Created Variables MARITAL STATUS. These variables contain the respondent's marital status at each interview date. |
Important Information About Using Marital Status, Marital Transitions and Attitudes Data: Collection of information on partners as distinguished from spouses has varied over time in the NLSY79. To some extent, the term "Partner" is used more interchangeably in sections of the questionnaire such as "Fertility" and "Childcare" than in sections such as "Marriage" and "Income and Assets," where items may specifically include or exclude partners. Do not to assume the interchangeability of terms and carefully check the wording of all the questionnaire items of this type that are of interest. A detailed memo, "Inconsistencies in the NLSY79 Marital History Data" (Haurin 1988), identifies those respondents whose marital histories through the 1986 survey contained inconsistencies; it also summarizes the edits made, if any, to each case during preparation of the 1986 Supplemental Fertility File (area of interest "Fertility and Relationship History/Created"). Researchers using the constructed marriage dates should be aware that there is a very small percentage of people who have ended their third marriage or have entered a subsequent one. The use of information from the Information Sheet to designate respondents' current marital status is not encouraged because this information is dated. However, Information Sheet data do permit users to detect inconsistencies reported over time. The program statements used to create marital status for the 1992 survey years are listed in Table 2. Creation procedures for other years after 1988 are almost identical to the procedure presented here, except that different reference numbers are used in the 1989-1996 PL/1 code and the code was converted to SPSS in 1998. Prior to 1988, interview checks verifying marital status at the previous interview did not exist in the questionnaire; marital status was created based on the last actual stated change rather than an interviewer check or verification of the status last reported. General information regarding creation of the Supplemental Fertility File (area of interest "Fertility and Relationship History/Created"), including marital transition data, age at first marriage, and months between first marriage and first birth, is found in "Appendix 5: Supplemental Fertility Files" in the NLSY79 Codebook Supplement. |
Data collected:
Marital Status: Marital status information for NLSY79 respondents is available from
Table 1 Year-by-Year Variations in Marital Status Data Collection
| Year(s) | Marital Status data collected |
| 1978 (household screener) | The marital status of household members is available from the 1978 household screening only, for example 'Household Screener: Family Member #1 - Marital Status.' Categories include "presently married," "widowed," "divorced," "separated," and "never married/annulled." |
| 1979 | The marital status of each respondent, that is, whether he or she was married, widowed, divorced, separated, or never married, was collected during the 1979 survey and is available as a single variable, 'Marital Status.' |
| 1980-87 | Interviews collected change in marital status information. Prior to 1982, presence of a partner was indicated by an interview check coded "yes" if the respondent lived with one unrelated adult of the opposite sex ('Int Check - Does R Live With Opposite Sex Adult as a Partner'). Since 1987, only one version of the Household Interview Form has been used; all respondents not living with a spouse have been asked about opposite-sex partners. The partner variable originating from the household interview is titled 'Currently Living as Partner with Opposite Sex Adult'. |
| Beginning in 1988 | 'Current Marital Status' interview checks are included in the questionnaire to verify separately the marital status of respondents who report a change in status since the date of last interview and respondents who do not. |
| Beginning in 2006 | Race/ethnicity collected for all current/former spouses. In 2008 data collected for all newly reported spouses.
|
Marital History/Transitions: A series of edited Supplemental Fertility File variables (area of interest "Fertility and Relationship History/Created") that reflects the beginning and ending dates of marriages was constructed for 1982 through the present. These variables include the month and year the respondent began a first, second, or, beginning in 1988, a third marriage and the month and year a first or second marriage ended, for example, 'Month Began 1st Marriage.' Unedited data items from 1979 include 'Number of Marriages,' 'Month/Year of 1st/Most Recent Marriage,' and 'Month/Year During Which 1st Marriage Ended.' For all subsequent years, 'Change(s) in Marital Status Since Last Interview' are described. Users should note that a separate category for the transition to "reunited" was not added until the 1981 survey. Evaluations of the marital history data for the NLSY79 can be found in Haurin (1988, 1994). A related variable, also located in the "Fertility and Relationship History/Created" area of interest, provides the number of months between the respondent's first marriage and the birth of the respondent's first child.
Cohabitation: The following cohabitation information is available from the 1990 and 1992-2008 surveys:
A household member's relationship to the respondent may be listed as "partner" in the "Household Record" portion of the Face Sheet, which is filled out during the yearly household interview. This is true regardless of whether the "partner" is of the same or opposite sex as the respondent. However, through 1996 only opposite-sex partners are referenced during the interview for questions relating to household, income, and dating/relationship. After 1998 information on all partners is collected.
Beginning in 2002, respondents were asked detailed questions about their cohabitation experiences during any unmarried spell lasting three months or longer. First, respondents were asked about marital status and changes in marital status. If any unmarried gap lasting three months or more was identified, respondents were asked if they ever lived with anyone as a domestic partner for three months or more since the last interview. If respondents answered affirmatively, they were then asked specifically about each unmarried gap of three months or greater.
For each unmarried gap, respondents were asked the following series of questions: First, respondents were reminded of the marital status they reported during the gap and asked if they lived with someone as a domestic partner during that period. If a partner was reported, respondents provided information on the date on which they began cohabiting, whether they cohabited with this partner continuously until the current interview date and, if not, the date they stopped cohabiting with this partner during the specific gap. After these questions were answered, the dates were compared. If the unaccounted-for remainder of the specific gap was three months or more, the respondent was asked if they lived with any other partner during that gap for three months or more. If the answer was “yes,” the questions were repeated for the next partner during that gap. This entire series of questions was then repeated for each eligible three-month-plus unmarried gap.Spousal Characteristics: Information collected as part of the household roster is available for spouses and partners at each survey point if they are listed as members of the household. Users first need to identify the appropriate relationship to the respondent (that is, code "1" for spouse; code "33" for partner) through variables that are specific for this purpose. Typically, information on the age, relationship to respondent, highest grade of schooling completed, and employment in the past calendar year is collected during each survey. See the various topical sections of this guide, such as "Age," "Educational Status and Attainment," and "Household Composition" for information on specific characteristics.
In addition to information available from the household roster, additional information has been collected on the spouse as part of the "Marital History" section of the questionnaire. The month and year of birth of the most recent spouse has been collected at each interview. For respondents who are widowed, the month and year of their spouse's death is available as part of the marriage end dates collected in the core marital transition history for each survey.
From 1980 to 1982, questions were included that updated the spouse's educational enrollment status and additional education completed since the last survey. Since 1979, information has been collected during each interview on the usual occupation of the spouse (Census 3-digit code), weeks worked in the past year, hours worked per week in the past year, number of weeks not working in the past year, and number of weeks the spouse was looking for work or on layoff. In 1982 and 1998-2008 respondents answered questions concerning their new spouse's current religious affiliation, attendance at religious services, and religion in which the spouse was raised. During the 1982 interview, information was gathered on whether the spouse had a health condition that limited the amount or kind of work he or she could do, the month and year the health condition began, and the effect of the spouse's health condition on the respondent's work (such as prevent work; work more or fewer hours; or affect the schedule, kind, or location of the respondent's work).
Beginning with the 1986 survey, data on the kind of employment shift worked by the spouse has been collected. This information began with a single question eliciting the type of shift (such as, regular day, evening, split, or hours vary) in 1986 and has gradually expanded to include questions on the time the spouse usually begins and ends work on the principal job in past calendar year as well as other details. Similarly, in 1990 a series of questions was added to the "Marital History" section of the questionnaire that collects information on the rate of pay at the spouse's current job. This series also began with only a few questions and has expanded to gather significantly more detail, such as information on overtime pay. Users should consult each relevant survey year's questionnaire or codebook to ascertain the specific items collected in the given year. Information on income has been selectively collected for the respondent's spouse or partner. Users should see the topical section on "Income" in this guide for further details.
Marital Attitudes and Expectations: A series of relationship satisfaction questions were asked during the 1988, 1992, and 1994-2008 interviews of those mothers living with a spouse or opposite-sex partner. These questions dealt with both positive and negative interactions in the relationship, for example, 'Frequency R and Husband/Partner Calmly Discuss Something' and 'Frequency R and Husband/Partner Argue About - Money.' In addition, mothers without a spouse or partner were asked for information on 'Frequency R Goes Out on Dates,' whether the 'Oldest Child Encourage(s) R's Dating,' and 'Likelihood of Marriage in the Future.' In 1979, all never married respondents were asked for information on 'Age Expects to Marry.'
Environmental Characteristic Data: For the 1979-82 interview years, the Geocode CD includes marriage and divorce rates and percent of families with female heads of household for the county and SMSA in which the respondent resided. These statistics are taken from the 1972 and 1977 County & City Data Books. From 1983 until 1998, marriage and divorce rates and the number of families with a female head are included for county of residence only, based on statistics from the 1983 and 1988 County & City Data Books. The 2000 release includes the same information based on statistics from the 1988 and 1994 County & City Data Books.
Table 2 Expanded and Collapsed Marital Status: NLSY79 1992
| /* EXPANDED &COLLAPSED MARITAL STATUS 1992*/ |
| MARST_EXPAND=-4; MARST_COLLAP=-4; |
| IF WEIGHT92=0 THEN DO; |
|
|
|
|
|
|
MARST_COLLAP=R(40072.); |
| /* SPOU92 INDICATES IF A SPOUSE IS LIVING IN THE HOUSEHOLD (0=NO, 1=YES).*/ |
|
Comparison to Other NLS Cohorts
Information on marital status, history, and transitions has been collected for each cohort (but only for NLSY79 Children age 15 and older). For more information, refer to the BLS website at www.bls.gov/nls or the appropriate cohort's User's Guide.
Haurin, R. Jean. "Inconsistencies in the NLSY79 Marital History Data--1986 Supplemental Fertility File." Columbus, OH: CHRR, The Ohio State University, 1988.
Haurin, R. Jean. "Marriage and Childbearing of Adults: An Evaluation of the 1992 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth." Columbus, OH: CHRR, The Ohio State University, 1994.
Survey Instruments and Documentation: |
The "Marital History" section (Section 2) of the questionnaire has collected information on each respondent's marital history as of 1979, as well as all subsequent changes in marital status. Questions regarding presence of an opposite-sex partner in the household are located on the Household Interview Forms (Version C for 1982-86). The 1979-81 interview checks on partners can be found in the "Assets and Income" section. The 1988, 1992, and 1994-2008 dating and relationship series for mothers can be found in Section 10, "Childcare." The 1979 marriage expectations questions are located in Section 22, "Aspirations and Expectations." The set of 1979 variables on marital status of household members was derived from the 1978 Household Screener. Copies of the yearly Information Sheet, from which the previous interview marital status variables are derived, can be found near the beginning of the yearly Question by Question Specifications (Q by Q) for all survey years except 1980 and 1988. Information Sheet marital status variables by reference number are available within the documentation package for 1988 and subsequent years. |
Areas of Interest: |
The "Key Variables" area of interest includes the created marital status variables. Raw data on marriages, marital status changes, and spouse characteristics, along with the 1988, 1992, and 1994-2008 series on attitudes of mothers, are located in the "Marriage" area of interest. Variables from the Information Sheet can be found in "Last Interview Information." Variables on the presence of an opposite-sex partner are included in the "Misc. xxxx" area of interest, except for the 1979-81 interview checks, which are located in "Income." Variables for marital status of household members from the Household Screener are located in "Misc. 1979." Constructed marital history/transitions, age at first marriage, and months between first marriage and first birth variables are in "Fertility and Relationship History/Created." The 1979 question about expected age of marriage can be found in "Attitude." Marriage/divorce rate variables for respondents' area of residence are located in the yearly "Geocode xxxx" areas of interest available on the Geocode CD. |