Study Name:National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, 1979 Child and Young Adult Survey (NLSY79 C-YA)

Study Director:Michael W. Horrigan

Principal Investigator:Randall Olsen

Host Organization:Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) of the U.S. Department of Labor

Year Initiated:1986 for all children born to women in the NLSY79 cohort

1994 for young adult children who were age 15 or older by the end of the

calendar year of the survey

 

Governance

 

-                     Funding Sources

 

The National Institute of Child Health and Human Development primarily funds the core activities of the NLSY79 C-YA.

 

-                     Host organization

 

The study is conducted by the Center for Human Resource Research (CHRR) at Ohio State University and the National Opinion Research Center (NORC) at the University of Chicago.

 

-                     Governing body and the role of external research advisors

 

The 15-member Technical Review Committee (TRC) assists the NLS director.The TRC, along with individuals from funding agencies, meets twice each year.The committee is multidisciplinary, reflecting the wide rage of social scientists who use the NLS data.Members generally serve two three-year terms.

 

Sample Design

 

-                     Sample selection

 

The NLSY79 Child sample consists of all children born to female NLSY79 respondents who live with their mothers at the time of interview.The NLSY79 is a nationally representative sample of men and women who were ages 14 to 21 on December 31, 1978.Since 1994, a special set of instruments has gathered information from young adult children who were age 15 or older by the end of the calendar year of the survey.

 

The Child/YA sample ranges in age from birth to middle twenties and contains oversamples of black, Hispanic, and (through 1990) economically disadvantaged white respondents.

 

The NLSY79 C-YA sample, when weighted, approximately represents a cross-section of children born to a nationally representative sample of women who were ages 14 to 21 on December 31, 1978, up to the most recent data collection.It is estimated that the children in the sample typify approximately the first 80 percent of childbearing to a contemporary cohort of American women.

 

-Follow rules

 

Efforts are made to trace and re-interview all respondents every survey round, even respondents who have previously missed interviews.

 

-                     Oversampling

 

None.

-                     Weights and attrition bias

 

New weights are created each survey round that are updated based on wave nonresponse of the strata.

 

-                     Sample "refreshing"

None.

 

Content

-                     Driving policy needs

 

Child data linked with the longitudinal mother information from the main NLSY79 cohort offer researchers a unique opportunity to examine linkages between maternal-family behaviors and child development.

 

-                     Research objectives (Maintaining coherence of content domains)

 

Due to the depth and breadth of information available in the NLSY79 C-YA, it can be used for a wide range of research objectives.Papers can be found on the NLS web site at www.bls.gov/nlshome.htm

 

-                     Content decisions

 

The NLSY79 Child Survey has 8 major data elements:Child demographic and family background characteristics; prenatal and child postnatal history; child health; child home environment; child cognitive development; child motor/social/emotional development; educational experiences; and pre-teen/teen behaviors and attitudes.All mother-specific information found on the main NLSY79 CD can be linked with the Child data.

 

The NLSY79 Young Adult survey is modeled on the main NLSY79 interview and collects information on schooling, employment and job history, military experience, training, physical well-being, dating and marital history, fertility, child care, household compositions, income and assets, substance use, time use, and attitudes and expectations.All mother-specific information found on the main NLSY79 CD can be linked with the Young Adult data.

 

 

-                     Tradeoffs between continuity and incentives for new directions.

 

Collection

 

-                     Mode

 

Interviews have been conducted biennially since 1986.The separate young adult survey began in 1994.In 1986, 1988 and 1992, the NLSY79 Child Survey was collected by face-to-face personal paper and pencil interviews.In 1990, personal interviews were conducted using both paper and computerized questionnaires.Beginning in 1994, computer-aided personal interviews (CAPI) replaced traditional paper and pencil interviews for the NLSY79 C-YA.

 

-Instrument design

 

All interviews are currently conducted in a computer-aided personal interview (CAPI) format.

 

-                     Dependent interviewing

 

For each interview, there is an extensive preload of maternal, household, employment, and personal information that was gathered in previous interviews.Children under age 15 must live with their mother at time of interview.An attempt is made to reach youths older than age 14 who no longer live with their mothers if the youths previously responded to the survey.

 

-                     Calendar year, survey year, and point of survey measures

 

Point of reference for the respondent is the date of last interview.Some information is collected in an event history format.

 

Processing

 

-                     Family composition editing.

None.

 

-                     Production of specialized files

 

In addition to the public-use files, geocode files are available to researchers who agree in writing to adhere to the BLS confidentiality policy and whose projects further the mission of BLS and the NLS program to conduct sound, legitimate research in the social sciences.The geocode files include the State, metropolitan area, and county of residence of each respondent in each survey year.The files also include selected environmental variables from the City and County Data Books.Researchers who are granted access to the geocode files are permitted to use the data are permitted to use the data at their own facilities.Researchers interested in obtaining a geocode application should e-mail BLS at NLS_Info@bls.gov.

 

BLS has opportunities available on a limited basis for researchers from colleges, universities, government, and eligible nonprofit organizations to obtain access to NLS data not available on public-use or geocode files.These confidential files are available for use only at the BLS National Office in Washington, DC, on statistical research projects approved by BLS.Access to data is subject to the availability of space and other resources at BLS.These confidential files include more detailed geographic information, such as zip codes and census tracts, as well as several surveys of schools.

 

-                     Data and Documentation Standards

 

Dissemination

 

-                     Dissemination techniques

 

NLS data are on cohort-specific compact discs complete with documentation and user-friendly search and retrieval software.The cost is $20.Researchers wishing to link the mother's longitudinal NLSY79 data with NLSY C-YA should buy both CDs.Sensitive data files are available only to those who complete the BLS confidential data file agreement procedure.

 

-                     Virtual data center and functionalities

None.

 

-                     Improving contractual use of data (confidentiality and encryption)

 

To protect the confidentiality of respondents, BLS only grants access to confidential files to those researchers who agree in writing to adhere to the BLS confidentiality policy and whose projects further the mission of BLS and the NLS program.

 

-                     Comparability of formats (Evolution of data standards)

 

-                     Value of joint multinational analysis projects