996-2002	2004-20162
Rating of child's health				M	M
Does health limit school or play	M	M	M	M	M
Physical, emotional, or mental condition requiring: treatment, medicine, or special equipment	M	M	M	M	M
Type/duration of limiting health conditions	M	M	M	M	M
Accidents/injuries needing medical attention in last 12 months	M	M	M	M	M
Accidents/injuries needing hospitalization since last interview/since birth		M	M	M	M
Number of illnesses requiring medical attention or treatment	M	M	M	M	M
Date of last routine health checkup	M	M	M	M	M
Date of last dental checkup/work	M	M	M	M	M
Source of health insurance, if any	M	M	M	M	M
Behavioral, emotional, or mental problems; did insurance cover doctor visit	M	M	M	M	M
Or prescription drugs taken to help control activity/behavior	M	M	M	M	M
Menarche; age at 1st menses for female child (and mother)	M	M	M	M	M
Right/left handedness				M	M
Child's eye and hair color	M
Height and body weight of child	M-I	M-I	M-I	M-I	M-I
Healthcare during pregnancy leading to child's birth1	M	M	M	M	M
Postnatal infant healthcare and feeding1	M	M	M	M	M
Temperament Scales (<4 years)	M	M	M	M	M
Motor and Social Development Scale (<4 years)	M	M	M	M	M
Behavior Problems Index (4+ years)	M	M	M	M	M
Asthma					M/C
Cigarette use; age first smoked; frequency		C	C	C	C
Alcohol use; age first drank; frequency		C	C	C	C
Marijuana use; age first used; frequency		C	C	C	C
Substance use (like glue, gas, sprays, fluids) that are "sniffed/huffed"; age first used; frequency			C	C	C
Other drug use (LSD, cocaine, uppers, downers); age first used; frequency		C	C	C	C
NOTE: Users are reminded that, while Child and Young Adult health items are presented separately in this table, all child health items were collected for young adults when they were age 14 or younger in the years their mothers were interviewed.
"C" denotes child report, "M" denotes mother report, and "M-I" denotes either mother report or interviewer measurement (with a flag indicating the source of report for each survey year).
1 Pre- and postnatal items have been asked in the mother's main Youth interview since 1982 so that most information has been collected for most births. This information includes child's birth weight and length, mother's weight gain, type of delivery, etc.
2A limited number of child health questions were asked in 2018.

Overall rating of child's health

From 1996-2018, mothers were asked to rate the child's health on a 4-point scale from "poor" to "excellent."

The items that indicate the mother's rating of each child's general health, for children under age 15, are listed below:

Question Name	Description	Survey Year
MS961711	SCHOOL & FAMILY BACKGROUND: MOTHER RATING OF CHILD HEALTH	1996
MS985019A	SCHOOL & FAMILY BACKGROUND: MOTHER RATING OF CHILD HEALTH	1998
BKGN-46A	CHILD BACKGROUND: MOTHER RATING OF CHILD HEALTH	2000-2004
MS-BKGN-46A	CHILD BACKGROUND: MOTHER RATING OF CHILD HEALTH	2006-2018

Health conditions

NLSY79 mothers were also asked to report on their children's health history and medical treatment received in the twelve months prior to the survey. The National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) was the principal source for various NLSY79 child health questions. For example, the limiting conditions questions were taken from the Child Core of the NHIS and from the NHIS Parent questionnaire section on family involvement in education (i.e., PJ3. Does CHILD have any physical, emotional, or mental condition that limits or interferes with his or her ability to do regular schoolwork? To take part in sports, games, or other activities with children his or her age?). Through 2000, a mark-all item for a list of limiting conditions was accompanied by a single follow-up question: asking how long has the child had the limiting condition(s). Starting in 2002, updates in the design of the NLSY79 Child questionnaire allowed users to identify potentially unrelated limiting conditions when multiple conditions are reported, along with the duration and onset of these various separate conditions.

Accidents and injuries

Questions about child accidents and injuries were asked beginning with the 1988 survey. Mothers reported: 1) whether the child had an accident in the past 12 months that required medical attention, and 2) whether the child ever had an accident (not necessarily in the past 12 months) requiring hospitalization. If the mother answered yes to either of these questions, she was asked the specific month and year of the three most recent accidents. The way that these questions were framed means that information is available for varying time periods for different children. Some researchers interested in linking these events with maternal work history have organized the data into quarters to deal with the seasonal patterns in accident rates (Currie and Hotz, 2001). The NHIS series on accidents and injuries was the source of these NLSY79 child questions.

Asthma

With support from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a series of asthma-related health questions was added to the NLSY79 main Youth, Child, and young adult in 2004. Mothers were asked if they had ever been diagnosed with asthma, their age when diagnosed, whether they still had the disease, when they last had experienced symptoms, if there had been any episodes in the past 12 months, whether unscheduled medical care had been received in the past 12 months due to asthma, what medicine they used for quick relief from asthma attacks, and whether they used a daily medication to prevent attacks. Respondents were asked how much the asthma limited their activities and whether their sleep was disrupted because of the illness. They were also asked whether they had smoked in the past 30 days, how often, how many cigarettes per day, whether anyone else had smoked in the house in the past 2 weeks, and whether they had been diagnosed with any other chronic lung diseases.

Mothers were asked similar asthma-related questions about their children. Respondents reported whether any of their children had been diagnosed with asthma; at what age each child had been diagnosed; whether the child's father had ever been diagnosed with asthma; whether the child had experienced any episodes in the last 12 months; whether unscheduled medical care had been received for the child in the last 12 months due to asthma; how many school days had been missed due to asthma; whether any sleep had been missed or activities limited due to asthma; and whether asthma medications were taken.

The NLSY79 child-based asthma items labeled ASTHMAyyyy in the child data file are based on inputs from the NLSY Main Youth interview, in which mothers report asthma symptoms for each biological child under age 15.

Children 10 and older were asked if they had had any asthma symptoms in the past month, how much asthma limited school work, participation in physical education class, and physical activities. Question names for asthma items from the Child Supplement begin with the stem CS-ASTHMA. These items can be found in the CHILD HEALTH and year-specific CHILD SUPPLEMENT areas of interest.

Birth histories

On a regular basis, the NLSY79 has collected pre- and postnatal care information from the sample women as they became mothers. Fertility questions in the main Youth interview ask about all pregnancies/live births, a cumulative inventory of all children reported, and contraceptive methods used. NLSY79 mothers report on their health and behavior during each pregnancy. Pre- and postnatal practices are detailed below under "Prenatal and infant care."

Handedness

Beginning in 1996, NLSY79 mothers were asked a series of questions about whether each child was right-handed or left-handed. Mothers were asked which hand the child used for writing, throwing a ball, and brushing his or her teeth.

The Motor and Social Development Scale, explained in detail in the Child Assessments section of the topical guide, also contains items related to when the child held an object in one hand. A more detailed series of handedness questions posed to children once they become eligible for the young adult interview can be found in the YA HEALTH area of interest.

NOTE: NLSY79 mothers were asked the following question in 1993: Were you born naturally left-handed or right-handed? Reports of “ambidextrous” or “neither” were recorded.

Health care access/Medical visits

Details concerning use of the medical system included the presence, number, and type of accidents, injuries, or illnesses requiring medical attention in the past 12 months; hospitalization history in the past 24 months; timing of last routine health and dental checkups; and coverage by and type of health insurance. The health services questions are drawn from the Child Core of the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS).

Health insurance

From the first Child survey in 1986, mothers were asked in the Child Supplement whether each child was covered by health insurance, not including public assistance, provided either by an employer or by an individual plan. They were also asked whether Medicaid covers each child's health care. Starting in 1994, mothers of young adult children in the household were asked this same set of questions in the fertility section of the main Youth questionnaire. These items are assigned to the BIRTH RECORD areas of interest in the NLSY79 main Youth file and can be linked to specific children by use of the child ID. There are also limited questions about the respondent's health plan related to children in the HEALTH area of interest of the main Youth file. The child health insurance questions are based on the Family Section of the 1981 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS).

Health assessments

The child assessment data collection included a number of questions and scales designed to capture child health information and to measure the child's temperament, motor and social development, and behavior problems. This information was obtained from the mother. The How My Child Usually Acts/Temperament Scale forms a measure of temperament or behavioral style over the past two-week period (in most survey years for children under age seven). The Motor and Social Development Scale measures motor-social-cognitive development for children under age four. The Behavior Problems Index elicits mother ratings of children four years of age or older in areas of problem behavior such as hyperactivity, anxiety, dependency, aggressiveness, and peer conflict.  These child health assessments were originally all in the paper self-administered booklet called the Mother Supplement. In 2000 the questions related to Temperament, Motor & Social Development were moved to CAPI format and administered in the Child Supplement. Data items related to the individual assessment responses are therefore found in the MOTHER SUPPLEMENT areas of interest for 1986-1998 and in both the CHILD SUPPLEMENT and MOTHER SUPPLEMENT areas of interest in 2000. In 2002 and 2004, all the child health items (except height and weight) were in the MOTHER SUPPLEMENT area of interest. From 2006 to 2018, height and weight were also included in the MOTHER SUPPLEMENT area of interest.

Height and body weight

In each survey round, the child's height and body weight at the time of interview were measured either by the interviewer or recorded as reported by the mother or child. Height and weight questions appear in each year-specific CHILD SUPPLEMENT area of interest.

Starting in 2006, there are potentially three reports for each child, one in the Mother Supplement section of the mother's main Youth interview and in the Child Supplement, made during the actual child interview, and for children aged 10 years and older, a self-report of height and weight in the CHILD SELF-ADMINISTERED SUPPLEMENT. Dates and method of report may differ substantially between the mother's main interview and the child supplement.

Height

In the Child Supplement, the method of height report (tape measurement; mother report; child report) was recorded, starting with the second (1988) survey round. Starting in 2000, the method of report question is named HLTH-HGT-REPT. To find the method of report questions in prior rounds, search Word in Title contains “HOW WAS HEIGHT REPORTED” in Investigator.

Variables coding child's height can be located using a 'Word in Title contains "Height"' search in Investigator. Since 2002, a separate question indicates whether the child's height was recorded in feet and inches or in inches only. The method of recording questions are named HLTH-HGT-MTHDCK. Overall height in inches (HLTH-HGTCALC) is computed from the entered values. Note that in 2002 only, this calculated height value is reported with two implied decimal places.

From 2006-2018, information on the height each child was also captured in the Mother Supplement. Question names for the height questions from the Mother Supplement start with MS-HLTH-HGT, and are assigned to both the CHILD HEALTH and year-specific MOTHER SUPPLEMENT areas of interest.

From 2006-20124, children ages 10-14 self-reported their height in feet and inches. The question names for these items begin with CSAS-P5-HGT.

Weight

In the Child Supplement, the method of report (scale measurement, mother report; child report) was recorded, starting with the second (1988) survey round.

Starting in 2000, the method of report question is named HLTH-WGT-REPT. To find the method of report questions in prior rounds, search Word in Title contains “HOW WAS WEIGHT REPORTED” in Investigator.

Variables coding child’s weight can be located using the following search in Investigator:

                Word in Title (enter search term) contains "weight"  AND
                Word in Title (enter search term) contains "health"

Since 2002, a separate question indicates whether the child's weight was recorded in pounds and ounces or in ounces only. The method of recording questions are named HLTH-WGT-MTHDCK. Overall weight in pounds (HLTH-WGTCALC) is computed from the entered values. Note that in 2002 only, this calculated weight value is reported with two implied decimal places.

From 2006-2018, information on the weight of each child was also captured in the Mother Supplement. Question names for the weight questions from the Mother Supplement start with MS-HLTH-WGT and are assigned to both the CHILD HEALTH and year-specific MOTHER SUPPLEMENT areas of interest.

From 2006-2014, children ages 10-14 self-reported their weight in pounds. The question name for these items is CSAS-P5-WGT.

Immunization

In the fertility section of the 1986-1990 NLSY79 main Youth questionnaire, mothers were asked to report on the types of shots administered to each child.  Users should note that only the subset of immunization questions (DPT/oral polio and measles) most comparable across these survey years is included in the Child file. The questions used to construct the immunization variables were not asked after 1990 and therefore children born since that time have been assigned a missing value on these variables. The NLSY79 child series on shots is from the Immunizations section of the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS).

Menarche

Starting with the first child survey year, mothers were asked about whether each daughter had started menstruation and, if so, the date and age of the first menses. From 1986 to 2000, these questions are assigned to the year-specific CHILD SUPPLEMENT area of interest. From 2002 to 2018 these questions are assigned to the year-specific MOTHER SUPPLEMENT area of interest.

Mental health

At each survey point through 2018, the mother was asked whether in the past 12 months her child has been referred for professional assistance with a behavioral, emotional, or mental problem or made any visits to a psychiatrist, psychologist, or counselor. She was also asked about use of medication to control the child's activity level or behavior. Comparable questions continue to be asked of the young adults, allowing researchers the opportunity to continue examining health issues into adulthood.

Child behavior problems. From 1986-2016, mothers reportws on behavior problems for each child age four and over. Summary scores for the Behavior Problems Index, developed by Peterson and Zill, are based on items were derived from the Achenbach Behavior Problems Checklist (Achenbach and Edelbrock 1981) and other child behavior scales (Graham and Rutter 1968; Kellam et al., 1975; Rutter, Tizard and Whitmore 1970). The Behavior Problems total score is based on responses from the mothers to 28 questions in the Mother Supplement (items 1-26, 31, and 32 in the Behavior Problems Index scale). These mother-report questions ask about specific behaviors that children age four and over may have exhibited in the previous three months, including anxiety, depression, antisocial behavior, headstrong behavior, hyperactivity, dependency, and peer conflict. Details on the items and their scales, as well as a full list of summary scores, can be found in the discussion of the Behavior Problems Index section.

Child depression: child-report. Starting with the 1992 NLSY79 Child survey and continuing through 2014, the following depression or child "moods" items were self-administered by children age 10-14:

	CHILD SELF-ADMIN: DEPRESSION - HOW OFTEN CHILD FEELS SAD AND BLUE
	CHILD SELF-ADMIN: DEPRESSION - HOW OFTEN CHILD FEELS NERVOUS, TENSE, OR ON EDGE
	CHILD SELF-ADMIN: DEPRESSION - HOW OFTEN CHILD FEELS HAPPY
	CHILD SELF-ADMIN: DEPRESSION - HOW OFTEN CHILD FEELS BORED
	CHILD SELF-ADMIN: DEPRESSION - HOW OFTEN CHILD FEELS LONELY
	CHILD SELF-ADMIN: DEPRESSION - HOW OFTEN CHILD FEELS TIRED OR WORN OUT
	CHILD SELF-ADMIN: DEPRESSION - HOW OFTEN CHILD FEELS EXCITED ABOUT SOMETHING
	CHILD SELF-ADMIN: DEPRESSION - HOW OFTEN CHILD FEELS TOO BUSY TO GET EVERYTHING DONE
	CHILD SELF-ADMIN: DEPRESSION - HOW OFTEN CHILD FEELS PRESSURED BY MOTHER OR FATHER

The 9-item scale came from the National Commission on Children (NCC) Survey of Parents and Children. The specific source for these questions can be found in the 1990 NCC Parent and Child Final Questionnaire and Codebook for Children, questions V432-V440. The moods items were in the Child Self-Administered Supplement (CSAS) stand-alone instrument through 2002 and were part of the self-administered section of the Child Supplement from 2004 to 2014. Beginning in 2016, these items have been asked of 12 and 13 year olds as part of the YA survey and can be found in the YA ATTITUDES area of interest.

Child depression: mother-report. The Behavior Problems Index, completed by mothers for children ages 4 and older, contains items that can be used to create an Anxious/Depressed subscale. These items, administered in the Mother Supplement, are listed below:

			Question Name
BPI Item Description	Subscale	Scale	1986-1998	2000	2000-2004	2006-2016
Has sudden changes in mood or feeling	Anxious/Depressed	Externalizing	*	MS2-01	BPI-01	MS-BPI-01
Feels/complains no one loves him/her	Anxious/Depressed	Internalizing	*	MS2-02	BPI-02	MS-BPI-02
Is too fearful or anxious	Anxious/Depressed	Externalizing/Internalizing	*	MS2-05	BPI-05	MS-BPI-05
Feels worthless or inferior	Anxious/Depressed	Internalizing	*	MS2-14	BPI-14	MS-BPI-14
Is unhappy, sad or depressed	Anxious/Depressed	Externalizing/Internalizing	*	MS2-20	BPI-20	MS-BPI-20
NOTE: Prior to 2000, question names were based on questionnaire location. For a detailed discussion of the BPI items, including tips on locating the items in the early survey rounds, see the Behavior Problems Index section.

Prenatal and infant care

Maternal prenatal care information and health-related characteristics are provided on the NLSY79 Child and Young Adult file. Various pieces of information derived from mother reports in the fertility section of the main NLSY79 youth questionnaire are linked to each individual biological child. The following information is available for most children in the file: prenatal doctor visits, maternal alcohol/cigarette/drug use during pregnancy, other prenatal behaviors (vitamin intake, salt intake, etc.); amniocentesis, ultrasound performed; was child born early or late; cesarean birth; mother's weight gain during pregnancy; child's birth length and birth weight; length of hospital stay; well-baby/sick baby health care in first year; breastfeeding history; other infant feeding practices. The child pre- and postnatal data are assigned to the PRE/POST NATAL area of interest in the data files.

Users who attempt in-depth analyses based on the pregnancy and postnatal information should review the Fertility Section of the main Youth questionnaire to ascertain when certain questions were asked about specific children of specific ages. For example, while birth weight was reported in 1983 for all children born as of that date, certain feeding questions were applicable only to a subset of children. Feeding questions about solid foods, which may have been inappropriate for an infant in 1983, were updated in 1984 or 1985, depending on the developmental stage of the child at each interview date. Also, unlike the series of child illness questions asked of the mother starting in the 1984, the 1983 interview schedule refers to illnesses experienced by the youngest child in the first year only if the child had been hospitalized (see Section 10, Q. 40A and B, pages 10-105 of the 1983 NLSY main youth questionnaire). Users interested in maternal and child health information related to pregnancy and birth in the NLSY79 should consult the report titled Maternal Child Health Data from the NLSY (PDF), by Mott and Quinlan (1991), available on the Research/Technical Reports page.

Smoking/Exposure to smoking

Questions on smoking were asked in each Child survey round from 1988 to 2014. Children 10 years of age and older were asked about age at first use and extent of cigarette use. Variables related to smoking for NLSY79 children can be found in the CHILD SELF-ADMINISTERED area of interest of the data files. See the Cigarette & Drug Use section of the topical guide for more details about child smoking items.

A more extensive set of questions is asked of NLSY79 children once they became NLSY79 young adults. Additionally, the NLSY79 main Youth (mothers of NLSY79 children) include detailed questions on the quantity and frequency of cigarette use.

NLSY79 mothers have been asked, in several survey years, about their own smoking habits as well as those of other household members. This information, in light of the fact that interviewed children are largely resident in their mothers' households, offer opportunities to link the child data with maternal and household smoking information. Cigarette use data for NLSY79 respondents are available as follows:

• Data were collected, during the 1984 main Youth survey on
  • age at first use
  • most recent use
  • number of cigarettes smoked in the past 30 days. 
• The 1992, 1994, 1998, and 2010-2014 NLSY79 main Youth surveys gathered information from those respondents on:
  • whether they had smoked at least 100 cigarettes in their life
  • the age that they started smoking daily
  • the number of months/years since they had last smoked daily 
• The 1983-1986, 1988, 1990, 1992, and 1994-2014 surveys gathered, for female NLSY79 respondents, information on whether they had smoked in the twelve months before pregnancy and, if so, on the number of cigarettes smoked during pregnancy (2000-present).

For a detailed description of these items, consult the NLSY79 main Youth users guide topical section on Cigarette Use.

An additional source of information about secondhand smoke can be found in the Young Adult surveys. Starting in 2004, the Young Adult survey contains two items that asks about exposure to secondhand smoke, including (1) a question about anyone smoking in the home in the previous two weeks and (2) whether the YA respondent had spent time routinely in a place that smelled of cigarette smoke:

Question Name	Title	Area of Interest
Q14A-4	HAS ANYONE SMOKED CIGARETTES OR TOBACCO PRODUCTS IN HOME IN PAST 2 WEEKS?	YA HEALTH
Q14A-5	HAS R ROUTINELY SPENT TIME IN PLACE WHERE SMELLED CIGARETTE SMOKE IN PAST TWO WEEKS?	YA HEALTH

Used in combination with RESTYPE (for linkage to the mother's household), the first item about tobacco in the home can be connected to the child data, for interviewed YAs living in the mother's household (RESTYPEyy=19 or 20), to obtain additional information about smoking in the child's household. The constructed RESTYPE variables are assigned to the YA COMMON KEY VARIABLES area of interest:

	RESTYPEyy	TYPE OF RESIDENCE R LIVES IN -- CONSTRUCTED	1994-1998
	RESTYPEyyyy	TYPE OF RESIDENCE R LIVES IN -- CONSTRUCTED	2000-present

Substance use

From 1988-2014, the child survey included questions for children ages 10 to 14 about consumption of alcohol, cigarettes, marijuana, and other drugs. See the Alcohol Use and Cigarette & Drug Use sections of the Topical Guide for more details about these questions. Substance use questions can be found in the CHILD-SELF ADMINISTERED and year-specific CHILD SUPPLEMENT areas of interest.

Survey Instruments	Health-related questions are found in Mother Supplement. Prenatal and infant care items are found in the Fertility section of the main Youth questionnaire. Asthma questions asked of the child are included in the Child Supplement. Substance use questions are asked in the Child Self-Administered Supplement. BPI, MSD, and Temperament items are asked in the Mother Supplement.
Areas of Interest	Assessment (BPI, MSD, Temperament scores) Child Health Mother Supplement Child Supplement Pre/Post Natal Care Child Self-Administered Supplement

Young Adult

The health questions in the Young Adult cover many topics, including the following:

• General health (Height/weight, limitations, accidents/injuries, illnesses, medical care, insurance coverage)
• Depression
• Nutrition & exercise
• Asthma
• Trauma/Catastrophic events
• Menarche
• Perimenopause/Menopause
• Cognition, aging, and head injury

In some areas, questions closely parallel the health history that has been obtained for all children of NLSY79 mothers. It is therefore easy to link these Young Adult health variables with the health care information collected during the respondent's childhood years.

General health (Height/weight, limitations, accidents/injuries, illnesses, medical care, insurance coverage)

The Young Adult health section gathers information on height and body weight, types of limitations, number of accidents and injuries in the last 12 months, hospitalizations ;resulting from these accidents/injuries, and insurance coverage. From 1994 through 1998, detailed questions were asked about accidents and injuries in the last 12 months requiring medical attention, whether or not they resulted in hospitalization. From 2000-2016, Young Adults were asked detailed questions only about accidents and injuries resulting in hospitalization in the past 12 months.

Young Adult respondents who do not live with their mother are asked additional questions about illnesses and routine medical care. For younger Young Adults who do live with their mother, comparable questions are asked of the mother in the fertility section of the main Youth CAPI questionnaire.

Questions to assess the impact of the Coronavirus pandemic were added to the health section of the YA2020 questionnaire. These questions asked about the respondent’s experiences, as well as whether family members, relatives, and friends had contracted Covid-19 and whether anyone close to the R had died of Covid-19.

Depression

Young Adults have answered the CES-D depression scale in multiple survey rounds. A 7-item version of this scale was used in 1994-2008; an 11-item version was introduced in 2010. In most rounds all Young Adults answered the CES-D questions, but the 2000 and 2002 administrations were limited to those not interviewed in the previous survey round. In 2012, respondents between the ages of 25 and 29 were not asked the CES-D questions. In 2014, respondents between the ages of 14 and 24, along with those in the extended health module, were asked the CES-D. In the CES-D, respondents are asked to indicate how often in the past week they felt particular ways. The initial seven items included in the Young Adult are:

• I did not feel like eating; my appetite was poor.
• I had trouble keeping my mind on what I was doing.
• I felt depressed.
• I felt that everything I did was an effort.
• My sleep was restless.
• I felt sad.
• I could not get "going."

The items added in 2010 are:

• I felt I could not shake off the blues, even with help from my family or friends.
• I was happy.
• I felt lonely.
• I felt life was not worth living.

Further discussion of the 7-item CES-D scale can be found in the Attitudes section.

Nutrition & exercise

Two new series were added to the health section in 2004. One series asks questions about health-related behaviors such as fruit and vegetable consumption, hours of sleep per night, and level of exercise. In 2008, the two questions related to exercise and time spent using computers from the health section were replaced with a more detailed sequence of three exercise questions and two questions about time spent using computers. In 2010, several additional questions about healthy behaviors and routine check-ups were added. The two questions concerning time spent on computers for work and for leisure were dropped after the 2016 survey.

Asthma

The other series added in 2004 was a set of detailed questions designed to track the onset of asthma and the persistence and severity of related symptoms. From 2006, asthma questions refer to updates since the date of last interview once a respondent has answered the initial series of questions. This series includes two questions about whether anyone has smoked cigarettes in the respondent's home in the last two weeks and whether the respondent has routinely spent time somewhere in the last two weeks where they can smell cigarette smoke. As part of the 2018 design process, many of the detailed questions about asthma symptoms and medications were dropped. Young Adults are asked about their own cigarette smoking in the Self-Report section, discussed in the Cigarette & Drug Use section.

Trauma/Catastrophic events

In 2006, a series of questions concerning catastrophic events that might adversely affect the health and wellbeing of respondents, such as death or imprisonment of a close relative, was added to the Health section. These questions are a modified version of the catastrophic events series used in the NLSY97 questionnaire. Initially all respondents were asked about such events since they were 10 years old. Beginning in 2008, respondents who have previously answered this series are asked only about events since the date of last interview.

Menarche

Female Young Adult respondents who have not yet reported menarche (the onset of menses) are asked whether menses has started and, if so, when.

Perimenopause/Menopause

The YA 2020 health section included a series of questions for female Young Adult respondents about their menstrual cycles, including any changes they have experienced and about symptoms of either perimenopause or menopause.

Cognition, aging, and head injury

Beginning in 2010, a health and cognition module for respondents aged 29 and older was added. This module was modeled after the age 29 module from the NLSY97 with some adjustments and additions to also maintain comparability to the health modules in the NLSY79. For 2010 and 2012, this module was asked of all respondents aged 29 and older in order to get baseline information for all Young Adults. Thereafter, it has been asked of respondents who are 29/30, or who are over that age but have not yet completed the module. In 2012, a series of questions about head injuries was added to the health module. Beginning in 2014, this expanded module has also been asked of respondents aged 41/42 with additional questions added for this age group.

Comparison to Other NLS Cohorts: The NLSY79 survey collects health information on the respondents, including expanded health modules as they age. Maternal prenatal care information and health-related characteristics collected from the NLSY79 mothers about each of their children are provided on the NLSY79 Child and Young Adult data set. As part of the child data collection, the Mother Supplement (MS) survey instrument includes a selection of scales measuring the child's temperament, motor and social development, and behavior problems. Information on the child's health is also collected from the mother in the Child Supplement (CS) survey instrument. 

Respondents in the other cohorts have answered questions about their health; however, the specific questions have varied widely as the health sections were modified to reflect the respondents' varying life cycle stages. Health insurance information has been collected from respondents in these cohorts except the Young Men. The round 1 NLSY97 interview included a series of questions, addressed to youths born in 1983, on respondents' health practices and knowledge. For more precise details about the content of each survey, consult the appropriate cohort's User's Guide using the tabs above for more information.

Survey Instruments	Health-related questions are found in the Young Adult Instrument, Section 14, Young Adult Health.
Areas of Interest	YA Health

• Child
• Young Adult

Child

Friends and dating. From 1988 to 2014, children aged 10 and older were asked about their friendships, whether they felt lonely, and how much pressure they felt from friends to engage in anti-social behavior. These questions can be found in the CHILD SELF-ADMINISTERED SUPPLEMENT area of interest.

Questions about dating behaviors were also asked of children ages 10 and older as part of the Child Self-Administered Supplement from 1988 to 2014, and the format of each question and information on which years each question was asked is provided in Table 1 below. They were also asked whether there were any rules in the family about dating. If there were rules, they indicated how much say they had in making such rules and whether they argued with their parents about dating or parties. With the exception of variations in response choices, these questions on family rules about dating were taken from the National Survey of Children, Wave 2 (Spring 1981), Section C: Child Questionnaire, items 58-61. Q.5 (how much say child has in the previous rules i.e. how much child gets to help decide), and Q.6 (how often child and parents argue about the rules).

Children completing the Child Self-Administered Supplement were asked to express the degree to which they agreed with the following two statements: "It is perfectly okay for a girl to ask a boy for a date, even if he has never asked her" and "A girl should pay her own way on dates."

Table 1. NLSY79 Child Survey dating questions by survey year

Question	1988	1990	1992	1994	1996	1998	2000	2002	2004	2006-2014
Have you had your first date or have you started going out alone with someone?a	For 1988-2000, see note below							*	*	*
At what age did you have your first date?	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
About how often do you usually go out on a date?	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Are you going out with one particular person, or are you dating more than one person?	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
How many different people have you gone out with in the past twelve months?										*
In your home, are there any rules about dating?	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
How much say to you have in making the rules about dating?	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
How often do you argue with your parent(s) about dating?	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
A girl should pay her own way on dates.				*	*	*	*	*	*	*
It is perfectly okay for a girl to ask a boy for a date, even if he has never asked her.				*	*	*	*	*	*	*
a In 1988-2000, the question "At what age did you have your first date?" included a response option that allowed the child to indicate that he or she hadn't started to date yet.  In 1988,  a response of "0" was entered for the age at first date question if the child indicated that he or she had not started to date yet. In 1990-2000, a response of "95" to the age at first date question indicated that the child had not started to date yet.

Survey Instruments	Questions on dating are found in the Child Self-Administered Supplement.
Areas of Interest	Child Self-Administered Supplement Child Supplement (2006-present)

Young Adult

Questions about dating have been included in all Young Adult survey rounds, although the structure and amount of information collected has varied. All Young Adult surveys have included questions about whether the respondent has ever dated and, if so, at what age they first began dating. 

From 1994 through 1998, Young Adults were also asked for the month and year they first dated. Those respondents who were neither married nor cohabiting were asked if they had a steady boy/girlfriend. If they did, they were asked follow-up questions about plans to get married to that person and the likelihood of cohabitation with that person. Those without a steady boy/girl friend were asked about whether they thought they would ever marry as well as the likelihood they might cohabit with someone in the future. Any respondent who indicated either specific or general marriage plans was also asked the age at which that might occur. Everyone who was neither married nor cohabiting was also asked two additional questions about the number and frequency of dates in the previous 12 months.

Beginning in 2000, the dating questions were changed significantly. For example, questions to ascertain the month and year of the first date were dropped. Since 2000, new Young Adults under age 21 have been asked how many close friends they have who are girls and who are boys. These two questions had also been asked of these respondents as children in the Child Self-Administered Supplement.

Since 2000, Young Adults who do not have a current spouse/partner but who have indicated that they have started dating are asked a series of questions about current dating behavior. Initially they are asked the number of people they have dated in the last 12 months and, if the number is one or more, how often they go out on dates. They are then asked whether they are currently dating only one person, more than one person, or no one. Those dating only one person are asked how long they have been dating that person. They are also asked how happy they are with that person and how frequently they argue about:

• showing affection toward each other
• how much time they spend together
• dating other people
• friends

Additionally, all Young Adults without a current spouse/partner are asked what their ideal romantic relationship would be right now and also in 10 years' time. Since 2008, four questions have been asked about future relationships. Respondents are asked both whether they will ever/ever again cohabit and whether they will ever/ever again get married. If respondents answer yes to either question, they are asked how likely that event will occur in the next two years.

Since 2004, a series of questions have also been asked of respondents who do not report a partner on the household record but indicate that the most recent time they had sexual intercourse was within the last month and their relationship to their sexual partner is either engaged, living together, or going steady. These Young Adults are asked whether they spend the night at one or the other's place and, if so, how many nights a week they spend the entire night together. They are also asked if they share any household expenses such as rent, groceries or utilities. These questions can be found in the self-report section.

Comparison to Other NLS Surveys: The NLSY79 survey provides data on respondents' experiences with dating and sexual activity in some survey rounds. The Child Self-Administered Supplement includes a variety of dating questions, as discussed above. The NLSY97 provides data on respondents' experiences with dating and sexual activity in all survey rounds. For more complete information, refer to the appropriate cohort's User's Guide.

Survey Instruments	Questions on dating are found in the Young Adult Instrument, Section 3, Dating and Relationship History.
Areas of Interest	YA Dating and Marriage

• Child
• Young Adult

Child

Age of mother

The child file contains two key variables that indicate the age of the mother: (1) AGEMOMyyyy is the mother's age at each interview date, and (2) MAGEBIR indicates the mother's age at the birth of the child. The creation procedure for the age of mother variables is based on the mother's date of birth as provided in 1979. Table 2 in the Sample Design section of the User's Guide shows the distribution of the year of birth of the child by the age of their mother when she gave birth. The variables that indicate the age of the mother at each interview date (AGEMOMyyyy) are assigned to the FAMILY BACKGROUND area of interest while the "Age of Mother at Birth of Child" variable (MAGEBIR) is found in CHILD BACKGROUND as it is specific to each child. (A series of cross-sectional and cross-round (XRND)  variables have also been constructed that indicate the age of the mother at the birth of her first child. These mother-based constructed variables can be found in the NLSY79 main Youth file by searching on "AGE1B" in the FERTILITY AND RELATIONSHIP HISTORY area of interest.)

Mother's sample ID & sampling weight

Two key variables from the mother's main Youth record appear in the FAMILY BACKGROUND area of interest: (1) the mother's original sample identification category which provides information on whether she was in one of the cross-sectional samples or special oversamples, and (2) her 1979 sampling weight. These two mother variables are taken directly from the main Youth file, and included as child-based variables for all children and young adults in the Child and Young Adult datafiles. In the main Youth, individual case weights are assigned for each year so that group population estimates can be produced when desired. The assignment of individual respondent weights involves various types of adjustment, and additional considerations are necessary when weighting the NLSY79 Child data. For information on the construction and use of the NLSY79 sampling weights, consult Sample Weights & Clustering Adjustments in the NLSY79 User's Guide. Details on the nature of the original NLSY79 sample identification code for the main Youth respondents can also be found in the NLSY79 User's Guide (question S24Q01, R01736.).

Family education and competence

The Child/Young Adult database contains a series of child-based constructed variables that describe the educational background of the child's mother. One set, ATTSCHyyyy and HGCDOIyyyy, indicates enrollment status and highest grade completed at each of the mother's interview dates. These two variables are based directly on key constructed variables from the main Youth, with no additional attempt to reconcile inconsistencies between survey years. Alternatively, users may wish to consider using HGCREVyyyy, "Highest Grade Completed by Mother as of May 1 Survey Year (Revised)." HGCREVyyyy is a child-based version of the mothers' main Youth key variable HGCREVyy, which is created to maintain consistency and prevent regression in years of schooling when respondents return to school in a new field of study.

Maternal enrollment status and highest grade completed by the mother are constructed for each main Youth survey round and assigned to the FAMILY BACKGROUND area of interest. Variables that summarize the education of the mother's spouse or partner as well as the other adult members of the household are discussed below with the MATERNAL HOUSEHOLD COMPOSITION variables.

Father presence in HH

A series of constructed variables is provided to users that indicate if the child's father is present in the household (DADHMyyyy), and if not, whether he is still living (DADLIVEyyyy) and the distance he lives from the child (DADDISyyyy). The father presence variables are assigned to the CHILD BACKGROUND area of interest. Details on these "DAD" variables can be found elsewhere in this users guide in the section on Parenting Behavior and Attitudes under "Father presence and contact."

Home environment

As part of the child interview, mothers are asked detailed, age-appropriate questions about the child's home environment. Interviewers also complete a series of "Interviewer Observations" designed to give an overview of the child's physical environment and the interaction between mother and child. These items, as well as summary scores, based on the HOME-Short Form instrument developed by Bradley and Caldwell, can be found in the discussion of the HOME scales in the Child Assessments section of the topical guide.

Maternal household composition

Since the children who are eligible for interview in the survey are living at least part-time with their mothers, the mother's main Youth household record is used to describe the cross-sectional composition of the child's household. Child-based, cross-sectional variables are constructed from each round of the mother's survey data to describe the people living in the child's mother's household in each survey round.  Variables include the total number of (1) household members, (2) family members, (3) children, (4) adults, and (5) for 1979-1992, the number of family units present in the household at the date of the mother's main Youth interview. The family unit is defined as individuals listed on the household roster who are related by blood, marriage, or adoption who share the same household. There are also indicators of whether a spouse, partner, mother, or father of the child's mother is present as well as the number of household members of various age ranges. These household and family variables are created from the household enumeration roster, which is updated at each main Youth interview.  Maternal household composition information is provided for all survey dates and hence some variables describe the composition of the mother's household prior to the birth of a particular child. Variables referring to whether a spouse or partner is present in the household are based strictly on the main Youth household record rather than  on information obtained in the marital section of the main Youth questionnaire. Variables that indicate the number of children of the mother are based on a count of biological, adopted and stepchildren in the household, and are not limited to children born to the mother.  The child-based, maternal household constructed variables are assigned to the area of interest called MATERNAL HOUSEHOLD COMPOSITION in the Child data file. (See the Household Composition topical guide section for a complete list of created variables that are based on the mother's record but available in the Child file, that describe the cross-sectional composition of the child's household.)

Religion

Starting with the 1988 Child survey, children ages 10 and older are asked their religious affiliation and how often they attend religious services. They are also asked if they usually attend with their parents, if they would attend without their parents, whether many of their friends attend services, and the extent to which their friends attend the same services. In 1998 the format for the affiliation question was changed to a code-all (or mark-all) format that allowed multiple choices. The "other" verbatim responses are recoded into existing categories wherever possible and other categories added to capture responses that did not match the choices offered.

Siblings and aunts

Some respondents in the original NLSY79 main sample were related either by marriage or family. A series of identification codes is included in the child's file that identifies the child siblings and the interviewed spouse and sisters of each child's mother if they were part of the original NLSY79 sample selected in 1979. The sibling identification codes (CSIBID01-10), the mother's spouse ID (SPOUSEID) and the mother's sisters IDs (SISTID1-SISTID4) are assigned to the CHILD BACKGROUND area of interest.

Young Adult

The family background section gathers information about family characteristics and transitions and includes a variety of types of questions depending on each respondent's situation. 

The family background series begins with a migration sequence. Prior to 2000 this sequence asked respondents whether they had lived all their lives in their current city of residence and, if not, when they moved there. In 2000 this sequence was expanded to include up to two moves since the date of last interview as well as a summary measure of number of moves for people indicating more than two moves. Also added in 2000 were questions aimed at Young Adults ages 21 and older to identify whether or not there was movement into or out of the mother's household, as well as a question concerning homelessness. Beginning in 2002, these questions were asked of all Young Adult respondents regardless of age.

Young Adults under age 21 are asked about their father's work and education. All Young Adults not living with either or both of their parents are asked the amount and type of contact they have with their parent(s).

First-time Young Adults are asked to verify their date of birth, self-identify their race and ethnic background, and give their father's race. 

All Young Adults have been asked about religious affiliation and attendance, as well as the importance of religion to them, since 1994. Beginning in 2002, additional questions were also asked of Young Adults ages 18 and under about whether they attended religious services with parents and/or friends; these questions parallel questions asked when they were children. Since 2008, those Young Adults who self identify as Christians are then asked if they consider themselves born-again/evangelical.

Since 2006, the family background section has also included a series of questions about the biological relatedness of the Young Adult to the other biological children of the mother; this series remains for young adult respondents who have either never gone through it or who have a new sibling.

Comparison to Other NLS Surveys	Due to its design, the entire NLSY79 main survey provides family background information for the Children of the NLSY79. In addition to the rich longitudinal data collected from the mothers, data are available on the NLSY79 respondents' parents and siblings as well as on the respondents' early characteristics. Data provided by the respondent about his or her parents are available for all other cohorts. Cohort respondents have provided information about the country of birth and life status of their parents, as well as the educational attainment and occupation of their parents during their teenage years. NLSY97 respondents and the Mature and Young Women also provided information about their parents' health and income and about transfers of time and money to and from their parents. The NLSY97 survey identifies siblings on the household roster giving age and relationship to the respondent. Parent information was collected from the responding parent in the round 1 Parent Questionnaire and included questions concerning parental background, attitudes, employment, health, income, and marital status. In 1976, 1977, and 1978 respectively, a full collection of information about siblings was included in the surveys of Young Men, Mature Women, and Young Women of the Original Cohorts. Geographic data for NLSY79 respondents fall into two categories: information on the main public file and more detailed information released as restricted-access Geocode data.
Survey Instruments	Family background questions are found in the Young Adult Instrument, Key Variables, and Section 2, Family Background.
Areas of Interest	YA Family Background

• Child
• Young Adult

Child

Since the NLSY79 children eligible for interview in the survey are living at least part-time with their mothers, the mother's main Youth household record is used to describe the cross-sectional composition of the child's household. Constructed cross-sectional variables, found in the MATERNAL HOUSEHOLD COMPOSITION area of interest, describe the people living in the child's mother's household in each survey round.

Variables in the maternal household series include: number of family members, family units, children and adults present at date of interview. In the Created Variables section above is a list of the 30 variables constructed for each survey round. In each survey year, the same variable or question names are used, appended with the interviewer year.

The family unit includes members related by blood, marriage, or adoption who share the same household. The household unit additionally includes others living in the same residence as the respondent. There are also indicators of whether a spouse, partner, mother, or father of the child's mother is present as well as the number of household members present in various age ranges.

These household and family variables are created from the yearly household enumeration roster in the mother's main Youth record. As this information is provided for all survey dates, some variables describe the composition of the mother's household prior to the birth of a particular child.

Variables referring to whether a spouse or partner is present in the household are based strictly on the main Youth household record, not on the marital section of the main Youth questionnaire.

The variables describing the number of children of the mother are based on a count of biological, adopted and stepchildren in the total. They are not limited to children born to the mother.

Survey Instruments	Questions about maternal household composition are asked as part of the mother's main Youth interview.
Areas of Interest	Maternal Household Composition

Young Adult

The Young Adult household interview closely parallels the household interview for the Main Youth, although prior to 2010 no pre-existing information was incorporated into the instrument for Young Adults. Each Young Adult goes through the household composition questions even if they live in their mother's household. The questionnaire first establishes the type of residence that best describes the Young Adult's current usual living arrangement as this information is critical to be able to appropriately branch Young Adults throughout the survey. The survey asks about biological parental presence. If the Young Adult resides with neither biological parent, the survey then asks for usual living arrangements. Questions are then asked about the identification, gender (if necessary), age, and relationship to the Young Adult of each person usually living in the household. Prior to 2000, questions concerning the highest grade completed and work of household members were also asked, but these were eliminated in 2000. 

The public release version of the questionnaire allows users to see the way in which these data were collected from each respondent. However, the data that are made available to the user come from a final household roster which is thoroughly cleaned prior to release to ensure that users have access to the most accurate household data on each Young Adult.

Comparison to Other NLS Surveys	The NLSY79 has collected detailed household composition data in all survey rounds, including the age, gender, age, highest grade completed, and workforce status of all household members. All children born to NLSY79 mothers are included in the NLSY79 Child data set. Summary variables based on the mother's household composition are made available in that data set for each survey rounds. Information on the respondent's household is available for all other cohorts for most survey years. Data generally include the age, sex, relationship to the respondent, and educational attainment of all occupants; the enrollment status of those of school age; and the occupation and weeks worked of residents age 14 and older. In the pre-1980 surveys of the Original Cohorts, data were generally collected only for family members living in the respondent's household and not for unrelated household members. For more precise details about the content of each survey, consult the appropriate cohort's User's Guide using the tabs above for more information.
Survey Instruments	Questions on household composition are found in the Young Adult Instrument, Section 1, Household Interview.
Areas of Interest	YA Household Record

• Child
• Young Adult

Child

Work for Pay

Beginning with the 1988 survey, children age 10-14 were asked if they do any work for pay, not counting jobs around the house. The question posed is phrased as follows:

"Not counting jobs around the house, do you ever do any work for pay (including babysitting, paper route, or yard work for neighbors)?"

Children indicated (1) whether they work for pay outside the house, (2) how often they usually work, (3) how many hours they worked per week in the last three months, and (4) the amount they usually earn in a week. Starting in 1994, they were asked to describe their work duties, choosing from a list of the following seven categories:

1. Babysitting
2. Cleaning house; housework
3. Yard work; mow lawns
4. Fast food worker
5. Waiting tables
6. Clerk, bag person, cashier
7. Salesperson

In 1998, the clerk and salesperson categories were combined and two more categories added:

• Newspaper carrier or paper delivery
• Pet care, plant care, or house care for neighbors who are away

In 2000, the list of duties was expanded to include 11 categories. Children could choose as many that applied from the following:

1. Babysitting  
2. Cleaning house; housework  
3. Yard work; mow lawns  
4. Fast food worker  
5. Waiting tables
6. Clerk, bag person, cashier, sales person  
7. Newspaper carrier or paper delivery  
8. Plant care, pet care, or house care for neighbors who are away  
9. Farm work, field work, agricultural  
10. Construction, painting, carpentry, wiring  
11. Office work, typing, filing, answer phones

These work for pay questions appeared initially in the Child Self-Administered Supplement, for self-report by the child, until 2002 when they were moved into the Child Supplement for administration by the interviewer. Table 1 lists the lead question for the Work for Pay series in each survey year.

Table 1. Lead question for work for pay series by survey year

Year	Question Name	Question Title
1988	CS884173	CHILD SELF-ADMINISTERED: DO YOU SOMETIMES WORK FOR PAY
1990	CS906561	CHILD SELF-ADMINISTERED: DO YOU SOMETIMES WORK FOR PAY
1992	CS926747	CHILD SELF-ADMIN: DOES CHILD SOMETIMES WORK FOR PAY SUCH AS BABYSITTING
1994	CS942459	CHILD SELF-ADMIN: DOES CHILD SOMETIMES WORK FOR PAY SUCH AS BABYSITTING
1996	CS960747	CHILD SELF-ADMIN: DOES CHILD SOMETIMES WORK FOR PAY SUCH AS BABYSITTING
1998	CS98035	CHILD SELF-ADMIN: DOES CHILD SOMETIMES WORK FOR PAY SUCH AS BABYSITTING
2000	CSAS035	CHILD SELF-ADMIN: DOES CHILD SOMETIMES WORK FOR PAY SUCH AS BABYSITTING
2002-2014	CS-WORKFORPAY	DOES CHILD DO ANY WORK FOR PAY SUCH AS BABYSITTING, YARD WORK

Work after School

Children in the 10-14 age range also reported whether they worked after school. From 1988-2004, questions about work for pay after school were included in the Child Self-Administered supplement, for self-report by the child. From 2006-2014, these items were moved to the regular schooling section of the Child Supplement for administration by the interviewer. Table 2 lists the question name and title for the question about work for pay after school by survey year.

Table 2. Question name and title for question about work after school by survey year

Year	Question Name	Question Title
1988	CS884155	CHILD SELF-ADMINISTERED: WORK FOR PAY AFTER SCHOOL
1990	CS906519	CHILD SELF-ADMINISTERED: WORK FOR PAY AFTER SCHOOL
1992	CS926635	CHILD SELF-ADMIN: CHILD WORKS FOR PAY AFTER SCHOOL
1994	CS942317	CHILD SELF-ADMIN: CHILD WORKS FOR PAY AFTER SCHOOL
1996	CS960637	CHILD SELF-ADMIN: CHILD WORKS FOR PAY AFTER SCHOOL
1998	CS98025D	CHILD SELF-ADMIN: CHILD WORKS FOR PAY AFTER SCHOOL
2000-2004	CSAS025D	CHILD SELF-ADMIN: CHILD WORKS FOR PAY AFTER SCHOOL
2006-2014	SCHL-36D	SCHOOL: CHILD WORKS FOR PAY AFTER SCHOOL

Work in the Summer

Starting in 1992, children age 10-14 are also asked about work during the summer:

"Think about how you spend your time on a usual day during the summer. During the summer... ...how often do you work for pay?"

From 1992-2000, questions about usual summer activities were included in the Child Self-Administered Supplement, for self-report by the child. From 2006 to 2014, these items were moved to the regular schooling section of the Child Supplement for administration by the interviewer.

Table 3. Question name and title for summer work question by survey year

YearQuestion NameQuestion Title1992CS926723CHILD SELF-ADMIN: ON USUAL SUMMER DAY CHILD WORKS FOR PAY1994CS942435CHILD SELF-ADMIN: ON USUAL SUMMER DAY CHILD WORKS FOR PAY1996CS960733CHILD SELF-ADMIN: ON USUAL SUMMER DAY CHILD WORKS FOR PAY1998CS98031DCHILD SELF-ADMIN: ON USUAL SUMMER DAY CHILD WORKS FOR PAY2000CSAS031DCHILD SELF-ADMIN: ON USUAL SUMMER DAY CHILD WORKS FOR PAY2002CSAS031DCHILD SELF-ADMIN: ON USUAL SUMMER DAY CHILD WORKS FOR PAY2004CSAS031DCHILD SELF-ADMIN: ON USUAL SUMMER DAY CHILD WORKS FOR PAY2006-2014SCHL-40DSCHOOL: ON USUAL SUMMER DAY CHILD WORKS FOR PAY

Survey Instruments	Work-related questions are found in the Child Self-Administered Supplement and in the Schooling and Asthma, Work, and Religion sections of the Child Supplement.
Areas of Interest	Child Self-Administered Supplement Child Supplement

Young Adult

Prior to 2000, employment questions asked of Young Adults were in two distinct sections: On Jobs and Employer Supplements. These two sections were very similar to the corresponding sections in the NLS79 survey, but with key differences. For example, the Young Adult On Jobs section did not bring forward employers from past rounds, and the reference date for each survey round was set at January 1 of the year prior to the year of fielding with the reference date for the 1994 fielding being set to January 1, 1993. Additionally, Young Adults were not asked about severance pay, pensions, and job search methods in the Employer Supplements section as their mothers were. They were, however, asked a short series of additional questions in the first employer supplement to assess certain aspects of their primary job. These questions were developed from similar questions asked of their mothers in the original 1979 survey. 

For the 2000 survey, the jobs and employer supplements sections of the Young Adult questionnaire were extensively redesigned and integrated into one looped section. This enabled all questions concerning a particular employer to be asked before any information about another employer was gathered. Interviewers were instructed to begin with the current or most recent job held by the respondent and to proceed backwards in time. If multiple jobs were currently or most recently held, the interviewer was instructed to probe for the job with the greatest number of hours worked per week to determine which job they should enter first. This looped structure has been maintained in subsequent surveys.

Under this changed interview structure, information is collected on all jobs held since the date of the last interview. The greatest detail is asked of the current or most recent primary job, with a smaller set of questions for all preceding jobs. For jobs lasting less than 10 weeks or jobs where the respondent worked less than ten hours a week, respondents are asked only for employer name, start and stop dates, and hours worked. Beginning in 2000, the number of questions asked about jobs, even about the current or most recent job, was greatly curtailed in order to administer this section over the telephone and ease respondent burden. However, the streamlined questions still allow users to develop a clear employment history with critical job characteristics such as industry, occupation and wages. 

Beginning in 2002, added questions have made it easier to report the kinds of jobs some teenagers have, such as baby-sitting or lawn-mowing. At the beginning of the section, Young Adults under age 19 are asked clarifying questions to determine whether they have worked only these kinds of jobs, only more regular jobs, both kinds, or neither. They are then routed to appropriate questions according to their answers.

In 2004, the basic question identifying the usual shift the respondent worked was reintroduced. In 2008, a series of questions about supervisory responsibilities was added. Since 2010, the names and occupational descriptions for current employers at the most recent interview (limited to those from 2008 onward) are carried forward, and YAs are asked a series of follow-up questions on these jobs.

In 2020, the questionnaire included specific questions about the effect of the Coronavirus pandemic on each job held in March 2020 or more recently. 

Since 1994 the Young Adult survey has included a short series of questions designed to collect a small amount of employment information from respondents who are not on active duty in the military and who do not report working at any jobs since their employment reference date. For respondents who are not initially skipped out of this series, the survey ascertains whether they have ever had a job for pay lasting two or more weeks. If so, basic details about this job such as tenure, industry, occupation and wages are asked. These data can be found in the YA Last Job Area of Interest.

Another question series identifies the first job a respondent had after leaving high school if this job is not identifiable from other survey questions. Only first-time Young Adult respondents who have left school prior to the date of last interview (usually defined as the mother's date of last interview) are branched into this series. A respondent had to have held a job for at least 2 months and worked at least 20 hours a week in order to be eligible for detailed questions in this series. A limited number of questions pertaining to job characteristics are asked including: start date, stop date, kind of business or industry, kind of work the respondent did, hours per week, and usual earnings. These data can be found in the YA First Job After High School Area of Interest.

Prior to the NLSY79 Child & Young Adult 1986-2020 public release, job history rosters were created for all Young Adult survey rounds, with unique IDs assigned to each job that allows users to track jobs held by YA respondents over time. More detail is available under Work Experience.

Comparison to Other NLS Surveys:  Information on employment histories and job characteristics has been collected for each cohort. For more information, refer to the appropriate cohort's User's Guide.

Survey Instruments

Employment-related questions are found in the Young Adult Instrument, Section 7, Jobs & Employers Supplements. Some are also found in Section 9, Last Job Lasting Two Weeks or More, and Section 10, First Significant Job after Leaving School.

Areas of Interest

YA Job Information, YA Jobs, YA Job History, YA First Job After High School, YA Last Job, YA Last Significant Job. Note: For the 1994 through 1998 surveys, data from Section 7 are found in YA Jobs, while data from the Employer Supplements are found in the YA Job Information. Since 2000, all data from the integrated looped section are found in YA Job Information, allowing users to follow the question flow from the CAPI questionnaire. A YA Job History roster has been created for each YA round.

All Young Adult Survey rounds have included a variety of questions about income. The income questions generally reference the calendar year previous to the survey year. For example, in 2002, the reference year in the income questions was 2001.

All respondents are asked about their own income in the previous calendar year from these sources:

• Wages, salary, commission or tips from all jobs
• Service in the Military
• Their own farm
• Their own business or practice

From 1994 to 1998, income from service in the military was asked separately from wages, salary, tips and commission. Since 2000, these two questions have been combined into a single question. Respondents with a spouse/partner are asked a comparable set of questions about the spouse/partner's income from those same sources. 

All survey years have included questions about whether the respondent and/or (if applicable) their spouse/partner received unemployment compensation. From 1994 to 1998, beginning and ending dates were collected for unemployment compensation spells as was the amount per week received in each spell. Since 2000, the amount of detail collected has been reduced, and respondents have provided information for themselves and/or their spouse/partner concerning:

• Receipt of any unemployment compensation
• The number of months  unemployment compensation was received
• The amount of unemployment compensation received in the last month they were on unemployment

Any respondent who has biological and/or nonbiological children living in their household are asked the following questions about child support:

• Whether either the respondent or the spouse/partner are entitled to child support
• If there is a spouse/partner, whether the respondent, the spouse/partner, or both are entitled to receive child support
• The amount the respondent is entitled to receive
• How this amount was agreed to (through 2016)
• If any state guidelines were used (through 2016)
• If so, which state (available only in the Geocode data) (through 2016)
• The number of the respondent's children who are entitled to child support (through 2016)
• The total amount the respondent was supposed to receive
• The total amount the respondent actually received
• The number of the spouse/partner's children who are entitled to child support (through 2016)
• The total amount the spouse/partner was supposed to receive
• The total amount the spouse/partner actually received

Young Adults have been asked questions about public assistance income sources in all survey rounds. In 2020, respondents were asked about any stimulus payments related to the Covid pandemic received by the respondent or their spouse/partner.

From 2000 to 2014, Young Adults who are living with at least one other adult family member other than a spouse/partner have been asked to provide their best estimate of their family's total income from all sources. 

Nonemancipated Young Adults

Prior to 2000, all young adults went through the income section with marital status being the primary determinant of flow through the section. In 2000, a decision was made to reduce the number of questions asked of non-emancipated Young Adults (Young Adults who are under age 18, live with at least one parent, have no spouse/partner, and have no children). The only income questions they are asked concern their own income. From 2000 to 2014, they were also asked their family's total income. They are also asked about their sense of Financial Strain and about ownership and debt related to motorized vehicles. Since 2008, they have also been asked whether they have any credit cards that they pay the bill for and, if so, how much they currently owe. Since 2010 they have also been asked whether they live in public housing.

Total Family Income

From 2000 to 2014, the Young Adult questionnaire included a direct question about total family income, asked of YAs with at least one related adult household member other than a spouse/partner. This question was dropped as part of the 2016 redesign.

Top Coding

Like the other NLS datasets, the NLSY79 Young Adult is a public dataset utilized widely throughout the research and public policy communities, and survey staff take extensive measures to protect the confidentiality of the survey respondents. One method of protecting confidentiality is to “top code” unusually high income values.

Top coding has been done in the YA dataset on the respondent’s income/wages, spouse/partner's income/wages, and total family income, as needed, since the 2000 survey year. From 2000 to 2014, the procedure was to average values of 100,000 and above for YA individuals and 200,000 and above for YA total family income and substitute that average for all values in the top-coded range. When only one such value exists, that value is combined with either a similar value or with the next smaller value. Cases then have the average used as their value. Beginning in 2016, the topcoding procedure has been to average the top 2% of values on any topcoded variable; cases then have this average used as their value.

Income/wage variables will have a codebook note (see the NLSY79 Documentation section for a description of codebook components) in NLS Investigator about the top-coding. For example, the QES-75J.## variables in 2008 have a note saying "This variable has been top coded in loops 1 and 2. The value of 156666 represents the mean of the top values in those loops." Another example: Q15-5-TOP in 2014 has a note saying "This variable has been top coded. The value of 131715 represents the mean of the top values."

Comparison to Other NLS Cohorts: The NLSY79 has asked extensive questions about income in all survey rounds and includes constructed variable for total net family income and poverty status. A small amount of income information is gathered for the NLSY79 children. Information on income is regularly collected from the other cohorts. Users should note, however, that the income sources included have varied widely over time and among cohorts. For more precise details about the content of each survey, consult the appropriate cohort's User's Guide using the tabs above for more information.

Survey Instruments	Questions on income are found in the Young Adult Instrument, Section 15, Income and Assets.
Areas of Interest	YA Income

• Child
• Young Adult

Child

The NLSY79 Child surveys contain educational attainment and school enrollment information, linked to each child, for: (1) children assessed during each child survey year, (2) NLSY79 mothers, and (3) members of the mother's household such as spouse, partner, or other adult household members. Because children below Young Adult age are no longer directly interviewed starting in the 2016 survey round, some educational attainment and school enrollment information is no longer available for in the most current survey round. The types of education information available for young adults are discussed in the Young Adult section below.

The Child schooling items, first added in 1996, were drawn primarily from the 1988 National Education Longitudinal Study (NELS88). These questions on parent involvement, teacher style, and classroom practices are addressed directly to children ages 6 and older in 1996-1998 and to children ages 8 and older from 2000 through 2014.

Some NLSY researchers have merged schooling information from other sources with the NLSY79 Child data by using information on the child's grade, county and state of residence. One possible external data source is the Common Core Data (CCD), which contains information on public schools and on the characteristics of students both at the school and district levels. Another possible external source of information on school characteristics is the School and Staffing Survey (SASS).

County and state of residence are available at each survey round of the NLSY79 main Youth respondents (and their children) and can be obtained as a restricted data file from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. For details on these geographic variables, consult the section on Geographic Residence & Geocode Data. The geographic data in the main NLSY79 survey, which can be merged with the child data, are described in the Geographic Residence & Neighborhood Composition section of the NLSY79 topical guide.

Enrollment and grade

From 1986 through 2014, current school enrollment and grade information was collected from the mother as part of the Child Supplement for children ages four years or older. Grade information was gathered for those children currently attending and, if not currently attending, for those who have ever attended regular school. From 2002 through 2014, the question names for school enrollment and grade are CS-ATTEND and CS-GRADE, respectively. School enrollment and grade information questions are assigned to the year-specific CHILD SUPPLEMENT area of interest.

Mothers were also asked about school attendance and last grade attended for children in the household at the beginning of the Mother Supplement interview through 2018. Age-eligibility for these questions has varied from round to round. Enrollment and grade questions can be found in the year-specific MOTHER SUPPLEMENT area of interest. In recent survey rounds, these enrollment and grade questions begin with the question name, "MS-BKGN."

Preschool and Head Start

Post-1986 child surveys included questions, posed to the mother as part of the Child Supplement from 1988 through 2000, and as Mother Supplement from 2002 through 2016, for children three years of age or older (under age 9 in 1990) on whether the children attended nursery school or a preschool program or had ever been enrolled in preschool, day care, or Head Start. The Head Start series provides information on age first attended, length of time attending, and how satisfied the child's mother is with the Head Start program. In later rounds, the question names for the Head Start series are MS-BKGN-12 through MS-BKGN-16, and can be found in the year-specific MOTHER SUPPLEMENT area of interest. The mothers of NLSY79 children were asked, as Main Youth respondents interviewed in 1994, if they had attended Head Start as a preschooler (Q3-31, R45317.).

School experiences

Starting in 1988, mothers of school-age children (ten or older 1988-1994; five and older starting in 1996) were asked for additional information on their child's schooling experiences. For children attending school, mothers were asked what type of school their child attends. They were asked if the school was "public," "private," or "religious," and whether the second identified the school as a "school for gifted children," a "school for handicapped children," or a "regular public or private school." This series of questions was asked as part of the Mother Supplement in 1988 through 1998, in the Child Supplement in 2000, and as part of the Mother Supplement from 2002 through 2018. Since 2006, the question name for type of school attended is MS-BKGN-20.

In the main Youth interview the mother also gave information on the type of school the child currently or most recently attended with the following categories: 1 Elementary School, 2 Middle School/Intermediate School/Junior High School, 3 High School, 4 Two Year College, Community College, or Junior College, 5 Four Year College or University. Note that mothers reported this school type information for all children of school age.

The introduction of CAPI in 1998 enabled CHRR to recode verbatim responses to the "other-specify" verbatim responses to these school-type questions. Starting in 2000, the procedure used for documenting the recodes changed so that the school type question (BGN-20-RC) now contained only verbatim recodes for question BKGN-20. (In contrast, the 1998 variable MS98TYPSCHL contained all response values plus recoded "other specify" verbatim responses.)

Information was also collected for children attending school on: (1) whether the child attended special classes for remedial or advanced work and (2) whether the child has ever repeated a grade and, if so, the reason(s), e.g., the child failed academically (too young or immature, moved to a more difficult school, was truant, frequently absent, etc.). Reasons for not attending school are identified by the mother according to the following categories: expulsion or suspension; physical, emotional, or mental condition; the school was closed; or the child's father would not let the child attend.

School ratings and satisfaction

Child report school rating

During the 1988 through 2014 child interviews, children ages ten and older reported on the characteristics of their school and satisfaction with their school. The rating and satisfaction items, introduced in 1988 for children 10 and over, include the following: (1) most teachers don't know their subjects well; (2) most teachers help with personal problems; (3) most classes are boring; (4) don't feel safe at this school; (5) at this school a person has the freedom to learn, etc. With the exception of item 1, which is phrased in the affirmative in the main Youth and Young Adult surveys, this scale is the same as one addressed to the mother in 1979. The school rating questions addressed to the child are assigned to the CHILD SELF-ADMINISTERED SUPPLEMENT area of interest. The following is a list of the school rating items:

School Rating Item	Question Names (1988-1998)	Question Name (2000-2014)
It's easy to make friends at this school.	CS884143, CS906463, CS926611, CS942243, CS960613, CS98023A	CSAS023A
Most of the teachers are willing to help with personal problems.	CS884144, CS906465, CS926613, CS942245, CS960615, CS98023B	CSAS023B
Most of my classes are boring.	CS884145, CS906467, CS926615, CS942247, CS960617, CS98023C	CSAS023C
I don't feel safe at this school.	CS884146, CS906469, CS926617, CS942249, CS960619, CS98023D	CSAS023D
Most of my teachers don't know their subjects well.	CS884147, CS906471, CS926619, CS942251, CS960621, CS98023E	CSAS023E
You can get away with almost anything at this school.	CS884148, CS906473, CS92662, CS942253, CS960623, CS98023F	CSAS023F
My schoolwork requires me to think to the best of my abilities.	CS884149, CS906475, CS926623, CS942255, CS960625, CS98023G	CSAS023G
At this school, a person has the freedom to learn what interests him or her.	CS884150, CS906477, CS926625, CS942257, CS960627, CS98023H	CSAS023H

Mother report school rating

Through 1998 the Mother Supplement contained a series of items rating the children's school as reported by the mother (Q.16 in the MS 1998). Each mother-report school rating item is prefaced with the phrase: "What grade would you give the school for ...?" In 2000 these questions were moved to the Child CAPI Supplement but in 2002 they were back in the Mother Supplement in the CASI section. In 2000-2004, the school rating series has the same question names: BKGN-43A to BKGN-43H. Since 2006, the school rating series questions are named MS-BKGN-43A to MS-BKGN-43H. The mother-report school rating items, in which she grades the school performance, can be found in the MOTHER SUPPLEMENT through 1998, the CHILD SUPPLEMENT in 2000, and back in the MOTHER SUPPLEMENT area of interest from 2002 to 2018.

Homework and parent involvement

In 1996, the schooling section of the survey was augmented for both the children aged 10 to 14 and the young adults. This expansion, which continued through 2014 in the Child survey and has continued to the current survey round of the Young Adult, asks children about the extent of involvement by their parents in homework and the school. The NLSY79 Child questions on parent involvement and time spent on homework can be found in the National Household Education Surveys (NHES) parent questionnaire, section on parent/family involvement in education ("Now I have some questions about CHILD's homework. How often does CHILD do homework at home? Would you say never, less than once a week, 1 to 2 times week, 3 to 4 times a week, or 5 or more times a week?" pg.1). The NLSY79 Child schooling series also solicits information on the frequency of specific teaching and learning activities and the use of certain materials in the classroom.

From 1998 through 2014, children were asked about homework as part of the Child Self-Administered Supplement. Questions include whether they do homework after school, whether there are rules about doing homework, how much say they have about rules about doing homework, and how often they argue with parents about homework. From 2002 through 2014, they were asked how often they use a computer to do homework or schoolwork.

Child School Survey

A separate, one-time survey was conducted in 1995-1996 of the schools attended by NLSY79 children (over the age of five) in the 1994 and 1995 school years. See the School Survey section for more information.

Survey Instruments	School enrollment; current grade: Child Supplement Satisfaction with school: Child-Self-Administered Supplement Homework: Schooling section of the Child Supplement Mother reports of preschool enrollment and school experiences: Mother Supplement
Areas of Interest	Child Supplement Child Self-Administered Supplement Mother Supplement Child School Survey

Young Adult

The Young Adult survey collects information about enrollment status, school experiences, and educational aspirations. All respondents are asked if they are currently enrolled. Older Young Adults who are not currently enrolled are asked if they have been enrolled at all since the date of last interview. For most older Young Adults who say no, this is the exit point from the schooling questions. However, if no high school diploma or GED has previously been reported, respondents are asked whether one has been obtained. Also, older respondents who were attending college at their last interview point are asked about degree completion since the date of last interview, even if they report no enrollment either currently or since the date of last interview.

More details are provided below but as an overview, Young Adults who are currently enrolled or who have reported school& attendance since the date of last interview, as well as younger Young Adults who are not currently enrolled, are asked a wide range of questions concerning their education. First time Young Adult respondents answer core questions about repeating or skipping grades and dropping out. Additionally, questions are asked about (1) school quality and time spent on homework, as well as practices used by teachers and parental involvement in homework and the school community, for respondents currently in grades 1-12; (2) the use of career planning or college preparation services, for respondents who are high school juniors or seniors; (3) the names of colleges and/or universities applied to and whether or not the respondent was accepted to them, for respondents in twelfth grade or first year in college; and (4) the name, type of school, major, degree receipt and financial assistance, for respondents in post-secondary education, either currently or since the date of last interview. Respondents are branched according to both enrollment status and highest grade completed.

Young Adults who are still in secondary school have, since 1994, been asked a single question to measure their satisfaction with their school, plus a series of questions on the characteristics of their school. This scale was asked of the NLSY79 respondents in 1979. Between 1994 and 1998, this series was asked of respondents currently enrolled in grades 12 and lower. Since 2000, only new young adults in grade 12 or lower answer the full scale; others in grade 12 or lower are asked about school satisfaction only. The same scale, with slight modifications, was also included in the Child Self-Administered Supplement. This series asks respondents how true the following statements are:

• It's easy to make friends at this school.
• Most of the teachers are willing to help with personal problems.
• Most of my classes are boring.
• I don't feel safe at this school.
• Most of my teachers really know their subjects well.
• You can get away with almost anything at this school.
• At this school, a person has the freedom to learn what interests him or her.
• This school offers good job counseling.

Questions concerning time spent on homework, practices used by teachers, and parental involvement in homework and the school community were included on the survey in 1996 and continued to be asked of all respondents enrolled in grade 12 or lower through 2016. A small number of these items were retained in the 2018 redesign. The questions on parent involvement and time spent on homework are taken from the National Household Education Surveys (NHES) parent questionnaire, section on parent/family involvement in education. The questions to measure practices used by teachers solicits information on the frequency of specific teaching and learning activities and the use of certain materials in the classroom. These questions were also asked in the Child Survey of children ages 6 to 14 in 1996-1998 and to children ages 8 to 14 from 2000 to 2014.

From 1994 through 2016, High School juniors and seniors were asked a series of questions to ascertain whether or not they used various school services such as career placement counseling and/or job fairs. They were also asked whether or not they received information or help around college preparation such as help with filling out applications and/or financial aid forms.

Beginning in 2000, Young Adults enrolled in either 12th grade or the first year of college have been asked a sequence of questions concerning college applications and acceptances. Data on how many colleges were applied to and whether or not the respondent was accepted into each one are available on the public release. Since 1994, Young Adults who report attending post-secondary education, either currently or since the date of last interview, have been asked when they first/most recently began attending college, the name of their college or university, their field of study, and whether or not they have received an academic degree. Since 2000, those who are not currently enrolled but who have been enrolled since the date of last interview are asked when they stopped attending college. Also since 2000, those who report receiving a degree are asked the month and year they received the degree. From 1994 to 1998, those respondents who were enrolled either currently or since the date of last interview were asked a series of questions about financing their college experience. These respondents were asked whether they were full- or part-time students and the amount of full-time tuition and fees at their college. They were asked whether they received a loan, how much of their costs the loan covered, what other forms of financial aid they received, and if anyone other than a spouse/partner helped pay for college. Since 2000, these questions have been asked only of those currently enrolled, and those who report receiving a loan have been asked the amount of the loan. Since 2004, those reporting that someone other than a spouse/partner has helped them pay have been asked who all helped them.

Federal Interagency Committee on Education (FICE) codes and UNITID codes from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) database for colleges/universities attended or applied to are available only in the restricted-use Geocode data. These confidential files are available for use only at the BLS National Office in Washington, DC, and at Federal Statistical Research Data Centers (FSRDCs) on statistical research projects approved by BLS. Access to data is subject to the availability of space and resources. Information about applying to use the zip code and Census tract data is available on the BLS Restricted Data Access page.

Educational aspirations and expectations

Since 1994, the Young Adult survey has included two questions:  what is the highest grade the respondent would like to complete and what is the highest grade the respondent expects to complete. From 1994 to 1998, these were asked of all respondents. Since 2000, only new Young Adults have answered them.

Created education variables

Since 2004, we have created two highest grade completed variables. One is round-specific and measures the highest grade completed as of that round for all respondents interviewed in that survey round, whether or not they reported attending school. The second is a cross-round variable that includes all Young Adults ever interviewed and measures the highest grade completed as of the date of each respondent's last interview. In 2012, we created a new series of variables related to degree completion. This series includes a round-specific highest academic degree completed for all respondents interviewed in that survey year and a cross-round highest academic degree completed variable for all Young Adults ever interviewed. Also available are a set of cross-round variables on the completion of specific degrees: GED, High School diploma, Associate's degree, Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science, Master's degree, PhD, and professional degrees. For each type of academic degree reported, there is a flag indicating whether that specific degree has been completed as well as variables indicating the month and year in which the degree was received.

In constructing these academic degree completion variables, all verbatims associated with any "other degree" responses were carefully evaluated. If any of these fit into one of our more specific categories (Associate's degree, Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science, Master's degree, PhD, and professional degrees), they were then recoded into that degree category. The remaining "other" answers were diplomas and certificates that are not technically academic degrees. Users should be aware that receipt of these diplomas and certificates is not included in either the round-specific or the cross-round highest degree completed variables as they are not academic degrees. However, there is a flag indicating whether a respondent has reported receiving such a diploma or certificate, as well as variables indicating the month and year of receipt.

Enrollment status variables, SCHOOLyy, allow users to quickly ascertain enrollment status at the date of interview: not enrolled, enrolled in secondary education, enrolled full-time in post-secondary education, or enrolled part-time in post-secondary education. This enrollment status variable, combined with the work and military status variables, allows users to identify a respondent's activities in each of these realms at the date of each interview.

Revision in coding frame for "Highest Grade Attended" and "Highest Grade Completed"

As part of the redesign of the YA 2014 questionnaire, the answer categories for the questions concerning grade currently attending/highest grade attended and highest grade completed were changed. This change was made to alleviate a long-standing uncertainty on the part of both respondents and interviewers about how to code years of college, especially when a respondent is either taking classes part-time and/or has transferred universities.

Everyone who was interviewed in 2014, whether or not they were either currently attending or had attended school since the date of last interview, was asked these questions with the new categories. Beginning in 2016, any YA who has not yet answered these questions with the new categories will be asked them whether or not the YA is either currently attending or has attended school since the date of last interview.

To construct HGC_DLI for the 2014 data release, for YAs who were not interviewed in 2014, their previous data was mapped onto the new coding scheme. Respondents who had never received a degree of any kind or whose highest was a GED were put into either 8TH GRADE OR LESS or SOME HIGH SCHOOL based on their previous answers to HGC questions. Respondents who reported receiving a high school degree but no further school attendance were coded HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATE. Respondents who reported attending school beyond high school were coded based on a combination of their degree completion and their previous answers to HGC questions. When needed, verbatims from field of study and school attended were reviewed to solve ambiguities.

Comparison to Other NLS Surveys	Enrollment status in the past year, current enrollment status, highest grade attended and completed, and degrees and diplomas received have been collected for all cohorts except the Older Men. Respondents in the Older Men cohort provided information on their highest grade completed and highest college degree received. For the NLSY79, information on grades and courses taken in high school is available through the 1980-83 Transcript Surveys. Respondents have also reported their high school curriculum. Data are recorded for the Children of the NLSY79 on participation in Head Start, grades repeated, and characteristics of the school and curriculum. The Original Cohort respondents provided information on the type of their high school curriculum; however, coding categories for curricula were quite different for these cohorts. Mature and Young Women also listed types of mathematics courses taken in high school. The NLSY79 survey in 1980 included several questions on school discipline problems, that is, whether respondents had ever been suspended or expelled from school, and if so, the number of times, date of most recent disciplinary action, and when/if the youth had returned to school. Information was collected on behavior problems evidenced by children of NLSY79 respondents that resulted in either the parent's notification or disciplinary action. NLSY97 respondents are asked whether they have been suspended and, if so, for what periods. The Young Women and the Young Men surveys ask respondents whether they have ever been suspended or expelled from school. For more precise details about the content of each survey, consult the appropriate cohort's User's Guide using the tabs above for more information. For more details about specific survey years in which these data were gathered, refer to the appropriate cohort'sUser's Guide.
Survey Instruments	Questions on educational attainment and school enrollment are found in the Young Adult Instrument, Section 4, Regular Schooling.
Areas of Interest	YA School (public data) YA Common Key Variables (public data) YA Geocode data (FICE codes and UNITID Codes)