NLSW -Mature and Young Women

Mature Women Variables by Survey Year: Respondents Ages 30 to 44 in 1967

The selected variables for the Mature Women asterisk tables are grouped into three main categories:

Labor market experience variables
Human capital and other socioeconomic variables
Environmental variables

Important information: Viewing asterisk tables

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I. Labor market experience variables

Variable	67	68	69	71	72	74	76	77	79	81	82	84	86	87	89	92	95	97	99	01	03
Survey week labor force and employment status	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Hours worked in survey week	*		*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Weeks worked (time frames vary)	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Usual hours worked during weeks worked	*	*	*			*	*										*	*	*	*	*
Weeks unemployed (time frames vary)	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Spells of unemployment in past year	*		*	*	*			*			*			*			*	*	*	*	*
Weeks out of labor force (time frames vary)	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*

Variable	67	68	69	71	72	74	76	77	79	81	82	84	86	87	89	92	95	97	99	01	03
Occupation, industry, class of worker	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Start date and stop date	*		*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Hours per week usually worked	*		*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Hourly rate of pay	*		*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Commuting time, costs	*		*		*			*			*			*	*		*
Covered by collective bargaining				*	*			*			*			*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Is R union member				*	*			*			*			*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Work for employer at home															*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Firm size															*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Shift worked					*			*	*		*			*	*		*	*	*	*	*
Fringe benefits available								*			*			*	*		*	*	*	*	*
Displaced worker														*	*		*	*	*	*	*
Supervises others														*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*

Variable		67
Occupation, industry, class of worker, start date, stop date, and reason for leaving (series):	First job after leaving school (never-married R's)	*
	Longest job since leaving school (never-married R's)	*
	Longest job between school and marriage	*
	Longest job between marriage and first birth	*
	Longest job since first birth	*
Number of years since leaving school in which R worked 6 months or more		*

Variable	68	69	71	72	74	76	77	79	81	82	84	86	87	89	92	95	97	99	01	03
Occupation, industry, class of worker, hours per week, start date, stop date, and reason for leaving intervening jobs (through 1987) or employers (beginning in 1989) (details vary)	*	*	*	*			*			*			*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Interfirm mobility (details vary)	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Promotions (any, effects)											*	*	*	*		*	*	*	*	*

Variable	67	81	87	89	95	97	99	01	03
Age or date of birth	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Nationality or ethnicity	*				*	*	*
Type of residence at age 15	*
Person(s) R lived with at age 15	*
Occupation of head of household when R was 15	*
Highest grade completed by father and mother	*
Occupation of mother when R was 15	*

Variable	67	69	71	72	77	82	89	92	95	97
Years at current residence	*
Comparison of birthplace to current residence	*
Geographic mobility (details vary)	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*

Variable	67	77	79	81	82	84	86	87	89	95	97	99	01	03
Current enrollment status		*						*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Highest grade completed	*	*						*	*	*	*	*	*	*
High school curriculum	*
Year of high school diploma or GED		*		*						*	*	*	*	*
Math courses taken in high school				*
College (attended, duration, hours per week attended, field of study, highest degree received)		*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*

Variable	67	68	69	71	72	74	76	77	79	81	82	84	86	87	89	92	95	97	99	01	03
On-the-job training (did R take, duration, hours per week, did R complete)									*	*	*	*	*	*	*		*	*	*	*	*
Additional or other training or educational program (type, sponsor, duration, hours per week attended, reason took, did R complete, certificate, use on job)	*		*	*	*				*	*	*	*	*	*	*		*	*	*	*	*

Variable	67	69	71	72	74	76	77	79	81	82	84	86	87	89	92	95	97	99	01	03
Self-rating of health	*											*			*	*	*	*	*	*
Comparison of R's condition with past		*	*				*			*		*		*		*	*	*	*	*
Does health limit work or housework	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Duration of health limitations	*		*				*			*			*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Problematic activities (stooping, kneeling, and so forth)			*				*			*			*	*			*	*	*	*
Problematic working conditions (noise, smoke, and so forth)			*				*			*			*	*			*
Alcohol and cigarette use														*		*	*	*	*	*
Height and weight (details vary)															*	*	*	*	*	*
Menopausal status and hormone use during menopause																*	*	*	*	*
Extent R drives an automobile																*	*	*	*	*
Types of health conditions (cancer, diabetes, and so forth)																*	*	*	*	*
Insurance coverage (R's, other family members')												*		*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Does others' health limit work (details vary)	*	*						*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Accidents (on-the-job, how, when)							*			*			*	*
Is R able to go outdoors, use public transportation, or perform personal care without help			*				*			*			*	*
Is R able to go shopping, manage money, do light housework, do heavy housework														*
Any fractured bones in past 10 years																				*
Prescription drug expenses																				*
Any medication for mental conditions																				*
Any exercise during past month																				*
Pet ownership																				*

Variable	67	69	71	72	74	76	77	79	81	82	84	86	87	89	92	95	97	99	01	03
Marital status	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Marital history (details vary)	*						*			*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Husband's attitude toward R's working	*			*			*			*			*
Life status of R's and R's husband's parents	*	*	*	*					*		*			*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Number of dependents	*	*	*	*			*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
New information or update on all children born or adopted	*						*			*						*
Number and ages of children in household	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Childcare arrangements (type, cost, preferences, attitude toward, hypothetical use, effect on work) (details vary)	*	*	*	*			*									*
Childcare (extent of responsibility)					*	*			*	*	*
Any children in college last 12 months; amount of support from R and spouse													*	*	*	*	*		*	*
Family or household (starting in 1989) members: age, sex, relationship to R, education, employment status (details vary)	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Unrelated household members (relationship to R, sex, age)										*	*	*	*
Household activities (responsibility for, attitude toward, hours per week spent on) (details vary)	*				*	*		*	*	*	*		*	*
Responsibility for care of chronically ill or disabled											*		*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Frequency of contact with family and friends									*

Variable	67	69	71	74	76	77	79	81	82	84	86	87	89	92	95	97	99	01	03
Current labor force status											*			*	*	*	*	*	*
Usual weeks worked														*
Firm size														*
Covered by Social Security or Railroad Retirement														*
Covered by collective bargaining or union contract														*	*	*	*	*	*
Is spouse or partner union member														*	*	*	*	*	*
Job search activity in past month															*	*	*	*	*
Retirement plans, expectations, status														*	*	*	*	*	*
Weeks and hours worked 1982-86														*
Detailed information on employers since 1987 or since last interview (occupation, industry, class of worker, rate of pay, start and stop date, hours worked, shift worked)														*	*	*	*	*	*
Unemployment of husband (weeks)				*	*		*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Does husband's health limit his work	*	*	*			*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Duration of husband's limitations	*		*			*			*	*		*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*

Variable	95	97	99	01	03
Husband's medical care in 12 months before death	*	*	*	*	*
How medical costs were paid	*	*	*	*	*
R's care of husband	*	*	*	*	*
Death benefits paid to R (amount, source, lump sum or periodic payment)	*	*	*	*	*
Financial assistance to R from family members	*	*	*	*	*

Variable	67	68	69	71	72	74	76	77	79	81	82	84	86	87	89	92	95	97	99	01	03
Total net family assets	*			*	*			*			*			*	*		*	*	*	*	*
Total family income	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Income from farm or business	*		*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Wage or salary income	*		*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Unemployment compensation income	*		*	*	*			*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Supplemental unemployment benefits income								*			*			*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Income from public assistance	*		*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Social Security income	*		*	*	*			*			*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Pension income	*		*	*	*			*			*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Disability income	*		*	*	*			*			*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Rental income	*		*	*	*			*			*			*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Interest or dividend income	*		*	*	*			*			*			*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Total market value of Food Stamps received	*		*	*	*		*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Income from AFDC/TANF	*		*	*	*						*			*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Alimony payments						*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Child support payments						*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Amount of financial assistance received from others											*	*	*	*	*		*	*	*	*	*
Income from other sources	*		*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*

H = Respondent's husband

Variable		67	69	71	72	81	84	89	92	97	99	01	03
Life status of R's parents, age		*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*		*	*
Cause of death of R's parents									*
Life status of H's parents, age		*	*	*	*	*	*	*		*		*
Health status of R's and H's parents										*		*
Do R's or H's parents live in nursing home										*		*
Marital status of R's and H's parents										*		*
Distance R's and H's parents live from R						*	*	*		*		*
Yearly income of R's and H's parents										*
Do R's and H's parents own home; value										*
Amount of R's and H's parents' assets and debts										*		*
Transfers of time to R's and H's parents										*		*
Transfers of money to R's and H's parents										*		*
Transfers of time from R's and H's parents												*
Transfers of money from R's and H's parents												*
Did R's parents have will										*		*	*
Amount of parents' estate										*		*	*
If R has a daughter in the Young Women cohort:	Transfers of time from daughter to R or H									*
If R has a daughter in the Young Women cohort:	Transfers of money from daughter to R or H									*
Sex, age and date of birth, highest grade completed of R's and H's children											*		*
Relationship of child(ren) to R											*		*
Residence of child(ren) and distance from R											*		*
Do child(ren) and child(ren)'s spouse own home; value											*		*
Amount of child(ren)'s assets and debts											*		*
Transfers of time to and from child(ren)											*		*
Transfers of money to and from child(ren)											*		*
Does R have will; who are beneficiaries											*		*

Variable	67	69	71	72	74	76	77	79	81	82	84	86	87	89	92	95	97	99	01	03
How R feels about job	*	*	*	*			*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*		*	*	*	*	*
What does R like best and least about job	*	*	*	*			*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Would R continue to work if had enough money to live on	*	*		*	*	*	*		*	*	*	*	*
Which is more important: high wages or liking work	*	*		*			*			*			*
Attitude toward women working	*			*			*			*			*
Rotter Internal-External Locus of Control score (shortened version in 2001)		*		*			*												*
CES-Depression Scale														*		*	*	*	*	*
Attitude toward women and retirement														*		*	*	*	*
Way R is feeling these days								*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Discrimination (R ever experienced, type, ways experienced, practiced by employers) (details vary)				*			*			*			*	*		*			*
Has R progressed, held own, or moved backward				*			*
Have job pressures increased, decreased, or remained the same				*			*
Job requirements, satisfaction, importance of work															*

Variable	79	82	84	86	89	92	95	97	99	01	03
Expected age at retirement	*	*	*	*			*
Will R be eligible for Social Security or Railroad Retirement benefits	*	*		*	*
Characteristics of current employer's pension plan	*	*		*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
R's knowledge of employer's pension plan					*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Years employed in jobs covered by Social Security or Railroad Retirement		*	*	*	*
Eligible for other pensions, type, number of years worked on jobs		*		*	*	*	*
Eligible for spouse's benefits, type		*		*	*		*	*	*	*	*
Expected age at retirement (spouse)	*	*	*	*			*
Spouse eligible for Social Security or Railroad Retirement benefits	*	*		*	*						*
Spouse eligible for other retirement benefits, type (details vary)	*	*		*	*	*	*
R and spouse have personal retirement plan (details vary)		*		*		*	*
Sources of retirement income	*	*		*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Retirement health insurance coverage						*	*	*	*	*	*
Detailed pension plan coverage						*	*	*	*	*	*
Pension plan characteristics data (SCF)					*

Variable	67	69	71	72	74	76	77	81	82	84	86
Would R accept	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Hours per week would work	*		*	*		*	*	*	*	*	*
Rate of pay required	*		*	*		*	*	*	*	*	*
Kind of work desired	*		*	*			*		*

Variable	74	76	79	81	84	03
Did any unpaid volunteer work	*	*	*	*	*	*
Hours per week worked, organization	*	*	*	*	*	*
Why volunteered	*	*				*

III. Environmental variables

Variable	67	68	69	71	72	74	76	77	79	81	82	84	86	87	89	92	95	97	99	01	03
Region of residence (South or non-South)	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Does R live in SMSA	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Mover or nonmover status	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Comparison of State, county, SMSA	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Comparison of State, county																*	*	*	*	*	*

Variable	67	68	69	71	72	74	76	77	79	81	82	84	86	87	89
Size of local area labor force	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Local area unemployment rate	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Index of demand for female labor	*		*	*	*

Read more about Mature Women Variables by Survey Year: Respondents Ages 30 to 44 in 1967

Crime, Delinquency & School Discipline (Young Women cohort)

In 1968, a survey of the schools attended by respondents in the Young Women's and Young Men's cohorts was fielded. This survey included two questions on whether school records indicated that the respondent had been committed to or was on probation from a correctional institution. Small numbers of respondents from both cohorts were identified: Five Young Women respondents were committed and five were on probation; 19 Young Men respondents were committed and 13 were on probation.

The school survey also recorded whether respondents in the Young Women and Young Men cohorts had ever been expelled or suspended from school. Records of those schools surveyed indicated that 54 Young Women respondents (R00612.) and 205 respondents in the Young Men cohort (R01720.) had been expelled or suspended at some point in their schooling.

The scope of the Young Women's surveys is noninstitutionalized individuals; data on incarceration are not available.

Survey Instruments	These questions can be found in the 1968 School Survey and are located on the data file along with the other high school data collected during 1968.

Read more about Crime, Delinquency & School Discipline (Young Women cohort)

Mature Women cohort

Respondents have answered questions about their attitudes on a wide variety of topics. Many questions refer to attitudes about work and retirement. Periodically, the surveys ask about satisfaction with life in general, housework, and child care.

Attitudes toward retirement

As this cohort aged, the surveys began eliciting attitudes and expectations about retirement (see Table MW1 for reference numbers). In 1979, 1982, 1984, and 1986, respondents were asked at what age they expected their husbands to retire; those who were participating in the labor market at the time of the survey were also asked at what age they expected to retire. Additionally, these women were asked if they intended to continue working after their husband's retirement. The 1989 and 1995-2001 surveys included questions on attitudes toward retirement in general. For example, respondents were asked to agree or disagree with statements such as "Work is the most meaningful part of life" and "People who don't retire when they can afford to are foolish."

Table MW1. Reference numbers for questions on attitudes and expectations toward work
Year	Husband's attitude toward R working	Expected age of retirement	Expected age of husband's retirement	General attitude toward retirement
1967	R00339.00
1972	R02448.00
1977	R03678.00
1979		R04805.00	R04820.00
1982	R06074.00	R06438.00	R06459.00
1984		R07089.00	R07099.00
1986		R07660.00	R07687.00
1987	R08395.00
1989				R09892.00-R09896.00
1995				R34878.00-R34882.00
1997				R42013.00-R42017.00
1999				R51505.00-R51509.00
2001				R62457.00-R62461.00

Attitudes toward women working

To capture societal sentiment about women participating in the labor force, the survey has asked a wide variety of questions about working women/mothers. In select years, respondents were asked how their husbands felt about the respondents working (see Table MW2). There was also a series of questions which elicited attitudes about the circumstances under which respondents felt it was acceptable for married women with young children to hold jobs outside the home. Table MW3 lists reference numbers for questions about women's roles in the labor market (although these questions were not asked in every survey year, a pattern of changing attitudes about working mothers can be observed).

Table MW2. Reference numbers for attitudes toward wives working questions
Statements	1972	1977	1982	1987
Wife can work without neglecting her family	R02435.00	R03664.00	R06058.00	R08379.00
Women's place is in the home	R02436.00	R03665.00	R06059.00	R08380.00
Job gives wife interesting outside contacts	R02437.00	R03666.00
Wife with a family doesn't have time for employment	R02438.00	R03667.00	R06060.00	R08381.00
A working wife feels more useful	R02439.00	R03668.00	R06061.00	R08382.00
Employment of wives leads to juvenile delinquency	R02440.00	R03669.00	R06062.00	R08383.00
Employment of parents needed to keep up with cost of living	R02443.00	R03672.00	R06063.00	R08384.00
Working wives raise the standard of living	R02441.00	R03670.00
Working wives lose interest in home and family	R02442.00	R03671.00
It is better for all if man is outside achiever and woman takes care of family			R06064.00	R08385.00
Men should share the work around the house with women			R06065.00	R08386.00
Working mothers can have as secure relationship with child as non-working mothers			R06066.00	R08387.00
Women are happier if they stay home and take care of kids			R06067.00	R08388.00
Rearing children should not inhibit career			R06068.00	R08389.00

Table MW3. Attitudes toward married women's participation in the labor market (unweighted)
Conditions Note MW3.1	Year	Probably or definitely not all right		No opinion, undecided		Probably or definitely all right
Conditions Note MW3.1	Year	Number	Percentage Note MW3.2	Number	Percentage Note MW3.2	Number	Percentage Note MW3.2
...if necessary to make ends meet	1967	314	6.2	39	0.8	4716	92.8
	1972	207	6.0	18	0.4	4077	91.2
	1977	222	5.6	22	0.6	3662	92.4
	1982	128	3.6	10	0.3	3359	94.8
	1987	113	3.5	18	0.6	3065	94.6
...if she wants & husband agrees	1967	1116	22.0	68	1.3	3886	76.5
	1972	661	14.8	19	0.4	3684	82.4
	1977	403	10.2	30	0.8	3472	87.6
	1982	241	6.8	28	0.8	3228	91.1
	1987	207	6.4	25	0.8	2956	91.2
...if she wants & husband disagrees	1967	4105	80.1	140	2.8	822	16.2
	1972	3292	73.6	67	1.5	1004	22.5
	1977	2532	63.9	123	3.1	1247	31.5
	1982	1830	51.7	113	3.2	1554	43.9
	1987	1514	46.7	161	5.0	1510	46.6
Source: Table is based on responses to the following questions: R00335.00-R00337.00 in 1967; R02444.00-R02446.00 in 1972; R03673.00-R03675.00 in 1977; R06069.00-R06071.00 in 1982; and R08390.00-R08392.00 in 1987. Note MW3.1: The question asked respondents the following: How do you feel about a married woman with children between the ages of 6 and 12 taking a full-time job outside the home under the following conditions? Note MW3.2: This refers to the percentage of the total interviewed population in that survey year giving the indicated response. This total was 5083 in 1967, 4471 in 1972, 3964 in 1977, 3542 in 1982, and 3241 in 1987.

Important information: Mature Women

The attitudes toward women working questions have also been asked of the Young Women and NLSY79 respondents in multiple surveys, permitting comparisons across generations and over time. Questions on household tasks have likewise been addressed to Young Women and NLSY79 respondents.

Attitudes toward life

In addition to attitudes about work and working, respondents provided data on their feelings about life in general. In each survey since 1979, respondents have answered to a global life satisfaction question on how they were feeling these days (e.g., R04856.00). They are asked to classify themselves overall as very happy, somewhat happy, somewhat unhappy, or very unhappy. For additional measures, see the Psychological Well Being section.

Attitudes toward housekeeping and child care

Respondents were asked about their opinions on working in the home as a part of the non-paid labor force. In 1967 (R00341.00), 1979 (R04676.00), 1982 (R06076.00), and 1987 (R08397.00), the women were asked for their general attitudes (i.e., "How do you feel about keeping house in your own home?").

At select survey points, the women were asked more detailed questions about their responsibility for a variety of household tasks. Beginning in 1974 and continuing until 1989, a series of questions was asked of respondents about the degree of their responsibilities for select household chores. The response categories included respondent has sole responsibility, respondent shares responsibility, others have responsibility, and not applicable. In some of these survey years, respondents who answered that they shared responsibility for a particular task with others or that others had sole responsibility for the task were asked for their relationship to the other person who usually performed (shared) the task. In addition, those women who shared responsibility with someone else for a given task were asked the frequency (less than half of the time, about half the time, or more than half the time) with which they performed the task. In the 1981 survey, respondents were asked how they felt about performing each task (like, dislike, or don't mind). Table MW4 summarizes this series of items.

Additional questions regarding the respondent's general attitudes toward taking care of children (R00342.00 in 1967) and her attitude toward the use of child care centers specifically (R01686.00-R01688.00 and R01707.00 in 1971) have been collected irregularly. See the Child Care section for more information about child care arrangements.

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Table MW4. Reference numbers for questions on respondent responsibility for household tasks
Question	Year	Child care	Cleaning dishes	Cleaning house	Cooking	Family paperwork	Grocery shopping	Care of ill/ disabled	Washing clothes	Yard/home maintenance
Extent of respondent responsibility for task Note MW4.1	1974	R03022.00	R03024.00	R03025.00	R03023.00		R03021.00		R03026.00	R03027.00
	1976	R03229.00	R03231.00	R03232.00	R03230.00		R03228.00		R03233.00	R03234.00
	1981	R04996.00	R05002.00	R05005.00	R04999.00	R05014.00	R04993.00		R05008.00	R05011.00
	1982	R06095.00	R06101.00	R06104.00	R06098.00	R06113.00	R06092.00		R06107.00	R06110.00
	1984	R06799.00	R06808.00	R06811.00	R06805.00	R06820.00	R06796.00	R06802.00	R06814.00	R06817.00
	1987	R08416.00	R08425.00	R08428.00	R08422.00	R08437.00	R08413.00	R08419.00	R08431.00	R08434.00
	1989	R09405.00	R09414.00	R09417.00	R09411.00	R09426.00	R09402.00	R09408.00	R09420.00	R09423.00
Relationship of other person sharing/performing task	1981	R04997.00	R05003.00	R05006.00	R05000.00	R05015.00	R04994.00		R05009.00	R05012.00
	1982	R06096.00	R06102.00	R06105.00	R06099.00	R06114.00	R06093.00		R06108.00	R06111.00
	1984	R06800.00	R06809.00	R06812.00	R06806.00	R06821.00	R06797.00	R06803.00	R06815.00	R06818.00
	1987	R08417.00	R08426.00	R08429.00	R08423.00	R08438.00	R08414.00	R08420.00	R08432.00	R08435.00
	1989	R09406.00	R09415.00	R09418.00	R09412.00	R09427.00	R09403.00	R09409.00	R09421.00	R09424.00
Frequency respondent performs task	1982	R06097.00	R06103.00	R06106.00	R06100.00	R06115.00	R06094.00		R06109.00	R06112.00
	1984	R06801.00	R06810.00	R06813.00	R06807.00	R06822.00	R06798.00	R06804.00	R06816.00	R06819.00
	1987	R08418.00	R08427.00	R08430.00	R08424.00	R08439.00	R08415.00	R08421.00	R08433.00	R08436.00
	1989	R09407.00	R09416.00	R09419.00	R09413.00	R09428.00	R09404.00	R09410.00	R09422.00	R09425.00
Respondent's attitude toward performing task	1981	R04998.00	R05004.00	R05007.00	R05001.00	R05016.00	R04995.00		R05010.00	R05013.00
Note MW4.1: Numbering of response categories may change over time. Users should consult the codebook for precise coding.

Related Variables	The Job Satisfaction section describes questions about the respondent's attitude toward her current job. The Job Search section discusses questions on reservation wages, hypothetical job offers, and plans to seek work in the future. See the section on Psychological Well Being for additional measures of emotional well-being.
Survey Instruments & Documentation	Questions on attitudes are found in various questionnaire sections, including "Attitudes about Work," "Attitudes," and "Health."

Young Women cohort

In many surveys, respondents answered questions about their attitudes. Many questions referred to attitudes about work and retirement. Periodically, the surveys asked about educational and occupational goals, housework, child care, and satisfaction with life in general.

Attitudes toward women working

The 1972, 1978, 1983, and 1988 surveys asked women about their opinions on the employment of wives. Table YW1 presents reference numbers for these statements about married women's participation in the paid labor market by survey year.

Table YW1. Reference numbers for attitudes toward wives working questions by Survey Year
Statement	1972	1978	1983	1988
Modern conveniences permit a wife to work without neglecting her family	R03867.00	R06336.00	R08630.00	R11590.00
Women's place is in the home	R03868.00	R06337.00	R08631.00	R11591.00
Job provides wife with interesting outside contacts	R03869.00
Wife with a family doesn't have time for employment	R03870.00	R06338.00	R08632.00	R11592.00
Working wife feels more useful	R03871.00	R06339.00	R08633.00	R11593.00
Employment of wives leads to more juvenile delinquency	R03872.00	R06340.00	R08634.00	R11594.00
Working wives help raise the standard of living	R03873.00
Working wives lose interest in home and family	R03874.00
Employment of parents needed to keep up with cost of living	R03875.00	R06341.00	R08635.00	R11595.00
It is better for all if man is outside achiever & woman takes care of family		R06342.00	R08636.00	R11596.00
Men should share the work around the house with women		R06343.00	R08637.00	R11597.00
Working mothers can have as secure relationship with child as non-working mothers		R06344.00	R08638.00	R11598.00
Women are happier if they stay home & take care of kids		R06345.00	R08639.00	R11599.00
Rearing children should not inhibit career		R06346.00	R08640.00	R11600.00

A three-question series asked in 1968, 1972, 1978, and 1983 assessed respondents' approval of women working. On a scale of definitely all right to definitely not all right, respondents indicated their opinion about women working if necessary to make ends meet, if the woman desires and the husband agrees, and if the woman desires and the husband disagrees. Related questions, including her husband's attitude toward the respondent's working, were asked at select survey points (see Table YW2).

Table YW2. Summary of work attitudes questions by Survey Year
Question	1968	1969	1970	1972	1973	1978	1983	1988
Would you say that during the past year there has been any change in your feeling about having a job outside the home for pay, in what way and why?		*	*	*	*
If, by some chance, you and your husband were to get enough money to live comfortably without working, do you think you would work anyway, why and on what would it depend?			*	*		*	*	*
In this family situation, how do you feel about the mother taking a full-time job outside the home - to make ends meet, if husband agrees, if husband disagrees?	*			*		*	*
IHow does your husband feel about your working (employed)?	*			*		*	*
IHow do you think your husband would feel about your working now (out of labor force)?	*			*		*	*

Important information: Young Women

The attitudes toward women working questions have also been asked of the Mature Women and NLSY79 respondents in multiple surveys, permitting comparisons across generations and over time. Questions on household tasks have likewise been addressed to Mature Women and NLSY79 respondents.

Attitudes toward retirement

As this cohort aged, the surveys began eliciting attitudes and expectations about retirement. In 1995-2001, Young Women responded to a series of statements on their attitudes toward retirement in general. These questions (e.g., R42013.00â€‘R42017.00) asked respondents to agree or disagree with statements such as "Work is the most meaningful part of life" and "People who don't retire when they can afford to are foolish."

Attitudes toward life

In addition to attitudes about work and working, respondents provided data on their feelings about life in general. In the 1980, 1982, and 1985-2003 surveys, respondents answered a global life satisfaction question on how they were feeling these days (e.g., R15693.00). They were asked to classify themselves overall as very happy, somewhat happy, somewhat unhappy, or very unhappy. Additional measures of psychological well-being are discussed in the Psychological Well Being section.

Attitudes toward housekeeping and child care

Respondents were asked about their opinions on working in the home as a part of the non-paid labor force. Specifically, at five-year intervals (beginning in 1978) respondents were asked for their attitudes about domestic labor and child care. In 1978, 1983, and 1988, respondents were asked, "How do you feel about keeping house in your own home?" and "How do you feel about taking care of children?" In 1971, employed women with children were asked to state their attitude toward child care centers. See the Child Care section of this guide for more information about child care arrangements.

At select survey points, the women were asked more detailed questions about their responsibility for a variety of household tasks. In the 1975, 1978, 1982, 1983, and 1987 surveys, a series of questions was asked of respondents about the degree of their responsibilities for select household chores. The response categories included respondent has sole responsibility, respondent shares responsibility, others have responsibility, and not applicable. In some of these survey years, respondents who answered that they shared responsibility for a particular task with others or that others had sole responsibility for the task were asked for their relationship to the other person who usually performed (shared) the task. In addition, those women who shared responsibility with someone else for a given task were asked the frequency (less than half of the time, about half the time, or more than half the time) with which they performed the task. In the 1982 survey, respondents were asked how they felt about performing each task (like, dislike, or don't mind). Table YW3 summarizes this series of items.

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Table YW3. Reference numbers for questions on respondent responsibility for household hasks
Question	Year	Child care	Cleaning dishes	Cleaning house	Cooking	Family paperwork	Grocery shopping	Care of ill/ disabled	Washing clothes	Yard/home maintenance
Extent of respondent responsibility for task Note YW3.1	1975	R05314.00	R05316.00	R05317.00	R05315.00		R05313.00		R05318.00	R05319.00
	1978	R06311.00	R06315.00	R06317.00	R06313.00		R06309.00		R06319.00	R06321.00
	1982	R07905.00	R07911.00	R07914.00	R07908.00	R07923.00	R07902.00		R07917.00	R07920.00
	1983	R08601.00	R08607.00	R08610.00	R08604.00	R08619.00	R08596.00		R08613.00	R08616.00
	1987	R10772.00	R10775.00	R10776.00	R10774.00	R10779.00	R10771.00	R10773.00	R10777.00	R10778.00
Relationship of other person sharing/performing task	1978	R06312.00	R06316.00	R06318.00	R06314.00		R06310.00		R06320.00	R06322.00
	1982	R07906.00	R07912.00	R07915.00	R07909.00	R07924.00	R07903.00		R07918.00	R07921.00
	1983	R08602.00	R08608.00	R08611.00	R08605.00	R08620.00	R08599.00		R08614.00	R08617.00
Frequency respondent performs task	1983	R08603.00	R08609.00	R08612.00	R08606.00	R08621.00	R08600.00		R08615.00	R08618.00
Respondent's attitude toward performing task	1982	R07907.00	R07913.00	R07916.00	R07910.00	R07925.00	R07904.00		R07919.00	R07922.00
Note YW3.1: Numbering of response categories may change over time. Users should consult the codebook for precise coding.

Related Variables	The Aptitude, Achievement & Intelligence Scores section provides information about the "Knowledge of the World of Work" scale. The Job Satisfaction section describes questions about the respondent's attitude toward her current or most recent job. The Job Search section discusses questions about reservation wages, hypothetical job offers, and plans to seek work in the future. See the Psychological Well Being for additional measures of emotional well-being.
Survey Instruments	Questions on attitudes can be found in various questionnaire sections, including "Work Attitudes and Job Plans," "Work Experience and Attitudes," "Work Attitudes," "Attitudes Toward Woman's Role," "Attitudes," "Health," and "Future Plans."

Related Variables

The Aptitude, Achievement & Intelligence Scores section provides information about the "Knowledge of the World of Work" scale. The Job Satisfaction section describes questions about the respondent's attitude toward her current or most recent job. The Job Search section discusses questions about reservation wages, hypothetical job offers, and plans to seek work in the future. See the Psychological Well Being for additional measures of emotional well-being.

Survey Instruments

Questions on attitudes can be found in various questionnaire sections, including "Work Attitudes and Job Plans," "Work Experience and Attitudes," "Work Attitudes," "Attitudes Toward Woman's Role," "Attitudes," "Health," and "Future Plans."

Read more about Attitudes

Physical Health

Mature Women cohort
Young Women cohort

Mature Women cohort

A comprehensive set of health-related variables is available for all respondents. In the early survey years, this data collection focused on health as related to employment, with questions in most interviews about whether the respondent's health limited her work activity or prevented her from working altogether. Information was collected in four surveys regarding whether any of the health problems were the result of an accidental injury and whether the most serious injury occurred on the job. Respondents were also asked at multiple survey points to identify one or more specific workplace characteristics that they would have trouble working under because of their health (e.g., places that were hot, damp, or that had fumes or noise).

Most surveys also asked respondents about their current health status and perceived health changes over time. Each respondent was asked during the 1967, 1986, and 1992-2003 surveys to rate her health as excellent, good, fair, or poor compared to other women her age. Periodic questions were also fielded on whether the respondent considered her health to have remained about the same or to have changed for the better or worse over a set period of time (e.g., the past five years, since the last interview). Self-reported height and weight data are available for respondents interviewed in 1992 and 1997-2003; weight was also asked in 1995.

As the cohort aged, the health collection expanded. Information on the specific diseases that limited the amount or kind of work that the respondent could do was collected during the 1989 and 1992 surveys. Details on up to four health conditions (e.g., cancer, heart trouble, diabetes, hypertension, senility) and the length of time that the respondent had been limited by the primary health condition were coded during each year. In 1997-2003, a similar series of questions asked all respondents about high blood pressure, cancer, and heart disease, including some limited information about treatment.

In 1971, 1977, 1982, 1987, and 1989, respondents who reported that health limited the amount or kind of work they could do were also asked if their health problems prevented them from performing a predetermined set of other activities such as walking, using stairs, stooping or crouching, etc. In 1995 and 1999-2003, a similar set of activity questions was addressed to all respondents. During each of these surveys except 1999, respondents were also asked whether they experienced certain health-related problems (e.g., pain, tiring easily, weakness, aches or swelling, fainting spells or dizziness, anxiety or depression, and/or shortness of breath).

In 1995-2003, two additional sections expanded the health module's focus. First, a new menopause section determined the respondent's current ovulation status. If the respondent had stopped ovulating, she dated her last ovulation and stated why her period stopped. Additional questions asked if the respondent had had surgery to remove her ovaries or uterus. This section ended by querying about hormonal supplements and birth control pill usage to control menopausal or aging symptoms.

A second series in 1995-2003 informs researchers about these women's day-to-day driving activities. The section asked if the respondent ever drove a car and if she had driven over the last 12 months. Those who had driven in the last 12 months were asked the number of miles driven and whether they drove after dark. Those who had not driven in the last 12 months, but who had during their lifetime, stated when and why they stopped driving.

Respondents were asked in 1991 and again in 2003 whether they had had any overnight stays in the hospital since the last interview and if so, the number of times and the number of nights spent. In 2003, for the first and only time, the women were asked if they had fractured or broken a bone in the last 10 years.

In 2003 a series of questions was introduced regarding prescription drug use. Respondents were asked if they took all the medication they were prescribed and, if applicable, the reasons why not. They were also queried on per month out-of-pocket expenses for their prescriptions.

A single question was also asked in 2003 about whether a respondent got at least 30 minutes of exercise three or more times a week.

In 2003, for the first and only time, proxies of deceased respondents were asked a series of questions about the health of the respondent between the last interview and the respondent's death, including cause of death, length of illness, and working status at time of death. The proxies were also asked about the deceased's medical care prior to death.

Young Women cohort

A comprehensive set of health-related variables is available for all respondents. In the early survey years, this data collection focused on health as related to employment and schooling, with questions in most interviews about whether the respondent's health limited her work activity or prevented her from working and whether her health affected her schooling, housework, or other activities. Information on whether any of the reported health problems were the result of an accidental injury and whether the most serious injury occurred on the job was collected in 1978. Respondents were also asked at multiple survey points to identify if any specific workplace characteristics would cause them trouble because of their health (e.g., places that were hot, damp, or that had fumes or noise).

Some surveys have also asked respondents about their current health status and perceived health changes over time. Beginning in 1971, periodic questions were fielded on whether the respondent considered her health to have remained about the same or to have changed for the better or worse over a set period of time (e.g., the past five years, since the last interview). In the 1993-2003 surveys, each respondent was asked to rate her health as excellent, good, fair, or poor compared to other women her age. Self-reported height and weight data are available for respondents interviewed during 1991; weight was also asked in 1995.

As the cohort aged, the health collection expanded. Information on the specific diseases that limited the amount or kind of work that the respondent could do was collected during the 1991 and 1993 surveys. Details on up to four health conditions (e.g., cancer, heart trouble, diabetes, hypertension, senility) and the length of time that the respondent had been limited by the primary health condition were coded during each year. The 1991 survey further included an extensive list of medical conditions, ranging from heart problems to allergies to osteoporosis, and asked respondents to state whether they had ever experienced each condition. In 1995-2003, a series of questions asked all respondents about high blood pressure, cancer, and heart disease, including limited information about treatment.

In 1971, 1978, 1983, 1988, and 1991, respondents who reported that health limited the amount or kind of work or housework they could do were also asked if their health problems prevented them from performing a predetermined set of other activities such as walking, using stairs, stooping or crouching, etc. In 1995, a similar set of activity questions was addressed to all respondents. During these same surveys, respondents were also asked whether they experienced certain health-related problems (e.g., pain, tiring easily, weakness, aches or swelling, fainting spells or dizziness, anxiety or depression, and/or shortness of breath).

In 1995-2003, an additional section on menopause expanded the health module's focus. First, this section determined the respondent's current ovulation status. If the respondent had stopped ovulating, she dated her last ovulation and stated why her period stopped. Additional questions asked if the respondent had had surgery to remove her ovaries or uterus. This section ended by querying about hormonal supplements and birth control pill usage to control menopausal or aging symptoms.

A series included only in the 1995 survey informs researchers about these women's day-to-day driving activities. The section asked if the respondent ever drove a car and if she had driven over the last 12 months. Those who had driven in the last 12 months were asked the number of miles driven and whether they drove after dark. Those who had not driven in the last 12 months, but who had during their lifetime, stated when they stopped driving.

In 2003 a series of questions was introduced regarding prescription drug use. Respondents were asked if they took all the medication they were prescribed and, if not, the reasons why. They were also queried on per month out-of-pocket expenses for their prescriptions.

A single question was also asked in 2003 about whether a respondent got at least 30 minutes of exercise three or more times a week.

In 2003, proxies of deceased respondents were asked a series of questions about the health of the respondent between the last interview and the respondent's death, including cause of death, length of illness, and working status at time of death. The proxies were also asked about the deceased's medical care prior to death.

Read more about Physical Health

Income and Assets

Mature Women cohort
Young Women cohort

Mature Women cohort

Respondents were asked numerous questions about their income, assets, and debts over the course of the surveys. While many researchers use income as the primary measure of the economic resources available to a respondent, users can draw a more complete picture of economic well-being by examining both income and wealth. Wealth, which is equal to a respondent's assets minus her debts, reflects the total financial resources available to the respondent.

Data summary

In every survey year, respondents were asked about their income. Table MW1 presents the broad range of income questions asked since 1967, including wages, business and farm income, rental income, interest and dividends, public assistance support sources, and alimony. In early survey years, respondents gave their income as a single sum (combining all sources) and also provided their husbands' total income; in later years, instead of giving their income as a single sum, respondents answered separate questions on how much income they received (pretax) from the various sources (this was also true for questions about their husbands' income). Beginning in 1987, respondents were also asked about the income of their partners. In years when the entire survey was shortened, some income sources were combined into fewer questions; in years when a more in-depth survey was used, the questions were separated.

In addition to the in-depth questions about the income of the respondent and her husband or partner, respondents also provided their estimate for total income of all individuals in the family in some years, while in other years they were asked to estimate the total income of all individuals except their husbands and themselves. Finally, respondents have been asked in select years about their ability to get along on their family's income, with choices ranging from "always have money left over" to "can't make ends meet."

Correctly gauging respondent income is a complicated task. Respondents may misreport their total income due to the many sources of income and debt they must consider. A final income figure is calculated based on questions about individual income sources. The 1987-2003 surveys first asked respondents about the total income of all people living at the residence. Respondents were then asked to provide a detailed breakdown of each type of income for themselves and their spouses/partners. These questions provide researchers with a method of checking how close an individual's rough guess of income is to the more finely derived total.

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Table MW1. Income questions: 1967-2003
Question¹	Survey Year
Question¹	1967	1968	1969	1971	1972	1974	1976	1977	1979, 1981	1982	1984	1986	1987	1989, 1992	1995-2003
Wage & Salary	*		*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Business Income	*		*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Farm Income	*		*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Interest, Dividends	*		*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Rental Income	*		*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Social Security	*		*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Pension Income	*		*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Unemployment Compensation	*		*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Workers' Compensation	*		*	*	*			*		*			*	*	*
Disability Income	*		*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Welfare (AFDC)	*		*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Food Stamps	*		*	*	*		*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Alimony, Child Support	*		*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Assistance from Relatives	*		*					*		*		*	*	*
Total Family Income		*		*					*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Ability to Get Along on Income									*	*	*	*	*		* 2003
R and Husband/Partner Keep Joint or Separate Accounts															*
¹ All income categories are not asked as separate questions in all years; categories were most often combined in telephone surveys.

Respondents were periodically asked a full set of asset questions. Table MW2 depicts the questions pertaining to assets by survey year; note that mail and telephone surveys are omitted from the table because no asset questions were asked in those surveys. When respondents were asked the full selection of questions, they provided information on the value and mortgage of their home, cash assets, business and farm activity, vehicles, and other debts. In several years, respondents were also asked to rate their overall financial position as better than, worse than, or about the same as the previous year.

Respondents were asked a number of times (1967, 1969, 1971, 1972) about their ownership of specific types of physical assets (not included in Table MW2 due to space). Respondents stated in these years if they had purchased in the last year a new or used washing machine, dryer, stove, refrigerator, freezer, air conditioner, television, garbage disposal, stereo, or dishwasher, and if they had spent money on any major remodeling.

Table MW2. Asset questions: 1967-2003
Question	Survey Year
Question	1967	1969	1971	1972	1977	1982, 1987	1989	1992	1995-2003
Own Home/Apartment	*		*	*	*	*	*		*
Market Value of Property	*		*	*	*	*	*		*
Amount Owed on Property	*		*	*	*	*	*		*
Have Estate/Trust							*		*
Amount Estate/Trust							*		*
Have Money Assets	*		*	*	*	*	*		*
Amount of Money Assets	*		*	*	*	*	*		*
Have Savings Bonds	*		*	*	*	*	*		*
Amount of Savings Bonds	*		*	*	*	*	*		*
Have Stocks/Bonds	*		*	*	*	*	*		*
Value of Stocks/Bonds	*		*	*	*	*	*		*
Have IRA/Keogh/401k/Life Insurance							*		*
Amount IRA/Keogh/401k/Life Insurance							*		*
People Owe You Money	*				*	*	*		*
Amount Owed to You	*				*	*	*		*
Own Farm/Business/Real Estate	*		*	*	*	*	*		*
Market Value Farm/Business/Real Estate	*		*	*	*	*	*		*
Amount Debts Farm/Business/Real Estate	*		*	*	*	*	*		*
Own Vehicles	*		*	*	*	*	*		*
Owe Any Money on Vehicles	*		*	*	*		*		*
Amount Owe on Vehicles	*		*	*	*		*		*
Market Value of Vehicles			*	*	*		*		*
Make/Model/Year of Vehicles	*		*
Owe Money to Creditors	*		*	*	*	*	*		*
Amount Owed to Creditors	*		*	*	*	*	*		*
Received Inheritance since DOLI							*		*
Received Life Insurance Settlement									*
Better/Worse Financially		*	*	*				*	*

Nonresponse

One major concern when asking individuals about their income and wealth is nonresponse bias. While it is outside the scope of this chapter to fully investigate nonresponse bias, this section briefly describes nonresponse in 1997 as an example of the issues raised. There are two primary types of questions on income and assets (or debts): general questions asking whether the respondent received income from a particular source or owned a particular asset, and specific questions asking about the amount of income or the value of the asset. Factors that are likely to contribute to nonresponse are suspicion, uncertainty, shared responsibility for family finances, and complex financial arrangements.

Table MW3 provides information on response rates to questions on income in the 1997 survey. Respondents who refuse to answer, who respond with "don't know," or who are valid or invalid skips are all counted as nonresponses. The cohort has high response rates on the receipt questions--generally around 95 percent. The percentages in the amount column are based only on individuals who reported receiving that type of income. These amount questions show much lower response rates. For example, the response rate for business and farm income drops by more than 19 percent.

Table MW3. Response rates to income questions (unweighted): 1997
Respondent's Income	Receive Income from Source?	Amount¹
Wages/Salaries/Tips	95.8%	86.9%
Business/Farm	95.5%	76.3%
Unemployment Benefits	96.1%	90.9%
Social Security	95.8%	89.5%
Retirement Pension	95.5%
Private Pension		88.5%
Military Pension		77.8%
Federal Gov. Pension		89.5%
State/Local Pension		88.7%
Union Pension		88.9%
IRA/KEOGH		70.6%
Other		81.4%
This table is calculated from R41534.00-R41538.00, R41540.00, R41544.00, R41546.00, and R41556.00-R41570.00.
¹ Universe is restricted to individuals who receive income from the relevant source.

Table MW4 provides information on response rates to questions on wealth in the 1997 survey. The table again shows high response rates on the ownership questions, averaging around 95 percent. The amount column is based only on individuals who own a particular asset or have a particular debt. These amount questions have much lower response rates.

Table MW4. Response rates to questions on wealth (unweighted): 1997
Type of Wealth		Ownership	Amount¹
Assets	Money Assets²	93.1%	67.6%
	Securities²	92.6%	50.5%
	Trusts	94.6%	47.6%
	Primary Residence	96.6%	85.2%
	Vehicles	95.9%	75.5%
Liabilities	Mortgage		92.7%
Liabilities	Vehicle Debt	98.9%	85.2%
This table is calculated from R41463.00-R41465.00, R41473.00- R41474.00, R41483.00-R41484.00, R41501.00-R41502.00, and R41528.00-R41531.00.
¹ Universe is restricted to individuals who have the relevant asset or debt.
² In addition, 26.3% of respondents answered the stepladder questions for money assets and 37.0% for securities.

Beginning in 1995, questions about some asset categories incorporated a "stepladder" to obtain some information from respondents who initially refused to answer or did not know the answer to an asset value question. For example, if a respondent refused to state or didn't know the value of her securities, she was then asked whether the value was over $15,000. If she answered affirmatively, she was asked whether the value was over $40,000. If the value of the securities was less than $15,000, she reported whether it was more than $5,000. This system was used to obtain some information about several asset categories; the ranges of the values are adjusted so that they are appropriate for each category. Users should consult the questionnaire or codebook if they are interested in determining the types of assets and ranges for which stepladders were used in 1995 and subsequent surveys.

Topcoding

To ensure respondent confidentiality, income variables exceeding particular limits are truncated each survey year so that values exceeding the upper limits are converted to a set maximum value. These upper limits vary by year, as do the set maximum values. From 1967 through 1972, upper limit dollar amounts were set to 999999. From 1974 to 1980, upper limit amounts were set to maximum values of 50000, and from 1981 to 1984 the set maximum value was 50001. Beginning in 1986, income amounts exceeding $100,000 were converted to a set maximum value of 100001. The top coding system changed in 1999; this is reflected in the codebook page for each variable.

From the cohort's inception, asset variables exceeding upper limits were truncated to 999999. Beginning in 1977, assets exceeding one million were converted to a set maximum value of 999997. Starting in 1992, the Census Bureau also topcoded selected asset items if it considered that release of the absolute value might aid in the identification of a respondent. This topcoding was conducted on a case-by-case basis with the mean of the top three values substituted for each respondent who reported such amounts.

Created values and summary statistics

NLS staff created a small number of summary income and asset variables for this cohort. The standard variable, 'Total Family Income' or 'Total Net Income of Family,' was created only in years when personal interviews were conducted: 1967, 1969-72, 1977, 1982, and 1987-2003. This variable was created by adding up all of the individual's income categories. Should any of the categories be unavailable, the created variable for that year was labeled "not available." A small number of cases each year had negative income; these individuals had business expenses that are larger than their business and other income. The peak number of respondents with negative family income occurred in 1977, when nine individuals fell into this category.

Because 'Total Family Income' was only created for respondents for whom data were available for all income items, it includes a large number of missing values each year. To make it easier to use the available income information, beginning in 1992 survey staff created a second total income variable summing the reported income values regardless of whether all items were answered. This summary variable can be found by searching for "Summation" in the variable title.

The data set also includes a standard summary variable for wealth entitled 'Total Net Family Assets,' created in 1967, 1971, 1972, 1977, 1982, 1987, 1989, and 1995-2003. 'Total Net Family Assets' was created by adding up the individual's housing, savings, bond, IRA, insurance, and business assets and then subtracting mortgages, loans, and other debts; it excludes automobile wealth. Users are cautioned that a number of respondents have negative net family assets.

Related Variables	The 1989-2003 questionnaires include a large number of detailed questions about the respondent's and her spouse's pension and pension income. These surveys provide information on the income from specific types of pension income, instead of grouping all pension payments together as in earlier surveys. For further information on pensions, see the Pension Benefits & Pension Plans section of this guide. Income sources are also discussed in the Program Participation and Social Security & Disability sections.
Survey Instruments	Each year's questionnaire has a section on "Income" or "Assets & Income" where the variables described above are located.

Related Variables

The 1989-2003 questionnaires include a large number of detailed questions about the respondent's and her spouse's pension and pension income. These surveys provide information on the income from specific types of pension income, instead of grouping all pension payments together as in earlier surveys. For further information on pensions, see the Pension Benefits & Pension Plans section of this guide. Income sources are also discussed in the Program Participation and Social Security & Disability sections.

Survey Instruments

Each year's questionnaire has a section on "Income" or "Assets & Income" where the variables described above are located.

Important information: Mature Women

A number of respondents have husbands or children in the other NLS Original Cohorts. If the respondent is part of a multiple respondent household, researchers may be able to compare the respondent's income and asset information with that provided by other members of her family. (For more information on the possible linkages, users should refer to the Household Composition section of this guide.) Using the husband-wife pairs may provide a more complete picture of a respondent's available resources, while the mother-child pairs provide researchers with information on how income and assets are propagated across generations.

Young Women cohort

Respondents were asked numerous questions about their income, assets, and debts over the course of the surveys. While many researchers use income as the primary measure of economic resources available to a respondent, users can draw a more complete picture of economic well-being by examining both income and wealth. Wealth, which is equal to a respondent's assets minus her debts, reflects the total financial resources available to the respondent.

Data summary

In every survey year, respondents were asked about their income. Table YW1 presents the broad range of income questions asked since 1968, including wages, business and farm income, rental income, interest and dividends, public assistance support sources, and alimony. In early survey years, respondents gave their income as a single sum (combining all sources) and also provided their husbands' total income; in later years, instead of giving their income as a single sum, respondents answered separate questions on how much income they received (pretax) from the various sources (this was also true for questions about their husbands' income). Beginning in 1983, respondents were also asked about the income of their partners. In years when the entire survey was shortened, some income sources were combined into fewer questions; in years when a more in-depth survey was used, the questions were separated.

In addition to the in-depth questions about the income of the respondent and her husband or partner, respondents also provided their estimate for total income of all individuals in the family in some years, while in other years they were asked to estimate the total income of all individuals except their husbands and themselves. Finally, respondents were asked in select years about their ability to get along on their family's income, with choices ranging from "always have money left over" to "can't make ends meet."

Correctly gauging respondent income is a complicated task. Respondents may misreport their total income due to the many sources of income and debt they must consider. A final income figure is calculated based on questions about individual income sources. The 1988-2003 surveys first asked respondents about the total income of all people living at the residence. Respondents were then asked to provide a detailed breakdown of each type of income for themselves and their spouses/partners. These questions provide researchers with a method of checking how close an individual's rough guess of income is to the more finely derived total.

Table YW1. Income 9uestions: 1968-2003
Question¹	Survey Year
Question¹	1968-1973	1975	1977	1978	1980	1982	1983	1985, 1987	1988, 1991	1993	1995-2003
Wage & Salary	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Business Income	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Farm Income	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Interest, Dividends	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Rental Income	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Social Security							*		*	*	*
Pension Income							*		*	*	*
Unemployment Compensation	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Workers' Compensation				*			*		*	*	*
Disability Income	*	*	*	*	*	*	*		*	*	*
Welfare (AFDC)	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Food Stamps			*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Alimony, Child Support				*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Assistance from Relatives	*				*	*		*		*
Total Family Income	*	*	*	*		*	*	*	*	*	*
Ability to Get Along on Income					*	*		*			* 2003
R and Husband/Partner Keep Joint or Separate Accounts										*	*
¹ All income categories are not asked as separate questions in all years; categories were most often combined in telephone surveys.

Respondents have periodically been asked a full set of asset questions. Table YW2 depicts the questions pertaining to assets by survey year; note that telephone surveys are omitted from the table because no asset questions were asked in those surveys. When respondents are asked the full selection of questions, they provide information on the value and mortgage of their home, cash assets, business and farm activity, vehicles, and other debts. In several years, respondents have also been asked to rate their overall financial position as better than, worse than, or about the same as the previous year.

Table YW2. Asset Questions: 1968-2003
Question	Survey Years
Question	1968	1969, 1970	1971-1973	1978	1983, 1988	1991	1993	1995-2003
Own Home/Apartment	*		*	*	*		*	*
Market Value of Property	*		*	*	*		*	*
Amount Owed on Property	*		*	*	*		*	*
Have Estate/Trust						*	*	*
Amount Estate/Trust						*	*	*
Have Money Assets	*		*	*	*	*	*	*
Amount of Money Assets	*		*	*	*	*	*	*
Have Savings Bonds	*		*	*	*		*	*
Amount of Savings Bonds	*		*	*	*		*	*
Have Stocks/Bonds	*		*	*	*		*	*
Value of Stocks/Bonds	*		*	*	*		*	*
Have IRA/Keogh/401k/Life Insurance								*
Amount IRA/Keogh/401k/Life Insurance								*
People Owe You Money					*		*	*
Amount Owed to You					*		*	*
Own Farm/Business/Real Estate	*		*	*	*		*	*
Market Value Farm/Business/Real Estate	*		*	*	*		*	*
Amount Debts Farm/Business/Real Estate	*		*	*	*		*	*
Own Vehicles	*		*	*	*		*	*
Owe Any Money on Vehicles	*		*	*			*	*
Amount Owe on Vehicles	*		*	*			*	*
Market Value of Vehicles			*	*			*	*
Make/Model/Year of Vehicle	*		*
Owe Money to Creditors	*		*	*	*		*	*
Amount Owed to Creditors	*		*	*	*		*	*
Received Inheritance since DOLI						*	*	*
Received Life Insurance Settlement								*
Better/Worse Financially		*	*	*	*	*	*	*

Nonresponse

One major concern when asking individuals about their income and wealth is nonresponse bias. While it is outside the scope of this chapter to fully investigate nonresponse bias, this section briefly describes nonresponse in 1997 as an example of the issues raised. There are two primary types of questions on income and assets (or debts): general questions asking whether the respondent received income from a particular source or owned a particular asset, and specific questions asking about the amount of income or value of the asset. Factors that are likely to contribute to nonresponse are suspicion, uncertainty, shared responsibility for family finances, and complex financial arrangements.

Table YW3 provides information on response rates to questions on income in the 1997 survey. Respondents who refuse to answer, who respond with "don't know," or who are valid or invalid skips are all counted as nonresponses. The cohort has high response rates on the receipt questions--generally around 96 percent. The percentages in the amount column are based only on individuals who reported receiving that type of income. These amount questions show much lower response rates. For example, the response rate for business and farm income drops by more than 12 percent.

Table YW3. Response rates to income questions (unweighted): 1997
Respondent's Income	Receive Income from Source?	Amount¹
Wages/Salaries/Tips	95.8%	91.1%
Business/Farm	95.4%	83.0%
Unemployment Benefits	96.2%	94.6%
Social Security	96.3%	95.7%
Veterans Comp/Pension	96.3%	81.5%
Workers' Compensation	96.3%	73.5%
Social Security Disability	96.3%	92.7%
Other Disability	96.3%	97.1%
This table is calculated from R41534.00-R41538.00, R41540.00-R41544.00, R41546.00, and R41548.00-R41555.00.
¹ Universe is restricted to individuals who receive income from the relevant source.

Table YW4 provides information on response rates to questions on wealth in the 1997 survey. The table again shows high response rates on the ownership questions--generally 94 percent or higher. The amount column is based only on individuals who own a particular asset or have a particular debt. These amount questions have much lower response rates.

Table YW4. Response rates to questions on wealth (unweighted): 1997
Type of Wealth		Ownership	Amount¹
Assets	Money Assets²	94.1%	77.0%
	Securities²	93.9%	62.9%
	Savings Bonds²	94.0%	75.9%
	Primary Residence	96.9%	90.9%
	Vehicles	96.1%	84.1%
Liabilities	Mortgage		88.8%
Liabilities	Vehicle Debt	98.6%	89.9%
This table is calculated from R41463.00-R41465.00, R41473.00-R41474.00, R41483.00-R41484.00, R41478.00-R41479.00, and R41528.00-R41531.00.
¹ Universe is restricted to individuals who have the relevant asset or debt.
² In addition, 19.5% of the respondents answered the stepladder questions for money assets, 29.8% for securities, and 20.2% for savings bonds.

Topcoding

To ensure respondent confidentiality, income variables exceeding particular limits are truncated each survey year so that values exceeding the upper limits are converted to a set maximum value. These upper limits vary by year, as do the set maximum values. From 1968 to 1971, upper limit dollar amounts were set to 999999. From 1972 to 1980, upper limit amounts were set to maximum values of 50000, and in 1982 and 1983 the set maximum value was 50001. Beginning in 1985, income amounts exceeding $100,000 were converted to a set maximum value of 100001. The top coding system changed in 1999; this is reflected in the codebook page for each variable.

From the cohort's inception, asset variables exceeding upper limits were truncated to 999999. Beginning in 1983, assets exceeding one million were converted to a set maximum value of 999997. Starting in 1993, the Census Bureau also topcoded selected asset items if it considered that release of the absolute value might aid in identification of a respondent. This topcoding was conducted on a case-by-case basis with the mean of the top three values substituted for each respondent who reported such amounts.

Created values and summary statistics

Survey staff have created a small number of summary income and asset variables for this cohort. The standard variable, created in 1968-73, 1978, 1983, and 1988-2003, is entitled 'Total Net Income of Family.' This variable is created by adding up all of the individual's income categories. Should any of the categories be unavailable, the created variable for that year is labeled "not available. "A small number of cases each year have negative income; these individuals have business expenses that are larger than their business and other income. The peak number of respondents with negative family income occurred in 1983 and 1995, when seven individuals fell into this category.

Because 'Total Family Income' was only created for respondents for whom data were available for all income items, it includes a large number of missing values each year. To make it easier to use the available income information, beginning in 1991 survey staff created a second total income variable summing the reported income values regardless of whether all items were answered. This summary variable can be found by searching for "Summation" in the variable title.

The data set also includes a standard summary variable for wealth entitled 'Total Net Family Assets,' created in 1968, 1971-73, 1978, 1983, 1988, and 1993-2003. 'Total Net Family Assets' is created by adding up the individual's housing, savings, bond, IRA, insurance, and business assets and then subtracting mortgages, loans, and other debts; it excludes automobile wealth. Users are cautioned that a number of respondents have negative net family assets.

Related Variables	Recent surveys have collected detailed information about pension income; these data are discussed in the Pension Benefits & Pension Plans section of this guide. Additional income sources are described in the Program Participation and Social Security & Disability sections.
Survey Instruments	Income and wealth information is collected in the "Income" or "Income and Assets" section of each year's questionnaire.

Important information: Young Women

A number of respondents have husbands or parents in the other NLS Original Cohorts. If the respondent is part of a multiple respondent household, researchers may be able to compare the respondent's income and asset information with that provided by other members of her family. (For more information on the possible linkages, users should refer to the Household Composition section of this guide.) Using the husband-wife pairs may provide a more complete picture of a respondent's available resources, while the parent-child pairs provide researchers with information on how income and assets are propagated across generations.

Read more about Income and Assets

Marital Status, Transitions & Spouse's Characteristics

Mature Women cohort
Young Women cohort

Mature Women cohort

Questions on marital status were asked of respondents in each survey year except for the 1968 mail survey. In general, the resulting 'Marital Status' variable includes six coding categories: married--spouse present, married--spouse absent, widowed, divorced, separated, and never married.

Other marital status variables include: (1) A 'Marital Status and Family Status' variable (which combines marital status with the presence of children), created in 1967 and 1969-76; (2) a 'Marital Status and Labor Force Group' variable (which combines marital status with labor force participation), created in 1967 and 1972; and (3) marital status of the children, available in 1986 (e.g., 'Living Children Born or Adopted - #1 - Current Marital Status'). Age at first marriage, number of times married, and way first marriage ended were also collected for daughters of respondents in 1986.

Marital transitions

It is possible to construct a fairly comprehensive marital history using the Mature Women data. The user should be aware, however, that very different questions were asked at different points in time. The following month and year variables are present in various years: (1) the date of first marriage; (2) the date of the most recent (latest or present) marriage; (3) the date of marriage to the current spouse; (4) the date of each change in marital status since a past interview; and (5) the date of becoming widowed, divorced, or separated. Other variables spanning various years include types of marital status changes and patterns of changes in marriage. Users are urged to examine the original questionnaires to determine wording, context, universe, and coding categories. In addition, while marital transition questions are asked periodically and cover previous dates, they were not asked annually in the early years of the survey. A series of marital status and transition variables is available for the following survey years: 1969-72, 1977, and 1982-2003.

Note that in earlier years, marital status information was updated for all respondents, including noninterviews. Noninterviewed respondents were assigned the marital status reported at their previous interview. In later years, updates to the marital status variables were made for interviewed respondents only (regardless of year). The User Notes below provide a more complete explanation. Finally, some marital information is missing. For instance, in the first survey, although marital transition questions were asked, only the dates of the first and most recent marriage were recorded; if the respondent was married more than twice, the dates of the "middle" marriages are missing.

Created variables

The final data release included created variables (R90414.00-R90423.00) that trace a respondent's marital transitions reported during the years of the Mature Women survey (1967-2003). For each respondent, a series of variables indicates the start date (variable name STDATxx) and end date (ENDATxx), if applicable, of each marriage reported. These variables were created using the form YYMM. For example, if a woman was first married in October of 1965, she would have a value of 6510 for the STDAT01 variable. Missing codes for these created variables indicate that the respondent had never married (-999), that her first marriage never ended (-998), that her first marriage ended and no second marriage has been reported (-997), and so forth. If a woman reported her marital status as married but did not provide a marriage date, she is assigned a code of 0, meaning that the date is unreported. More information on the creation of these variables, and the rules used to accommodate missing data, is provided in Appendix 41 of the Mature Women Codebook Supplement.

Important information: Mature Women

Users should carefully check coding category differences in marital status. In addition, there are many related variables such as marital status collected retrospectively for noninterview years and interviewer check items that use different categories than those described above. When marital transitions were updated from a midpoint of a previous year rather than from a previous interview, certain vital information may be missing. For instance, if a respondent was interviewed in 1979, was a noninterview in 1981, then was interviewed again in 1982, her marital history was updated since a specified date in 1981 (not 1979). If she was married in 1979 but divorced and remarried before 1981, her marital status would be married for both 1979 and 1982, with no marital transitions recorded. Her husband, however, would be a different person with different characteristics than in 1979. It is imperative for researchers to examine the questionnaires to determine exactly what information is recorded, especially for those not interviewed in earlier years of the survey.

Questions for widowed respondents

In 1995-2003, a special series of questions was addressed to Mature Women who had been widowed since their last interview. Respondents first answered questions about their husband's needs during the last year of his life, including whether the respondent provided special nursing care for the husband, the number of hours per day such care was required, and how this affected the respondent's employment opportunities. Respondents also provided information about how medical costs were paid during this time.

The second part of this series focused on the respondent's financial situation after her husband's death. These questions determined the types and amounts of benefits or other assistance the widow had received in connection with her husband's death. Sources of income recorded include insurance, Social Security , pensions, and family members.

Users should note that if the respondent appeared to be too uncomfortable to answer these questions at any point in the series, interviewers could skip past the remaining questions at their discretion. In these cases, a code of -7 in the data indicates that the respondent was unable to answer.

Spouse/partner characteristics

Information on the respondent's spouse is available in all years except the 1968 mail survey; data were collected about the partners of respondents beginning with the 1987 survey. Spouse/partner topics include health, income, education, weeks worked, and attitudes. The "Household Roster" is also a possible source of partner information. Although the list of possible relationships to the respondent on the "Household Roster" section of the questionnaire ("Household Record" variables) does not include "partner" in the early years, the revised relationship codes of later years do include this category.

In addition to this basic background information, beginning in 1992 the survey collected detailed information on the work experiences of the respondent's husband. The same questions were asked regarding the respondent's partner beginning in 1995. In questionnaire sections such as "Husband's Work History" and "Husband's Employer Supplement," the respondent reported on the husband's/partner's current labor force status; occupation, industry, and class of worker at current or most recent job; start and stop dates of employment; rate of pay; usual hours worked; and union membership. Similar information was then recorded for other jobs held since the last interview. Additionally, the respondent described the husband's or partner's job search activity in the past month and weeks of unemployment since the last interview/in the last year. Finally, the interview addressed retirement issues by asking the respondent whether her husband/partner was covered by Social Security (1992 only); what his or her plans and expectations were for retirement; and what types of pension coverage were available from current and past employers.

Survey Instruments & Documentation	Current marital status of the respondent was generally transcribed from the updated Household Record Cards to page one of the questionnaire or to the Information Sheet. In some survey years, however, current marital status was collected in other sections of the questionnaire, such as "Health" or "Work Attitudes." Marital transition information was collected in the "Marital History," "Family Members," "Family Background," "Marital Status," or "Household Record" questionnaire sections.

Survey Instruments & Documentation

Current marital status of the respondent was generally transcribed from the updated Household Record Cards to page one of the questionnaire or to the Information Sheet. In some survey years, however, current marital status was collected in other sections of the questionnaire, such as "Health" or "Work Attitudes." Marital transition information was collected in the "Marital History," "Family Members," "Family Background," "Marital Status," or "Household Record" questionnaire sections.

Young Women cohort

Marital Status

Questions on marital status were asked of respondents in each survey year. In general, the resulting 'Marital Status' variable includes six coding categories: married--spouse present, married--spouse absent, widowed, divorced, separated, and never married. Revised marital status variables, created for several survey years, add a seventh category of spouse absent for unknown reason. Users are encouraged to use the revised variables. In some early survey years, another created marital status variable is available, 'Marital Status and Family Status,' which combines marital status with presence of children.

Marital transitions

It is possible to construct a fairly comprehensive marital history using the Young Women data. The user should be aware, however, that very different questions are asked at different points in time. The following month and year variables are present in various years: (1) the date of first marriage; (2) the date of the most recent (latest or present) marriage; (3) the date of marriage to the current spouse; (4) the date of each change in marital status since a past interview; and (5) the date of becoming widowed, divorced, or separated. Other variables spanning various years include types of marital status changes and patterns of changes in marriage. Users are urged to examine the original questionnaires to determine wording, context, universe, and coding categories. In addition, while marital transition questions are asked periodically and cover previous dates, they were not asked annually in the early years of the survey. A series of marital status and transition variables is available for the following survey years: 1969, 1970, 1973, 1978, and 1982-2003.

Note that in earlier years, marital status information was updated for all respondents, including noninterviews. Noninterviewed respondents were assigned the marital status reported at their previous interview. In later years, updates to the marital status variables were made for interviewed respondents only (regardless of year). The User Notes below provide a more complete explanation. Finally, some marital information is missing, since respondents did not report on their marital history prior to 1969.

Created variables

Created marital transition variables. The 2003 data release includes created variables (R90414.00-R90423.00) that trace a respondent's marital transitions reported during the years of the Young Women survey (1968-2003). For each respondent, a series of variables indicates the start date (variable name STDATxx) and end date (ENDATxx), if applicable, of each marriage reported. These variables were created using the form YYMM. For example, if a woman was first married in October of 1965, she would have a value of 6510 for the STDAT01 variable. Missing codes for these created variables indicate that the respondent had never married (-999), that her first marriage never ended (-998), that her first marriage ended and no second marriage was reported (-997), and so forth. If a woman reported her marital status as married but did not provide a marriage date, she is assigned a code of 0, meaning that the date is unreported. More information on the creation of these variables, and the rules used to accommodate missing data, is provided in Appendix 41 of the Young Women Codebook Supplement.

Important information: Young Women

Users should carefully check coding category differences in marital status. In addition, there are many related variables such as marital status collected retrospectively for noninterview years and interviewer check items that use different categories than those described above. When marital transitions were updated from a midpoint of a previous year rather than from a previous interview, certain vital information may be missing. For instance, if a respondent was interviewed in 1980, was a noninterview in 1982, and then was interviewed again in 1983, her marital history was updated since a specified date in 1982 (not 1980). If she was married in 1980 but divorced and remarried before 1982, her marital status would be married for both 1980 and 1983, with no marital transitions recorded. Her husband, however, would be a different person with different characteristics than in 1980. It is imperative for researchers to examine the questionnaires to determine exactly what information is recorded, especially for those not interviewed in earlier years of the survey.

Questions for widowed respondents

In 1995-2003, a special series of questions was addressed to Young Women who had been widowed since their last interview. Respondents first answered questions about their husband's needs during the last year of his life, including whether the respondent provided special nursing care for the husband, the number of hours per day such care was required, and how this affected the respondent's employment opportunities. Respondents also provided information about how medical costs were paid during this time.

Spouse/partner characteristics

Information on the respondent's spouse is available in all years; data are collected about the partners of respondents beginning with the 1983 survey. Spouse/partner data include health, income, education, weeks worked, and attitudes. The "Household Roster" is also a possible source of partner information. Although the list of possible relationships to the respondent on the "Household Roster" section of the questionnaire ("Household Record" variables) does not include "partner" in the early years, the revised relationship codes of later years do include this category.

In addition to this basic background information, beginning in 1993 the survey collected detailed information on the work experiences of the respondent's husband. The same questions were asked regarding the respondent's partner since 1995. In questionnaire sections such as "Husband's Work History" and "Husband's Employer Supplement," the respondent reports on the husband's/partner's current labor force status; occupation, industry, and class of worker at current or most recent job; start and stop dates of employment; rate of pay; usual hours worked; and union membership. Similar information is then recorded for other jobs held since the last interview. Additionally, the respondent describes the husband's or partner's job search activity in the past month and weeks of unemployment since the last interview/in the last year. Finally, the interview addresses retirement issues by asking the respondent whether her husband/partner was covered by Social Security (1993 only); what his or her plans and expectations are for retirement; and what types of pension coverage are available from current and past employers.

Survey Instruments & Documentation	Current marital status of the respondent is generally transcribed from the updated Household Record Cards to page one of the questionnaire or to the Information Sheet. In some survey years, however, current marital status is collected in other sections of the questionnaire, such as "Health" or "Work Attitudes." Marital transition information for the respondent is collected in the "Marital History," "Family Members," "Family Background," or "Marital Status" questionnaire sections. The derivations of the revised versions of marital status come from consistency checks and hand-edits and result in revised household information. The derivation for the 'Pattern of Marital Status 68-73' variables, a series of created variables, is listed in Appendix 20 of the Young Women Codebook Supplement.

Survey Instruments & Documentation

Current marital status of the respondent is generally transcribed from the updated Household Record Cards to page one of the questionnaire or to the Information Sheet. In some survey years, however, current marital status is collected in other sections of the questionnaire, such as "Health" or "Work Attitudes." Marital transition information for the respondent is collected in the "Marital History," "Family Members," "Family Background," or "Marital Status" questionnaire sections. The derivations of the revised versions of marital status come from consistency checks and hand-edits and result in revised household information. The derivation for the 'Pattern of Marital Status 68-73' variables, a series of created variables, is listed in Appendix 20 of the Young Women Codebook Supplement.

Read more about Marital Status, Transitions & Spouse's Characteristics

Family Background

Mature Women cohort
Young Women cohort

If a respondent did not live in her parents' household, five of the first six surveys asked about the number of weeks worked by her parents, whether they usually worked full- or part-time, and their occupation. This information is in the "Household Roster" for respondents still residing with their parents.

The 1968 survey collected the life status of the respondent's and her husband's parents. In 1988 and 1991, additional information on the respondents' biological parents included their current ages (if they were still alive) or the ages when they died. The 1991 survey also asked about the main cause of death for all deceased parents. The in-depth Parents and Transfers section of the 1993, 1997, 2001, and 2003 surveys collected information on the respondent's and her husband's biological parents, including their current ages or the ages when they died. The respondent also reported the month and year of each parent's birth and death, as applicable. In these surveys, information was also collected about each parent's overall health and the distance each parent lived from the respondent. Other information from this detailed series of questions is discussed in the Transfers section.

Siblings

The Young Women surveys collected sibling data six times. The first collection, in 1968, asked respondents how many brothers and sisters lived outside their home. It also asked the age and highest grade completed of the oldest sibling. In 1978, a full collection of information about siblings was included in the survey. Respondents were asked to provide the name, sex, birth date, and highest grade completed of up to 10 siblings who were not living in their home at the interview date. Respondents were also asked to count how many brothers and sisters lived in their home currently; information about these siblings is in the "Household Roster." In 1983, 1988, 1991, and 1993, respondents were asked if they or their husbands had any dependents; they could then list how many brothers or sisters were dependent on them for at least half their support. Finally, in 1993, another full roster of siblings was included in the survey. Respondents were asked to state the sibling's name, sex, age, life status, highest grade completed, number of children, and age when first child was born for up to 10 siblings.

Respondent background at age 14

The 1968 survey asked respondents where they were born and how long they had lived at their current residence. Of the 5,159 respondents, 5,043 (97.8%) reported having been born in the United States.

Information was also collected during the initial interview about the living arrangements of respondents when they were 14 years old, including with whom the respondent lived and whether the residence was in a large or small city or in the country. In addition, the survey collected the occupation and the highest grade completed of the respondents' parents. In 1978, the respondent was again asked whether her mother worked when she was a teenager. If so, follow-up questions asked about her mother's occupation and about the respondent's perception of how her mother felt about working. The 1968 survey also asked whether magazines and newspapers were available in the respondent's home at age 14 and whether the respondent or someone in the household had a library card. In 1973, the survey asked the respondent whether a language other than English was spoken in the home when she was a child and, if so, which language.

Related Variables	In each survey, information is collected on all members of the respondent's household; see the Household Composition section for details. More information about the respondent's background is available in the Race, Ethnicity & Nationality section.
Survey Instruments & Documentation	Questions pertaining to family background can be found within the Family Background sections of the questionnaires. Questions about life status of parents are located in the Health or Parents and Transfers sections of the questionnaires.

Mature Women cohort

Important information: Mature Women

The sampling design for the Original Cohorts produced a number of multiple respondent households. A small number of Mature Women have a sister in the Mature Women cohort or a brother in the Older Men cohort. These multiple respondent households provide a great deal of data about a respondent's siblings in addition to that collected during the regular surveys. For more information, see the Household Composition section.

The Mature Women surveys provide researchers with a variety of family background data. The surveys collected information on three primary topics: parents, siblings, and the respondent's family background at age 15.

Parent background

In the 1967 interview, the women were asked about the birth countries of their parents and grandparents; Table MW1 depicts the results.

Table MW1. Birth country of parents and grandparents
Country	Mother	Father	Maternal Grandfather	Maternal Grandmother	Paternal Grandfather	Paternal Grandmother
U.S. or Canada	4409	4356	3622	3696	3588	3633
N or W Europe Note MW1.1	190	212	332	378	346	310
C or E Europe Note MW1.2	137	160	65	70	55	67
S Europe Note MW1.3	136	179	32	31	41	37
Latin America Note MW1.4	69	67	8	8	9	9
Other	82	91	10	9	12	10
Not available	60	18	1014	991	1032	1017
This table is based on R00504.00-R00509.00 from the 1967 survey. Note MW1.1: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Northern Ireland, Norway, Scotland, Sweden, Switzerland, Wales. Note MW1.2: Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Estonia, Finland, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, U.S.S.R., Yugoslavia. Note MW1.3: Andorra, Azores, Gibraltar, Gozo, Greece, Italy, Liechtenstein, Malta, Monaco, Portugal, San Marino, Spain, Trieste, Vatican City, Europe--Country not specified. Note MW1.4: Mexico, Central America, South America.

Information on the life status of the respondent's and her husband's parents was collected in 1967, 1969, 1971, 1972, 1981, 1984, 1989, 1997, 2001, and 2003. The 1981 survey also asked how frequently respondents had contact with their parents and parents-in-law, as well as the distance they lived from each. In 1984, 1989, and 1997, respondents were again asked about the distance they lived from their parents and parents-in-law. These surveys also collected information on whether the respondent's or her husband's parents needed help for health reasons and, if so, who provided the care. The 1992, 1997, 2001, and 2003 surveys collected additional information on the respondents' biological parents including their current ages (if they were still alive) or the ages when they died. For all deceased parents, the survey collected information on the main cause of death. The 1997 survey also asked about each parent's overall health condition. Other information from these detailed 1997, 2001, and 2003 series of questions is discussed in the Transfers section.

Siblings

The Mature Women surveys collected data about siblings in two survey years. The first collection, in 1977, asked respondents to provide the name, sex, birth date, and highest grade completed of up to 10 siblings who were not living in their home on the date of the survey. Respondents were also asked to count how many brothers and sisters lived in their home currently; information about these siblings is on the 1977 "Household Roster." In 1981, the survey asked how many living brothers and how many living sisters the respondent had. The respondent also answered questions about how often she contacted her closest sibling and the distance that sibling lived from the respondent's home.

Respondent background at age 15

The 1967 survey asked respondents where they were born and how long they had lived at their current residence. Of the 5,083 respondents, 4,836 (95.1%) reported having been born in the United States.

Information was also collected during the initial interview about the living arrangements of respondents when they were 15 years old, including with whom the respondent lived and whether the residence was in a large or small city or in the country. In addition, the survey collected the occupation and the highest grade completed of the respondent's parents.

Related Variables	In each survey, information is collected on all members of the respondent's household; see the Household Composition section for details. More information about the respondent's background is available in the Race, Ethnicity & Nationality section.
Survey Instruments & Documentation	Questions pertaining to family background can be found within the Family Background sections of the questionnaires. Questions about life status of parents are located in the Health or Parents and Transfers sections of the questionnaires.

Young Women cohort

Important information: Young Women

The sampling design for the Original Cohorts produced a number of multiple respondent households. Over 30 percent of Young Women had a mother in the Mature Women cohort; 20 percent had a father in the Older Men cohort. More than 50 percent of Young Women had a sister in the Young Women cohort, a brother in the Young Men cohort, or both. These multiple respondent households provide a great deal of data about a respondent's parents and siblings in addition to that collected during the regular surveys. For more information, see the Household Composition section.

The Young Women surveys provide researchers with a variety of family background data. The surveys collected information on three primary topics: parents, siblings, and the respondent's family background at age 14.

Parent background

In the 1968 interview, the women were asked about the birth countries of their parents and grandparents; Table YW1 depicts the results.

Table YW1. Birth country of parents and grandparents
Country	Mother	Father	Maternal Grandfather	Maternal Grandmother	Paternal Grandfather	Paternal Grandmother
U.S. or Canada	4996	4940	4276	4322	4163	4238
N or W Europe Note YW1.1	48	54	160	144	227	195
C or E Europe Note YW1.2	29	49	155	147	158	144
S Europe Note YW1.3	27	44	120	100	142	120
Latin America Note YW1.4	32	46	40	43	39	37
Other	23	22	26	19	26	21
Not available	4	4	382	384	404	404
This table is based on R00384.00-R00389.00 in the 1968 interview. Note YW1.1: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Northern Ireland, Norway, Scotland, Sweden, Switzerland, Wales. Note YW1.2: Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Estonia, Finland, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, U.S.S.R., Yugoslavia. Note YW1.3: Andorra, Azores, Gibraltar, Gozo, Greece, Italy, Liechtenstein, Malta, Monaco, Portugal, San Marino, Spain, Trieste, Vatican City, Europe--Country not specified. Note YW1.4: Mexico, Central America, South America.

Read more about Family Background

Household Composition

Mature Women cohort
Young Women cohort

Mature Women cohort

This section first describes variables related to household and family composition, characteristics of household members, and household residence. Household identification and linkages between members of multiple respondent households are then discussed. Some familiarity with the following survey instruments which gather information on households is helpful: the Original Cohort Household Record Cards, the Original Cohort "Household Roster," and the household screeners that were used to select respondents for the various cohorts. The Survey Instruments section provides detailed descriptions of each of these instruments. The availability of information on partners is discussed in the Marital Status & Marital Transitions section. Those interested in information detailing the geographic residence (e.g., state, county, or SMSA) of NLS respondents should refer to the Geographic Residence & Environmental Characteristics.

Household characteristics

Household and family composition

During each survey year, a complete listing of family or household members was obtained in the "Household Roster" or household enumeration section of the questionnaire. Through 1982, only family members (i.e., related household members) were included on the "Household Roster," although some information about unrelated household members was collected in a separate series of questions in 1982. In later years, all household members were listed on the "Household Roster"; however, variable titles were not altered to reflect this change. For example, 'Household Record - Family Member # 5: Relationship to R' may actually provide the relationship to the respondent of an unrelated household member. The number of family or household members on the roster varied from 9 to 23 across survey years; users can determine whether unrelated household members were listed and the total number included for a given year by examining the questionnaire. Name, relationship, and date of birth items were generally transcribed from the Household Record Cards, documents that were completed before the interview began. Items in the "Household Roster" can be easily found on the data file by searching for the word "Record."

Characteristics of household members

Although questions and universes varied slightly across surveys, basic information about the age, relationship to the respondent, and labor force participation of members listed on the roster was collected each year. Information about educational status and attainment of family members was gathered in each year through 1987. Gender, while not reported in the roster before 1997, can usually be inferred from the relationship code; see the User Notes below for details. Table MW1 summarizes the survey years and universes for which the various types of information were collected.

Scroll right to view additional table columns.

Table MW1. Mature Women Household Roster questions 1967-2003
Key: F = Family members, H = Household members; Numbers indicate age restrictions
Survey year	Relationship to R	Age/date of birth (DoB)	Gender	Enrollment status	Highest grade attended (not enrolled members only)	Highest grade completed	Expected educational attainment	Work last week?	Weeks worked last year	Usual hours per week worked	Occupation (if worked in past year)
1967	F	F age		F 6-24	F >= 6	F >= 6	F 6-24		F >= 14	F >= 14	F >= 14
1969	F	F age		F 6-24	F 6-24	F 6-24	F 6-24		F >= 14	F >= 14	F >= 14
1971	F	F age		F 6-24	F 6-24	F 6-24	F 6-24		F >= 14	F >= 14	F >= 14
1972	F	F age		F 6-24	F 6-24	F 6-24	F 6-24		F >= 14	F >= 14	F >= 14
1974	F	F age		F 6-24					F >= 14	F >= 14	F >= 14
1976	F	F age		F 6-24					F >= 14	F >= 14	F >= 14
1977	F	F DoB		F >= 3	F >= 3	F >= 3			F >= 14	F >= 14	F >= 14
1979	F	F age		F 6-24					F >= 14	F >= 14	F >= 14
1981	F	F age		F >= 3					F >= 14	F >= 14	F >= 14
1982	F	F DoB		F >= 3	F >= 3	F >= 3			F >= 14	F >= 14	F >= 14
1984	H	H both		H >= 3					H >= 14	H >= 14	H >= 14
1986	H	H both		H >= 3					H >= 14	H >= 14	H >= 14
1987	H	H both		H >= 3					H >= 14	H >= 14	H >= 14
1989	H	H both						H >= 14	H >= 14	H >= 14	H >= 14
1992	H	H both						H >= 14	H >= 14	H >= 14	H >= 14
1995	H	H both	H					H >= 14	H >= 14	H >= 14
1997	H	H both	H					H >= 14	H >= 14	H >= 14
1999	H	H both	H			H >= 3		H >= 14	H >= 14	H >= 14
2001	H	H both	H			H >= 3		H >= 14	H >= 14	H >= 14
2003	H	H both	H			H >= 3		H >= 14	H >= 14	H >= 14

Although unrelated household members were not included on the household roster until 1984, the 1982 questionnaire asked for the relationship, age, and sex of up to six unrelated household members in a separate series of questions.

Household residence

Data on the type of residence in which the respondent lived are only available for 1995-2003. In these surveys, the "Interviewer Remarks" section included a question about the type of dwelling, with answer categories such as detached house, apartment in building with or without elevator, trailer, etc.

Important information: Mature Women family members

Beginning in 1992, most information on the respondent's husband was gathered in the main body of the questionnaire rather than the "Household Roster" section.

Relationship codes for family and household members varied across survey years. From 1967-76, family members were given one of twelve codes identifying only direct relationships like spouse, children, parents, and siblings, with sex usually identified (e.g., son, daughter, other relative - male). Any other family members were simply coded as "other relative." The 1977-92 surveys used an expanded set of codes, with sex usually identified, that included grandparents; children by marriage; adopted, step-, and foster children; partners; and boarders and other nonrelatives. In 1995, codes with sex not identified were added for adopted, step-, and foster children; boarders; and partners.

Gender can be established by searching variable titles for the words "Record" and "Gender" in NLS Investigator.

Household identification and linkages

The sampling design used to select respondents often generated more than one NLS respondent from the same household. More than half of the respondents from the Mature Women cohort shared the same household with at least one other respondent from the same or another cohort at the time the screening was performed (see Tables MW2 and MW3). To facilitate use of this unique aspect of NLS data, constructed variables link respondents sharing the same household at the time of the 1966 screening (see variables R00003.00 through R00021.00)

Table MW2. Distribution of respondents living within single and multiple respondent households: The Original Cohorts
Household Type¹	Older Men		Mature Women		Young Men		Young Women
Household Type¹	Number	Percentage	Number	Percentage	Number	Percentage	Number	Percentage
Single Respondent	3353	66.8%	2509	49.4%	1031	19.7%	1018	19.7%
Multiple Respondents	1667	33.2%	2574	50.6%	4194	80.3%	4141	80.3%
2 Respondent Households	861	17.2%	1347	26.5%	1997	38.2%	1887	36.6%
3 Respondent Households	477	9.5%	775	15.2%	1206	23.1%	1216	23.6%
4 Respondent Households	234	4.7%	311	6.1%	650	12.4%	625	12.1%
5 Respondent Households	71	1.4%	115	2.3%	264	5.1%	288	5.6%
6 Respondent Households	17	0.3%	21	0.4%	49	0.9%	83	1.6%
7 Respondent Households	5	0.1%	3	0.1%	21	0.4%	32	0.6%
8 Respondent Households	1	<0.05%	1	<0.05%	1	<0.05%	9	0.2%
9 Respondent Households	1	<0.05%	1	<0.05%	6	0.1%	1	<0.05%
Total Respondents	5020	100%	5083	100%	5225	100%	5159	100%
¹ Household types for all cohorts are based on data gathered during the household screening. Reference numbers are R00003.00-R00021.00 (Older Men, Mature Women, and Young Men) and R00003.00-R00021.55 (Young Women).

Table MW3. Distribution of respondents by intra- and inter-cohort households: The Original Cohorts
Household Type and Cohort(s)¹		Older Men	Mature Women	Young Men	Young Women	Households
Total Respondents		5020	5083	5229	5159	12,827
Single Respondent		3353				3353
			2509			2509
				1031		1031
					1018	1018
Multiple Respondent
Intra-Cohort Respondents^2,3
	Older Men	91				43
	Mature Women		74			36
	Young Men			1697		786
	Young Women				1645	743
Inter-Cohort Respondents^2,4
	OM-MW	572	572			567
	OM-YM	934		1167		931
	OM-YW	843			1069	839
	MW-YM		1415	1792		1406
	MW-YW		1508		1957	1502
	YM-YW			2253	2260	1880
	OM-MW-YM	239	239	306		238
	OM-YM-YW	402		513	519	401
	OM-MW-YW	231	231		301	231
	MW-YM-YW		618	786	799	614
	OM-MW-YM-YW	122	122	159	160	122
¹ All information on respondents residing in the same household is based on information collected at the 1966 screenings. Reference numbers include: R00003.00-R00021.00 (Older Men, Mature Women, and Young Men) and R00003.00-R00021.55 (Young Women).
² Categories are not mutually exclusive. For example, a household containing three Young Men and one Mature Woman would be included as an intra-cohort Young Men household as well as an inter-cohort Mature Women-Young Men household.
³ The number of respondents from households in which at least two respondents from the same cohort resided together at the time of the 1966 screenings.
⁴ The number of respondents from two or more cohorts who resided in the same household at the time of the 1966 screenings. Older Men is abbreviated OM, Mature Women is MW, Young Men is YM, and Young Women is YW.

Variables specifying the dominant relationships (e.g., siblings, spouses, parents-children) are available within each Original Cohort data set. These variables provide the identification codes of other respondents originating from the same household by relationship and cohort, e.g., 'Identification Code of 1st Sister.' The following relationship linkages are available: spouses (Older Men and Mature Women, Young Men and Young Women), mothers and children (Mature Women and Young Women, Mature Women and Young Men), fathers and children (Older Men and Young Women, Older Men and Young Men), and siblings (Young Women and Young Men). Table MW4 depicts the numbers and types of pairs that existed during the initial survey years among members of the four Original Cohorts.

Table MW4. Number and types of dominant pairs identified during the initial survey years: The Original Cohorts
Pairs	Young Women	Young Men	Mature Women
Older Men Spouse Pairs			492
Older Men Parent-Child Pairs	988	1098
Mature Women Parent-Child Pairs	1848	1671
Young Men Spouse Pairs	584
Young Men Sibling Pairs	1461	1044
Young Women Sibling Pairs	1016
This table is based on R00003.50 (Older Men and Mature Women), R00003.01-R00003.52 (Young Men), and R00003.50-R00003.52 and R00021.01-R00021.55 (Young Women).

NLS staff developed relationship codes based on a Census tape that included the identification numbers of all individuals who shared a household during the screening procedure. The following logic was used in assigning relationship codes: if a 47-year-old man from the Older Men cohort said he had a 38-year-old wife and a 38-year-old woman from the Mature Women cohort with the same household ID said she had a 47-year-old husband, husband-wife relationships were assigned. A one-year difference was allowed between the reported ages; three years of interview information were checked. Although these matches represent unique samples for a number of research topics, users should be aware that they typically include demographically non-representative matches. For example, father-daughter matches from the Older Men and Young Women Cohorts include fathers who were at least 45 years of age in 1966 and daughters who were no older than 24 in 1968.

Although other types of relationships may have existed, only spouse, sibling, or parent/child relationship codes were assigned. However, identification of other relationship types is possible through use of created variables (R00003.00 to R00021.00) that provide, by cohort, both the identification numbers of other respondents in the household (e.g., 'Identification Code of 1st Older Male in R's Household') and of the household ('Identification Code of R's Household'). To determine the nature of other relationships, users can match characteristics of household members from the first respondent's survey information (e.g., the age the first respondent claims for a cousin) with characteristics of household members on the second respondent's household roster (e.g., the age the second respondent claims for a cousin), as was done for the development of the relationships described above.

Note that phrases such as "Younger Female," "Older Male," etc., within the titles of the constructed variables refer to the cohort--not to the relative age to the respondent. For example, a 14-year-old male has a 17-year-old sister; both are respondents. On his record, she would be called a "Younger Female" because she is in the Young Women cohort.

Survey Instruments & Documentation	Generally, information on the "Household Roster" was transcribed from the Household Record Cards. The "Household Roster" is located within the "Family Members," "Family Background," or "Household Members" sections of the questionnaires.

Important information: Mature Women family relationships

Users are warned that the relationships were inferred from data on the public data files. NLS staff did not have access to detailed information from the Census Bureau (names, etc.) to confirm these linkages. Only "dominant" relationships were considered, as discussed above. While these pairings are believed to be fairly accurate, they and the matching algorithms may have been affected by, for example, misreporting of age in the "Household Roster."

Once a family relationship was assigned, it was generally considered binding even if the household members lived separately. For instance, if the son of a mother/son pair left for college between the screening and the first interview, but a mother/son relationship could still be established based on information collected on the mother's "Household Roster" (for anyone away at college), a mother/son relationship was assigned. Similarly, if a husband/wife pair was divorced several years after the initial interview, this pair would still be linked as spouses. Data from the marital status variables would need to be used to update the relationship.

The data files for all four Original Cohorts include identification numbers for all other respondents in the household, which can be accessed by searching for the word "Identification" in NLS Investigator. However, the relationship of the other respondent is not always identified. While identification numbers of spouses in other cohorts are given for all four cohorts, only the Young Men and Young Women files include identification numbers for parent-child pairs. Therefore, for example, a mother-daughter relationship cannot be identified by looking at the Mature Women data file; users can only discover that a respondent in the Young Women's cohort lives in the same household. They must use the Young Women data files to discern whether that pair is a mother-daughter relationship.

Young Women cohort

This section first describes variables related to household and family composition, characteristics of household members, and household residence. Household identification and linkages between members of multiple respondent households are then discussed. Some familiarity with the following survey instruments that gather information on households is helpful: the Original Cohort Household Record Cards, the Original Cohort "Household Roster," and the household screeners that were used to select respondents for the various cohorts. The Survey Instruments section provides detailed descriptions of each of these instruments. The availability of information on partners is discussed in the Marital Status & Marital Transitions section. Those interested in information detailing the geographic residence (e.g., state, county, or SMSA) of NLS respondents should refer to the Geographic Residence & Environmental Characteristics section.

Household characteristics

Household and family composition

During each survey year, a complete listing of family or household members is obtained in the "Household Roster" or household enumeration section of the questionnaire. Through 1985, only family members (i.e., related household members) are included on the "Household Roster," although some information about unrelated household members was collected in a separate series of questions in 1978, 1982, 1983, and 1985. In more recent years, all household members are listed on the "Household Roster"; however, variable titles have not been altered to reflect this change. For example, 'Household Record - Family Member # 5: Relationship to R' may actually provide the relationship to the respondent of an unrelated household member. The number of family or household members on the roster has varied from 9 to 23 across survey years; users can determine whether unrelated household members were listed and the total number included for a given year by examining the questionnaire. Name, relationship, and date of birth items are generally transcribed from the Household Record Cards, documents that are completed before the interview begins. Items in the "Household Roster" can be easily found on the data file by searching for the word "Record."

Characteristics of household members

Although questions and universes have varied slightly across surveys, basic information about the age, relationship to the respondent, and labor force participation of members listed on the roster was collected each year. Information about educational status and attainment of family members was gathered in each year through 1985. Gender, while not reported in the roster before 1997, can usually be inferred from the relationship code; see the User Notes below for details. Table YW1 summarizes the survey years and universes for which the various types of information were collected.

Scroll right to view additional table columns.

Table YW1. Young Women Household Roster questions 1968-2003
Key: F = Family members, H = Household members; Numbers indicate age restrictions
Survey year	Relationship to R	Age/date of birth (DoB)	Gender	Enrollment status	Highest grade attended (not enrolled members only)	Highest grade completed	Work last week?	Weeks worked last year	Usual hours per week worked	Occupation (if worked in past year)
1968	F	F age		F 6-24	F >= 6	F >= 6		F >= 14	F >= 14	F >= 14
1969	F	F age		F 6-24	F 6-24	F 6-24		F >= 14	F >= 14	F >= 14
1970	F	F age		F 6-24	F 6-24	F 6-24		F >= 14	F >= 14	F >= 14
1971	F	F age		F 6-24	F 6-24	F 6-24		F >= 14	F >= 14	F >= 14
1972	F	F age		F 6-24	F 6-24	F 6-24		F >= 14	F >= 14	F >= 14
1973	F	F age		F 6-24	F 6-24	F 6-24		F >= 14	F >= 14	F >= 14
1975	F	F age		F 6-24	n/a	n/a		F >= 14	F >= 14	F >= 14
1977	F	F both		F >= 3	F >= 3	F >= 3		F >= 14	F >= 14	F >= 14
1978	F	F DoB		F >= 3	F >= 3	F >= 3		F >= 14	F >= 14	F >= 14
1980	F	F both		F >= 3	F >= 3	F >= 3		F >= 14	F >= 14	F >= 14
1982	F	F both		F >= 3	F >= 3	F >= 3		F >= 14	F >= 14	F >= 14
1983	F	F both		F >= 3	F >= 3	F >= 3		F >= 14	F >= 14	F >= 14
1985	F	F both		F >= 3	F >= 3	F >= 3		F >= 14	F >= 14	F >= 14
1987	H	H age						H >= 14	H >= 14	H >= 14
1988	H	H DoB						H >= 14	H >= 14	H >= 14
1991	H	H both					H >= 14	H >= 14	H >= 14	H >= 14
1993	H	H both					H >= 14	H >= 14	H >= 14	H >= 14
1995	H	H both	H				H >= 14	H >= 14	H >= 14
1997	H	H both	H				H >= 14	H >= 14	H >= 14
1999	H	H both	H			H >= 3	H >= 14	H >= 14	H >= 14
2001	H	H both	H			H >= 3	H >= 14	H >= 14	H >= 14
2003	H	H both	H			H >= 3	H >= 14	H >= 14	H >= 14

Although unrelated household members were not included on the household roster until 1987, some information is available for 1978, 1982, 1983, and 1985. For the first three years, a second series of questions similar to the roster asked for the relationship, age, and sex of up to five unrelated household members. In 1985, an extended series of questions asked about the relationship; age; enrollment status, highest grade attended, and highest grade completed (for those age 3 and older); and number of weeks worked last year, usual number of hours worked per week, and occupation (for those age 14 and older). This series of questions also asked about the contributions of members age 14 and older to the household in terms of both financial support and help with household tasks.

Household residence

A very limited amount of information is available about the type of residence in which the respondent lived. The 1970-72 surveys asked how many rooms the respondent's dwelling had. In 1993-2003, the "Interviewer Remarks" section included a question about the type of dwelling, with answer categories such as detached house, apartment in building with or without elevator, trailer, etc.

Important information: Young Women family members

Beginning in 1993, most information on the respondent's husband is gathered in the main body of the questionnaire rather than the "Household Roster" section.

Relationship codes for family and household members have varied across survey years. From 1968-75, family members were given one of twelve codes identifying only direct relationships like spouse, children, parents, and siblings, with sex usually identified (e.g., son, daughter, other relative - male). Any other family members were simply coded as "other relative." In the mid-1970s, these household record variables were revised and expanded for the 1968-73 (but not 1975) survey years. Additional codes, with sex usually identified, included grandparents; children by marriage; adopted, step-, and foster children; partners; and boarders and other nonrelatives. The same expanded codes were used for the 1977-93 surveys. In 1995, codes with sex not identified were added for adopted, step-, and foster children; boarders; and partners.

Gender can be established by searching variable titles for the words "Record" and "Gender" in NLS Investigator.

Household identification and linkages

The sampling design used to select respondents often generated more than one NLS respondent from the same household. More than three-quarters of the respondents from the Young Women cohort shared the same household with at least one other respondent from the same or another cohort at the time the screening was performed (see Tables YW2 and YW3). To facilitate use of this unique aspect of NLS data, constructed variables link respondents sharing the same household at the time of the 1966 screening. (See variables R00003.00 to R00021.55).

Table YW2. Distribution of respondents living within single and multiple respondent households: The Original Cohorts
Household Type¹	Older Men		Mature Women		Young Men		Young Women
Household Type¹	Number	Percentage	Number	Percentage	Number	Percentage	Number	Percentage
Single Respondent	3353	66.8%	2509	49.4%	1031	19.7%	1018	19.7%
Multiple Respondents	1667	33.2%	2574	50.6%	4194	80.3	4141	80.3%
2 Respondent Households	861	17.2%	1347	26.5%	1997	38.2	1887	36.6%
3 Respondent Households	477	9.5%	775	15.2%	1206	23.1	1216	23.6%
4 Respondent Households	234	4.7%	311	6.1%	650	12.4	625	12.1%
5 Respondent Households	71	1.4%	115	2.3%	264	5.1	288	5.6%
6 Respondent Households	17	0.3%	21	0.4%	49	0.9	83	1.6%
7 Respondent Households	5	0.1%	3	0.1%	21	0.4	32	0.6%
8 Respondent Households	1	<0.05%	1	<0.05%	1	<0.05	9	0.2%
9 Respondent Households	1	<0.05%	1	<0.05%	6	0.1	1	<0.05%
Total Respondents	5020	100%	5083	100%	5225	100%	5159	100%
¹ Household types for all cohorts are based on data gathered during the household screening. Reference numbers are R00003.00-R00021.00 (Older Men, Mature Women, and Young Men) and R00003.00-R00021.55 (Young Women).

Table YW3. Distribution of respondents by intra- and inter-cohort households: The Original Cohorts
Household Type and Cohort(s)¹		Older Men	Mature Women	Young Men	Young Women	Households
Total Respondents		5020	5083	5229	5159	12,827
Single Respondent		3353				3353
			2509			2509
				1031		1031
					1018	1018
Multiple Respondent
Intra-Cohort Respondents^2,3
	Older Men	91				43
	Mature Women		74			36
	Young Men			1697		786
	Young Women				1645	743
Inter-Cohort Respondents^2,4
	OM-MW	572	572			567
	OM-YM	934		1167		931
	OM-YW	843			1069	839
	MW-YM		1415	1792		1406
	MW-YW		1508		1957	1502
	YM-YW			2253	2260	1880
	OM-MW-YM	239	239	306		238
	OM-YM-YW	402		513	519	401
	OM-MW-YW	231	231		301	231
	MW-YM-YW		618	786	799	614
	OM-MW-YM-YW	122	122	159	160	122
¹ All information on respondents residing in the same household is based on information collected at the 1966 screenings. Reference numbers include: R00003.00-R00021.00 (Older Men, Mature Women, and Young Men) and R00003.00-R00021.55 (Young Women).
² Categories are not mutually exclusive. For example, a household containing three Young Men and one Mature Woman would be included as an intra-cohort Young Men household as well as an inter-cohort Mature Women-Young Men household.
³ The number of respondents from households in which at least two respondents from the same cohort resided together at the time of the 1966 screenings.
⁴ The number of respondents from two or more cohorts who resided in the same household at the time of the 1966 screenings. Older Men is abbreviated OM, Mature Women is MW, Young Men is YM, and Young Women is YW.

Variables specifying the dominant relationships (e.g., siblings, spouses, parents-children) are available within each Original Cohort data set. These variables provide the identification codes of other respondents originating from the same household by relationship and cohort, e.g., 'Identification Code of 1st Sister.' The following relationship linkages are available: spouses (Older Men and Mature Women, Young Men and Young Women), mothers and children (Mature Women and Young Women, Mature Women and Young Men), fathers and children (Older Men and Young Women, Older Men and Young Men), and siblings (Young Women and Young Men). Table MW4 above depicts the numbers and types of pairs that existed during the initial survey years among members of the four Original Cohorts.

Survey Instruments & Documentation	Generally, information on the "Household Roster" was transcribed from the Household Record Cards. The "Household Roster" is located within the "Family Members," "Family Background," or "Household Members" sections of the questionnaires.

Important information: Young Women family relationships

Users are warned that the relationships were inferred from data on the public data files. Survey staff did not have access to detailed information from the Census Bureau (names, etc.) to confirm these linkages. Only "dominant" relationships were considered, as discussed above. While these pairings are believed to be fairly accurate, they and the matching algorithms may have been affected by, for example, misreporting of age in the "Household Roster." Once a family relationship was assigned, it was generally considered binding even if the household members lived separately. For instance, if the son of a mother/son pair left for college between the screening and the first interview, but a mother/son relationship could still be established based on information collected on the mother's "Household Roster" (for anyone away at college), a mother/son relationship was assigned. Similarly, if a husband/wife pair was divorced several years after the initial interview, this pair would still be linked as spouses. Data from the marital status variables would need to be used to update the relationship.

Read more about Household Composition

Work Experience

Mature Women cohort
Young Women cohort

Mature Women cohort

Although the NLS has collected information on labor force behavior since its inception, only partial work histories can be constructed for respondents for certain survey years. The degree of completeness of the work history data varies by survey year.

For those wishing to measure labor force attachment over time, three approaches are available. One can examine (1) the amount of time in weeks that a respondent spent working, unemployed (looking for work), or out of the labor force; (2) the start and stop dates of each job a respondent has held (i.e., a continuous job history); or (3) the start and stop dates associated with each employer for whom a respondent worked (i.e., a continuous employer history).

In general, summary weeks data (i.e., information on the number of weeks working, weeks unemployed, and weeks out of the labor force) were collected during each interview for either the previous 12 months or the previous calendar year. The term "summary weeks data" refers to the respondent's answers (in weeks) to the following types of questions: "During the past 12 months, in how many different weeks did you do any work at all?" Respondents who worked 52 weeks were asked: "Did you lose any full weeks of work during the past 12 months because you were on layoff from a job or lost a job?" Respondents who worked less than 52 weeks were asked: "In any of the remaining weeks, were you looking for work or on layoff from a job?" Those responding "yes" were asked: "How many weeks?" Respondents who did not work during the past 12 months were asked if they had spent any time looking for work or on layoff and if they had, how many weeks. While placement and wording of the individual questions have varied, this core set of summary questions was always present in each interview.

Unfortunately, such data collection consistency did not occur in obtaining information to track all job and/or all employer changes. The gaps in information collected on weeks worked (see discussion below) are minor compared to the gaps in information on jobs held and employment spells. Due to the fact that personal and telephone interviews used different time reference periods, it is only possible to construct a complete job and/or employer record for the later years of the survey.

There are three different ways to construct a summary measure for number of weeks worked, seeking work, or out of the labor force. Users can examine the start and stop dates associated with each job, especially in the personal interview years, when the questionnaire included a detailed work history in a column format. (The titles for these variables can be found on the data file by searching for the words "Most Recent Job.") When the information about start and stop dates is combined, a fairly complete picture of total number of weeks in the labor force can be pieced together. This is the usual procedure that has been used by NLS staff to create the *KEY* weeks variables. Users attempting to create number of weeks worked themselves instead of using the created *KEY* variables need to pay close attention to the skip patterns followed in the early survey years. Many check items send respondents to different parts of the questionnaire to respond to questions worded specifically for their particular situations. When constructing number of weeks worked, users should pay particular attention to the dates in the detailed work history section. During the early survey years, the Census Bureau truncated the date the respondent started the job to the preceding interview date if it started before then, so the actual starting date may not be available; in the later years, when an interviewer inadvertently went back before the date of the last interview and gathered information before that date, this information was sometimes left on the data file instead of being blanked out and eliminated.

Two alternatives to this time-consuming procedure of piecing the record together from start and stop dates include (1) use of information from the summary weeks questions present in the questionnaire for all years through 1992 or (2) a combination of data from (a) the *KEY* summary weeks variables for those years in which they were constructed and (b) information from the summary weeks questions for those years in which no *KEY* variable is available. The *KEY* variables (e.g., those variables with titles of '# OF WEEKS WORKED [reference period] *KEY*,' '# OF WEEKS UNEMPLOYED [reference period] *KEY*,' and '# OF WEEKS OLF [reference period] *KEY*') were created for those survey years in which respondents were personally interviewed. Care should be taken to check that the number of cases on the summary weeks variables is reasonably close to the number of respondents interviewed (since all respondents should have a value on these variables). If this is not the case, the user needs to make sure that the desired information is not present in another part of the questionnaire or to adjust for the fact that in some years respondents who had not worked since the last interview were assigned to "missing" instead of being assigned a "zero" for zero weeks of work, as one would expect.

Gaps in the reference periods for the summary week variables occur in the early 1970s when the project phased in an alternating personal and telephone interview pattern. The regularly fielded personal interviews conducted during the early survey years gave way to a 2-2-1 interview pattern (i.e., two telephone interviews occurring two years apart followed by a personal interview at the end of the five-year period). The intent of the telephone interview was to obtain a brief update of information on each respondent and to maintain sufficient contact such that the lengthier personal interview could be completed. Due to the fact that the reference period for the summary weeks questions within a telephone interview was the previous 12 months and that no interview was conducted the year before each telephone survey, gaps in the summary weeks record occurred.

The discussion below reviews the types of summary weeks information that are available from the questionnaire. Included is information on changes in the reference periods for which these data were collected. The weeks worked accounting is not completely accurate due to the slight over- or under-counting of weeks that occurred when a respondent was not interviewed exactly one year from the date of the last interview. If the respondent accurately answered the question on how many weeks in the last 12 months she worked and it had been 13 months since the last interview, the summary weeks variables would miss four weeks of employment status information. Census was asked in the early years to interview each respondent as close as possible to the date of the previous interview; the actual dates of interview can and should be checked.

The 1967 survey collected information from respondents not currently working on the specific year that they last worked. Responses were coded into the following categories: "never worked at all," "never worked two or more weeks," the (specific) year worked if before 1962, the (specific) month and year if employment occurred between 1962 and 1965, or a residual category indicating that the last time worked was January 1966 or later. All respondents were asked the summary weeks questions on number of weeks worked, weeks unemployed, and weeks out of the labor force for the previous calendar year (i.e., 1966).

Respondents were filtered through a detailed section on work experience before 1966, with different questions depending on marital status and fertility. Respondents who had been married or were currently married and had children were asked for information on the longest job held between the time they stopped attending school and their (first) marriage, the longest job held between the time they married and had their first child, and the longest job held since the birth of their first child. Respondents who were married and who had no children were asked for information on the longest job held between the time they stopped attending school and their (first) marriage, and the longest job held since their (first) marriage. Those who had never married and who had no children were asked for information on the first job in which they worked six months since attending school full-time and the longest job ever held since they stopped attending school full-time. The never-married group with children was asked for information on the longest job held between the time they stopped attending school and the birth of their first child, and the longest job held since that child's birth. Each of these groups was also asked a global question on how many years since these benchmark events they had worked at least six months. A series of created variables (R00744.05-R00744.50) presents this information.

The 1968 survey was a mail interview in which all respondents were asked for information on the job they held last week; the summary weeks questions covered the past 12 months. In the 1969 interview, those respondents who were currently working or who had held a job since June 1, 1968, were asked about that job; summary weeks questions again refer to the last 12 months.

In 1971, the current or last job, the detailed work history section, and the summary weeks questions each used the date of the previous interview as the reference period. In the 1972 survey, the 1971 pattern was repeated. Except for respondents who were not interviewed in all years, fairly accurate total number of weeks worked, unemployed, or out of the labor force variables can be constructed for 1966-72.

The gaps in the summary weeks information began with the 1974 telephone interview. Data on the current or last job were collected back to the date of the previous interview; however, the summary weeks questions only asked about the previous 12-month period. The 1976 telephone interview followed the 1974 pattern.

The 1977 personal interview collected information for those respondents who had worked since the date of the 1976 interview (or April 4, 1976, if the respondent was not interviewed in 1976) on the current or last job and detailed work history. The summary weeks questions were asked of all respondents for the period "since 1976." Respondents were also asked for information on the longest job held since June 1972.

The 1979 telephone interview referred to the date of the 1977 interview (or April 15, 1977, if the respondent was not interviewed in 1977) for the current or last job and to the previous 12 months for the summary weeks questions. A new type of question (item 12d) obtained information on the number of weeks worked for the 12-month period previous to the last 12 months. Answer categories are numbered "1" through "4" with "1" meaning that the respondent worked most of the year (46-52 weeks), "2" meaning that she had worked more than half a year (26-45 weeks), "3" meaning that she had worked less than half a year (1-25 weeks), and "4" meaning she had not worked at all. By using the midpoint and assigning zero weeks to those respondents who did not work at all, users can approximate the number of weeks worked, although one cannot distinguish between those unemployed and those out of the labor force. The 1981 telephone interview repeated the 1979 pattern.

The 1982 personal interview repeated the 1977 pattern. Respondents were asked for information about both their current or last job and all other jobs held since the date of the 1981 interview (or since April 5, 1981, if the respondent was not interviewed in 1981). The reference period for the summary weeks questions was the last 12 months. For those respondents who had not worked since the last interview, information on weeks unemployed and weeks out of the labor force was collected using item 6. When using the items from the questionnaire to construct weeks worked, users should note that item 21 is bounded differently than usual. Because researchers were running into inconsistencies trying to create summary measures over time, a set of questions dealing with the number of years worked since the respondent was 18 years old was added to this questionnaire. Items 41a through 41c gather information on the number of years since she was 18 that a respondent held a job at all, in how many of those years she worked six months or more, and, of those years, how many she usually worked at least 35 hours per week.

The 1984 telephone interview referred to the date of the 1982 interview (or August 1, 1982, if the respondent was not interviewed in 1982) for the current or last job. Two sets of summary weeks questions referred to the last 12 months and the 12-month period previous to that. Unlike the 1979 and 1981 questions, the answer categories were actual weeks; by using item 12e, one can separate out weeks unemployed from weeks out of the labor force. Items 5c and 5d provide similar information on respondents who had not worked at all since the date of their last interview. Variables need to be created to combine this information for all interviewed respondents.

The 1986 telephone interview referred back to the date of the 1984 interview (or May 5, 1984, if the respondent was not interviewed in 1984) for the current or last job. Two sets of summary weeks questions referred to the last 12 months and the 12-month period previous to that. For those who had not worked at all since 1984, the weeks unemployed and weeks out of the labor force information was collected using items 5b through 5d. Variables need to be created to combine this information for all interviewed respondents.

The 1987 personal interview repeated the 1982 pattern. Respondents were asked about their current or last job and about all employers (not jobs) for whom they had worked since the date of the 1986 interview (or since August 5, 1986, if the respondent was not interviewed in 1986). The focus of the detailed work history section was deliberately changed, and the lead-in question was revised to ask about employers (not jobs) for whom the respondent had worked three or more consecutive months. This year was one of two years (1987 and 1989) that information was collected on all employers for whom the respondent had worked for three or more consecutive months; in all other years respondents are asked about all jobs, regardless of tenure. Summary information was collected for the last 12-month period in items 26a through 26c. For those respondents who had not worked since the previous interview, information on weeks unemployed and out of the labor force can also be found in items 26a through 26c.

The 1989 survey was also a personal interview due to a BLS decision to eliminate the 2-2-1 pattern and field a personal interview every other year. Respondents were asked for information on both their current or last job and on all employers (not jobs) for whom the respondent had worked for three or more consecutive months since the date of the 1987 interview (or since August 15, 1987, if the respondent was not interviewed in 1987). Summary weeks information was collected for the period since the 1987 interview.

The 1992 personal interview included questions on the respondent's current or last job and on all employers for whom the respondent had worked since the date of the 1989 interview (or since the date of last interview, for those not interviewed in 1989). The detailed work history questions were asked about all employers for whom the person had worked since the last interview. Because this change in the reference date back to the previous interview coincided with changes in rules about dropping respondents after two years of noninterview, Census interviewed some respondents whose last interview occurred in the mid-1980s. Certain respondents will consequently have work histories that go back past 1989. The summary weeks questions cover the three-year gap in one-year increments.

The 1995-2003 personal interviews asked respondents about the start and stop dates of their current/last job and any intervening jobs. These start and stop dates were used--in conjunction with their reason for not working--to create summary weeks variables.

Survey Instruments	The work experience data are collected in the "Work History," "Employment," "Work Experience," "On Jobs," or "Employer Supplement" sections of the questionnaire in various survey years.

Created work history variables

The 1999, 2001, and 2003 data releases included a new set of week-by-week employment status variables for the CAPI/CATI interview years. Beginning with the first week of 1994 and continuing through the respondent's most recent interview date, a variable for each week indicates whether the respondent was working (coded "1") or not working (coded "0") that week. A summary variable for each year totals the number of weeks that the respondent worked. These variables can be located on the data files by searching for their question names as follows:

NCV-WORK-xx-01 to NCV-WORK-xx-52 (working/not working each week of year 19xx)
NCV-WORKxx (total weeks working in year 19xx)

Missing data are treated in the following manner: If the job start or end year is provided, an unknown or missing day is set to 15, and an unknown or missing month is set to 1 (January). Missing years are not imputed. If days provided are inconsistent for a given month (e.g., April 31), the day is reset to the closest consistent day (April 30). More information is available in Appendix 41 in the Young Women Codebook Supplement.

Young Women cohort

Unfortunately, until the computer-assisted interviews, which started in 1995, data collection consistency did not occur in obtaining information to track all job and/or all employer changes. The gaps in information collected on weeks worked (see discussion below) are minor compared to the gaps in information on jobs held and employment spells. Due to the fact that personal and telephone interviews used different time reference periods, it is only possible to construct a complete job and/or employer record for the later years of the survey.

There are three different ways to construct a summary measure for number of weeks worked, seeking work, or out of the labor force. Users can examine the start and stop dates associated with each job, especially in the personal interview years, when the questionnaire included a detailed work history in a column format. (The titles for these variables can be found on the data file by searching for the words "Most Recent Job.") When the information about start and stop dates is combined, a fairly complete picture of total number of weeks in the labor force can be pieced together. This is the usual procedure that has been used by survey staff to create the *KEY* weeks variables. Users attempting to create number of weeks worked themselves instead of using the created *KEY* variables need to pay close attention to the skip patterns followed in the early survey years. Many check items send respondents to different parts of the questionnaire to respond to questions worded specifically for their particular situations. When constructing number of weeks worked, users should pay particular attention to the dates in the detailed work history section. During the early survey years, the Census Bureau truncated the date the respondent started the job to the preceding interview date if it started before then, so the actual starting date may not be available; in the later years, when an interviewer inadvertently went back before the date of the last interview and gathered information before that date, this information was sometimes left on the data file instead of being blanked out and eliminated.

Two alternatives to this time-consuming procedure of piecing the record together from start and stop dates include (1) use of information from the summary weeks questions present in the questionnaire for all years through 1993 or (2) a combination of data from (a) the *KEY* summary weeks variables for those years in which they were constructed and (b) information from the summary weeks questions for those years in which no *KEY* variable is available. The *KEY* variables (e.g., those variables with titles of '# OF WEEKS WORKED [reference period] *KEY*,' '# OF WEEKS UNEMPLOYED [reference period] *KEY*,' and '# OF WEEKS OLF [reference period] *KEY*') were created for those survey years in which respondents were personally interviewed. Care should be taken to check that the number of cases on the summary weeks variables is reasonably close to the number of respondents interviewed (since all respondents should have a value on these variables). If this is not the case, the user needs to make sure that the desired information is not present in another part of the questionnaire or to adjust for the fact that in some years respondents who had not worked since the last interview are assigned to " missing" instead of being assigned a "zero" for zero weeks of work, as one would expect.

The discussion below reviews the types of summary weeks information that are available from the questionnaire. Included is information on changes in the reference periods for which these data were collected. The weeks worked accounting is not completely accurate due to the slight over- or under-counting of weeks that occurs when a respondent is not interviewed exactly one year from the date of the last interview. If the respondent accurately answered the question on how many weeks in the last 12 months she worked and it had been 13 months since the last interview, the summary weeks variables would miss four weeks of employment status information. Census was asked in the early years to interview each respondent as close as possible to the date of the previous interview; the actual dates of interview can and should be checked.

The 1968 survey collected information from respondents not currently working on the specific year that they last worked. Responses were coded into the following categories: "never worked at all," "never worked two or more weeks," the (specific) month and year if the date was 1963 or later, or a residual category indicating that the last time worked was before 1963. The current or last job is that job held after January 1, 1963. All respondents were asked the summary weeks questions on number of weeks worked, weeks unemployed, and weeks out of the labor force for the previous calendar year (i.e., 1967). If the respondent was not enrolled in school or was working 35 hours or more a week, she was asked about the first job she had held for at least one month after she stopped attending school full-time.

In 1969, those respondents who were currently working or who had held a job since January 15, 1968, were asked about that job; summary weeks questions refer to the last 12-month period. Also, respondents were asked for information on any intervening job (or the longest intervening job, if more than one).

In 1970, the detailed work history column section asked respondents who were currently working or who had held a job since January 1, 1969, about that job (current or last) and about all other jobs. An expanded set of summary weeks questions is present, with a reference period of January 1, 1969.

The 1971 interview repeated the 1970 pattern, with the work history section referring to the date of the previous interview. The 1972 and 1973 surveys repeated the 1971 pattern. Except for respondents who were not interviewed in all years, fairly accurate total number of weeks worked, unemployed, or out of the labor force variables can be created for 1968-73.

The gaps in the summary weeks information began with the 1975 telephone interview. The current or last job questions refer back to the date of the last interview; the summary weeks questions only asked about the last 12 months. The 1977 telephone interview followed the 1975 pattern.

The 1978 personal interview collected data for respondents who had worked since the date of the 1977 interview (or January 3, 1977, if the respondent was not interviewed in 1977). The rest of the survey follows the 1970 pattern. Respondents were also asked for information about the longest job held since January 1973 and for the number of years, out of the past five, that they worked for at least 6 months.

The 1980 telephone interview referred to the date of the 1978 interview (or to January 2, 1978, if the respondent was not interviewed in 1978) for the current or last job and to the previous 12 months for the summary weeks questions. Item 19c obtained information on the number of weeks worked for the 12-month period previous to the last 12 months. Answer categories were "1" through "4" with "1" meaning that the respondent worked most of the year (46-52 weeks), "2" meaning that she had worked more than half a year (26-45 weeks), "3" meaning that she had worked less than half a year (1-25 weeks), and "4" meaning she had not worked at all. By using the midpoint and assigning zero weeks to those respondents who did not work at all, users can approximate the number of weeks worked, although one cannot distinguish between those unemployed and those out of the labor force. The 1982 telephone interview repeats the 1980 telephone pattern using the date of the last interview or January 2, 1980.

The 1983 personal interview collected data for those respondents who had worked since the date of the 1982 interview (or since January 1, 1982, if the respondent was not interviewed in 1982). Respondents were asked for information on their current or last job and on all other jobs held since 1982. The summary weeks questions were asked of all respondents; however, the pattern was slightly different from that used in 1978. If the *KEY* variables are not being used, the user will need to pick up the inputs from different places in the questionnaire in order to create one variable for all respondents.

The 1985 telephone interview referred to the date of the 1983 interview (or to January 2, 1983, if the respondent was not interviewed in 1983) for the current or last job and to the last 12 months for the regular summary weeks questions. The information obtained on weeks worked in the 12 month period prior to the previous 12 months is coded in actual weeks, rather than in a range as in 1980 and 1982. However, it is not possible to distinguish between those respondents who are unemployed and those out of the labor force for the intervening year (i.e., 1983 to 1984). The 1987 telephone interview repeated the 1985 pattern, using the date of the previous interview or January 2, 1985, as the reference point.

The 1988 personal interview collected data for those respondents who had worked since the date of the 1987 interview (or since January 1, 1987, if the respondent was not interviewed in 1987). Respondents were asked for information on their current or last job and all employers (not jobs) for whom they had worked since the 1987 interview. The focus of the work history questions shifted from jobs to employers for whom the respondent had worked three or more consecutive months.

The 1991 interview was conducted in person rather than by telephone, due to the BLS decision to eliminate the 2-2-1 interview pattern and field a personal interview every other year. (The next personal interview was scheduled for 1990, but the survey was delayed a year due to the demands of the 1990 decennial census.) This interview asked respondents about their current or last job and about all employers (not jobs) for whom they had worked since the date of the 1988 interview (or the most recent interview if the respondent was not interviewed in 1988). Due to the fact that this change in the reference date back to the last interview coincided with changes in rules about dropping respondents after two years of noninterview, Census interviewed some respondents whose last interview took place in the mid-1980s. Certain respondents will consequently have work histories that go back past 1988. The summary weeks questions cover the three-year gap in one-year increments. The 1993 interview repeated the 1991 pattern, except that there was only a two-year gap.

Survey Instruments	The work experience data are collected in the "Work History," "Employment," "Work Experience," "On Jobs," or "Employer Supplement" questionnaire sections in various surveys.

Created work history Variables

The 1999-2003 data releases include a new set of week-by-week employment status variables for the CAPI/CATI interview years. Beginning with the first week of 1994 and continuing through the respondent's most recent interview date, a variable for each week indicates whether the respondent was working (coded "1") or not working (coded "0") that week. A summary variable for each year totals the number of weeks that the respondent worked. These variables can be located on the data file by searching for their question names as follows:

NCV-WORK-xx-01 to NCV-WORK-xx-52 (working/not working each week of year 19xx)
NCV-WORKxx (total weeks working in year 19xx)

Due to an instrument problem, there were 343 respondents for whom one or more employers were inadvertently deleted from the employer roster in 2001, resulting in some information missing for these jobs. Information for these jobs was back-collected for all but 24 of these respondents. Researchers looking across years may thus see an under-reported number of employers in 2001. For a list of the 398 respondents for whom some employer information may be missing, see Appendix 42 in the Young Women Codebook Supplement.

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Education

Mature Women cohort
Young Women cohort

Mature Women cohort

Data on the educational status and attainment of respondents were collected at select survey points as part of the broader collection of information on respondents' training investments. An overview of education-specific variables both for the respondent and for family members not residing in her household is presented below by topic. Information about the educational status and attainment of family members residing in the respondent's household is also available; see the Household Composition section for more information.

Educational attainment

Highest Grade Completed

Highest grade completed variables are available for the entire cohort in several years. In 1967, a 'Highest Grade Completed' variable (R00790.00) was created from a series of questions eliciting information on the highest grade of regular school the respondent had attended, whether that grade had been completed, and whether additional coursework in which the respondent had been enrolled after full-time school ended had resulted in a diploma. In the 1977 (R03815.00) and 1989 (R09897.00) surveys, respondents directly reported their attainment level. In each survey since 1979, all respondents reporting school enrollment since the last interview have been asked to state the highest grade they have completed. These variables are "update" variables and are available for less than the full universe of respondents. For the 1979-92 surveys, researchers needing data on educational attainment for a more complete universe of respondents than those to whom the update questions are administered should locate the last summary variable available and use the update information to supplement that variable. Beginning in 1995, a created variable, 'Highest Grade Completed, xx (Revised),' provides the highest grade completed for all interviewed respondents.

High School Enrollment and Date of Diploma

The 1977 survey elicited information about high school enrollment dates and the date the high school diploma was received. The 1981 survey asked respondents whether they had ever attended high school, if they had received a high school diploma or General Equivalency Diploma (GED), which type of diploma they had received, and when.

College Enrollment and College Degree

The 1977 survey asked whether respondents had ever attended college. For those reporting college enrollment, information was collected on the highest degree ever received and the date the degree was received. Each subsequent survey except 1992 asked whether the respondent attended college since the last interview. Respondents reporting college enrollment stated the number of weeks and hours per week in attendance, whether a college degree was received, and the type of degree received. The 1986 questionnaire also included two questions on educational expenses incurred by the respondent or her husband in the past 12 months.

High school and college curricula

High school

Respondents have provided retrospective information about their high school curricula during three interviews. The 1967 survey collected information on the type of vocational or commercial curriculum taken in high school. In 1972, the survey asked respondents how well they had done in their English courses in high school. Finally, the 1981 survey included a series of questions on whether the respondent had been enrolled in high school mathematics courses, the type of course (e.g., algebra, geometry, trigonometry), the length of time the course lasted, and how well the respondent had done in these courses.

College

Information about major field of study in college was gathered at numerous survey points. The 1977 survey asked all respondents who had ever been enrolled in college about their field of study. This information was updated in each subsequent survey except 1992 for all respondents reporting college enrollment since their last interview.

Location of schools

The only location information available for this cohort is a 1971 variable providing the state of the last high school attended.

Related Variables

The 1977 survey obtained enrollment information and highest grade attended/completed for all natural and adopted children of the respondent as well as any additional children of her husband's from another relationship. In addition, information on the highest grade attended/completed of the respondent's four eldest living children was collected during the 1986 survey. The 1982, 1984, and 1987-97 interviews asked the respondent if any of her children had attended college in the past 12 months. All of these interviews except 1984 followed up by asking how much she and her husband had contributed toward college expenses each year.

Survey Instruments & Documentation

The variables described above can be found in the "Education and Training" sections of the 1967, 1977, and 1982-2003 questionnaires and the "Education Expenses" section of the 1986 instrument. The question on the location of the high school is located in the "Family Background" section of the 1971 questionnaire. The 1977 series of questions about the children is located in the "Marital History, Fertility & Other Family Background" section of the questionnaire. Appendices of the Codebook Supplement present the fields of study classification systems and Census division/state codes.

Young Women cohort

Schooling and the school-to-work transition process were a primary focus of the Young Women's surveys. Therefore, data were regularly collected on respondents' enrollment in school and their educational attainment. This section summarizes some of the more commonly used educational status and attainment variables by topic. Descriptions of the separately administered School Survey and the constructed college survey variables are presented in the High School Survey & College Information section.

Current school enrollment status

Enrollment Status - Is R Currently Enrolled?

Respondents were asked whether or not they were attending or enrolled in regular school at the time of the interview during each survey year.

Grade Attending

For those attending regular school, each survey asked about the specific grade within elementary/high school or the year of college they were attending.

Full- versus Part-time Enrollment

In all surveys except 1980, 1982, and 1983, respondents enrolled in school were asked whether they were enrolled as full-time or part-time students.

Educational attainment

Highest Grade Completed

Respondents indicated the highest grade completed during the initial survey year and every survey year thereafter. A series of created attainment variables provides longitudinally consistent measures of each respondent's reported educational attainment record. These summary variables, the titles of which contain the term "REVISED," are available for 1969-2003. Non-revised 'Highest Grade Completed' variables collected during 1975, 1977, and 1978 provide information for a select universe, namely those not enrolled in school since the last interview/as of the current interview. For post-1978 attainment variables, the universe is those respondents attending regular school since the last interview.

Date of Diploma

The 1983 survey collected information from each respondent on whether or not she had obtained a high school diploma or General Equivalency Diploma (GED) and, if so, which type and the month/year it was received. Similar information (exclusive of dates) was collected during the 1985-2003 interviews from those respondents who had attended school since the last interview. The 1978 interview gathered information from respondents not enrolled in high school or college on the month/year a diploma was received.

College Enrollment Status

The 'Grade Attending' variables discussed above provide college enrollment status information for each survey year. In addition, the 1968 questionnaire collected information on date started/stopped most recent college enrollment; the 1973 survey asked respondents who were not working a retrospective question on whether or not they had been attending college in February 1968.

Type of College Degree

Respondents who had ever attended college as of the initial survey year were asked for information on the type (if any) of college degree received (associate, bachelor's, master's, doctorate). During all subsequent interviews except 1978, this information was updated for those who had received a degree since the last interview. The 1978 survey collected information from those respondents who had more than one year of college on the type of highest college degree received.

High school and college experiences

During 1968, a special set of questions gathered information from the respondent on her high school and college experiences. Specifically, the high school series asked:

which high school subjects the respondent liked most/least and the reasons
number of hours per week she spent on homework, where she studied, and if there were distractions to her homework efforts
whether or not she participated in extracurricular activities, the number of hours per week, and her favorite activity (e.g., sports, music, dramatics, other clubs, etc.)
the kinds of non-school-related activities that took up most of her time (e.g., sports, working for pay, a hobby, etc.)
the respondent's general attitude toward her high school years

The college experience series collected information on: (1) how respondents felt about their college experience; (2) the field of study they liked most/least and the reasons; and (3) for those respondents currently enrolled who would like more education, how many years of education they would like to complete, how much education they thought they would actually get, what college they would like to attend, and what field they would like to study. Information collected on the names and locations of up to four colleges was used in the construction of the college survey variables; see the High School Survey & College Information section for details.

High school and college curricula

Type of High School Curriculum

Type of high school curriculum, (i.e., vocational, commercial, college preparatory, or general) was collected in 1968 from all respondents who had ever attended high school. These data were updated during the 1969-73 surveys for respondents enrolled in high school during those years. A 1970 created variable, 'Curriculum in Most Recent High School,' edited information on each respondent's current enrollment status, grade attending, and high school curriculum collected during the 1968, 1969, and 1970 surveys. During the 1968 survey, those respondents who had attended high school were asked whether they had taken typing or shorthand and, if so, which one(s) and the number of years the course(s) had been taken. The 1983 interview included a series of questions on whether the respondent had been enrolled in various types of mathematics courses (e.g., algebra, geometry, trigonometry/calculus), the number of years such courses were taken, and how well she had done in these courses.

College Field of Study

Information on the field of concentration or discipline was collected in 1968 from those respondents who had ever attended college. These data were updated during subsequent surveys for those respondents who had received a degree since the last interview. The 1978 interview collected field of study information for (1) those currently attending college; (2) those who were not attending college but who at some point had done so although no degree had been received; and (3) those who had obtained a college degree. The classification system(s) utilized through 1975 included disciplines such as humanities, education, mathematics, social science, science, business/commerce, and home economics. The post-1975 categories were expanded to include business and management, fine and applied arts, health professions, and public affairs and services, as well as specific disciplines leading to an associate degree (data processing technologies, public service related technologies, health services and paramedical technologies, etc.).

College tuition and financial aid

Full-time annual tuition amounts were collected during 1968 for the most recent college attended and during 1969-73 and 1978 for the college the respondent was attending that year. Information on whether the respondent received financial aid and the amount received was collected during 1968-78. Types of financial aid received (scholarship, fellowship, assistantship, loan, etc.) were collected during all except the initial survey year.

Type and location of schools

Is School Public?

Information on whether the schools attended by the respondent were public or private was gathered during the 1968-73 and 1978 surveys.

Census Division of Last High School Attended

The Census division (New England, Pacific, Mountain, etc.) of the last high school attended by the respondent as of the 1968 interview is available for most respondents. The User Notes below contain a cautionary note on the address information used to construct these variables.

Comparison of School Locations with Location of Current Residence

A set of variables created by Census compares the location of the respondent's school (high school, college) with her current residence for the 1968-71 survey years. Coding categories include: same SMSA or county; different SMSA or county, same state; different state, same division; different division; and abroad. A second set of variables (e.g., 'Comparison of Location of High School and Most Recent College') compares the location of schools attended as of 1968, 1977, and 1978. The User Notes below contain a cautionary note on the address information used to construct these variables.

Presence & Type of Accredited Two- & Four-Year Colleges in Labor Market of Current Residence

Variables created by the Census Bureau for the 1968, 1969, and 1970 survey years provide information on the types of colleges (e.g., only two-year colleges, only four-year colleges, both two- and four-year colleges) that existed within the respondent's labor market. A second set of variables, available for the 1968 survey only, provides descriptive information on local area colleges, e.g., the colleges present within the labor market that were, for example, coeducational, both public and private colleges, or women-only colleges. The User Notes below contain a cautionary note on the address information used to construct these variables.

Related Variables

In the 1991-97 and 2003 Young Women surveys, the respondents were asked for information concerning any of their children who attended college in the past calendar year. These surveys also recorded the amount of support the respondent contributed to these college expenses.

Survey Instruments & Documentation

The sets of variables described above are found in a variety of questionnaire sections including: the "Education and Training," "High School Experiences," "College Experiences," and "Educational Goals" sections of the 1968 questionnaire; the "Educational Status" or "Education and Training" sections of subsequent instruments; and the "Family Background" section of the 1973 questionnaire. Appendices in the Codebook Supplement present the fields of study classification systems and Census division/state codes.

Important information: Education variables

During the initial survey years, the presence of the edited 'Highest Grade Completed' variables made the construction of an attainment variable unnecessary. The 'Highest Grade Completed' variables were the result of extensive hand-edits; they are, in some ways, a best guess made by examining the complete longitudinal record of each respondent. After the mid-70s, a series of questions was asked during each interview about whether the respondent was currently attending or had attended regular school since the last interview. If the respondent replied in the affirmative, information was gathered on the grade attending and/or completed. These variables are used to create the 'Highest Grade Completed (Revised)' series.
In the early years, variables that depend upon address information were created by the Census Bureau in an inconsistent manner. The majority of geographic variables were revised in the mid-1970s to correct for known discrepancies in permanent versus temporary address data, especially for respondents attending college. However, certain variables, including the 'Comparison of School Locations with Location of Current Residence' and 'Presence and Type of Accredited Two- and Four-Year Colleges in Labor Market of Current Residence,' were not updated. A more complete discussion can be found in the User Notes in the Geographic Residence & Environmental Characteristics section.

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Subscribe to NLSW -Mature and Young Women

NLSW -Mature and Young Women

Important information: Viewing asterisk tables

I. Labor market experience variables

A. Current labor force and employment status

B. Characteristics of current or last job

C. Work experience prior to initial survey

D. Work experience since previous survey

II. Human capital and other socioeconomic variables

A. Early formative influences

B. Migration

C. Education

D. Training outside regular school

E. Health and physical condition

F. Marital and family characteristics

G. Characteristics of R's husband/partner, beginning in 1995

H. Questions asked of widows

I. Financial characteristics

J. Transfers

K. Attitudes and perspectives

L. Retirement

M. Hypothetical job offer

N. Volunteer work

III. Environmental variables

A. Residence

B. Characteristics

Mature Women cohort

Attitudes toward retirement

Attitudes toward women working

Important information: Mature Women

Attitudes toward life

Attitudes toward housekeeping and child care

Young Women cohort

Attitudes toward women working

Important information: Young Women

Attitudes toward retirement

Attitudes toward life

Attitudes toward housekeeping and child care

Mature Women cohort

Young Women cohort

Mature Women cohort

Data summary

Nonresponse

Topcoding

Created values and summary statistics

Important information: Mature Women

Young Women cohort

Data summary

Nonresponse

Topcoding

Created values and summary statistics

Important information: Young Women

Mature Women cohort

Marital transitions

Created variables

Important information: Mature Women

Questions for widowed respondents

Spouse/partner characteristics

Young Women cohort

Marital Status

Marital transitions

Created variables

Important information: Young Women

Questions for widowed respondents

Spouse/partner characteristics

Siblings

Respondent background at age 14

Mature Women cohort

Important information: Mature Women

Parent background

Siblings

Respondent background at age 15

Young Women cohort

Important information: Young Women

Parent background

Mature Women cohort

Household characteristics

Household and family composition

Characteristics of household members

Household residence

Important information: Mature Women family members