18. Children of the NLSY79; The Ohio State University

• In Event: 270 - Research Funding Opportunities and Data Resources (part of the Research Support Forum)

Abstract

The CHILDREN of the NLSY79 data set profiles the development and achievement of the children of the mothers in the National Longitudinal Surveys of Youth/1979 Cohort. The biennial NLSY79 Child surveys, initiated in 1986, use interviews, direct assessment, and self-report to gauge the children's health, physical and social development, activities, attitudes, behaviors, relationships, school progress, and home environment from birth through adolescence.

Starting at age 15, NLSY79 Young Adult children are interviewed about schooling, employment, training, family experiences, health, behaviors, and attitudes. The Child/Young Adult sample, which ranges in age from birth to early forties, contains significant numbers of minority and economically disadvantaged respondents. As respondents in the NLSY79 main Youth cohort, the mothers of NLSY79 children have been interviewed, starting in 1979 when they were age 14-21. Any part of the mothers’ record can be merged with the child data, enabling intergenerational analyses.

The current NLSY79 data release represents 14 survey rounds (1986-2012) of Child data, 10 Young Adult survey rounds (1994-2012) and the complete histories of the NLSY79 mothers (1979-2012). The 1979-2014 NLSY79 datasets are scheduled for public release at the end of 2016. The design and content of the NLSY79 enable users to study the social, economic, health, and demographic experiences of the respondents and their families over more than a 30-year period.

NLSY data and documentation for all cohorts are available, at no cost, for online search and extraction at http://www.nlsinfo.org/. The NLSY79 Child & Young Adult data have been used in more than 2000 publications. A searchable, annotated listing of NLS research can be accessed at: http://www.nlsbibliography.org/. The surveys are sponsored by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) with support from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD). CHRR at The Ohio State University and NORC at the University of Chicago are responsible for the design, collection, and distribution of the NLSY data and documentation. More information about the NLSY is available online at www.bls.gov/nls.

Author

• Paula C. Baker, The Ohio State University