Age of Respondent


 

Created and Symbol Variables:

CV_AGE_INT_DATE. Provides respondent's age in years at the date of interview.

CV_AGE_MONTHS_INT_DATE. Provides respondent's age in months as of interview date.

CV_AGE_12/31/96. Provides age of respondent in round 1 calculated as of December 31, 1996.

KEY!BDATE_Y. Provides respondent's year of birth (1980-1984).

KEY!BDATE_M. Provides respondent's month of birth (January through December).

 

Important Information For Using Age Data:

1. There are three variables that provide the youth's age in years:  CV_AGE_INT_DATE (R11941.), KEY!AGE (R05366.), and SYMBOL!KEY!AGE (R25162.). Researchers should use CV_AGE_INT_DATE for the most accurate information. Background information on the age variables: The KEY!AGE variable is a symbol generated during the administration of the Screener, Household Roster, and Nonresident Roster Questionnaire in round 1. Thus, it initially represented the respondent's age at the screener date.  During the youth interview, respondents had an opportunity to correct their age if it had changed since the administration of the screener or was reported incorrectly by the household informant.  If a new age was provided, the KEY!AGE variable was updated.  However, approximately 400 respondents either had a birthday between the screener date and the youth interview date or had incorrect information collected during the screener but did not correct their age information during the interview. SYMBOL!KEY!AGE (R25162.) is a variable generated during rounds 2 and up and is necessary because the survey program uses it during the interview. The ages in SYMBOL!KEY!AGE and CV_AGE_INT_DATE vary slightly in some rounds due to computer programming variations. This is why researchers are urged to use the created age at interview date variable, CV_AGE_INT_DATE, which presents the youth's age at the time the survey is administered.  This latter variable is constructed using birth date and interview date information collected during the interview. 

2. Because some respondents were first interviewed during the refielding period in March through May 1998, there are respondents in the sample who had already turned 18 by their round 1 interview date. These respondents were still eligible for the sample because they were age 16 or younger as of December 31, 1996. See Interview Methods for more information.

3. The youth respondent and the responding parent both had an opportunity to verify or correct the respondent's age as reported in the Screener, Household Roster, and Nonresident Roster Questionnaire in round 1. However, if the youth and parent did not provide the same age and/or date of birth, no attempt was made to correct this discrepancy. Users should make decisions about these cases on an individual basis. The created variables for age are based on the youth data.

 

The NLSY97 collected information on the respondent's age and date of birth in the round 1 Screener, Household Roster, and Nonresident Roster Questionnaire.  This information was then verified or corrected by the respondent in the initial Youth Questionnaire and by the responding parent in the round 1 Parent Questionnaire.  Date of birth and age were not recollected from respondents in subsequent rounds.

Table 1. Age of NLSY97 Respondents as of 12/31/96

Age (birth year)

Male

Female

Total

12 (1984)

911

860

1771

13 (1983)

934

873

1807

14 (1982)

953

888

1841

15 (1981)

947

927

1874

16 (1980)

854

837

1691

Total

4599

4385

8984

Note: Table based on KEY!SEX and CV_AGE_12/31/96

Table 2. Age of NLSY97 Respondents as of Interview Date

Age

Round 1

Round 2

Round 3

Round 4

Round 5

Round 6

Round 7 Round 8 Round 9 Round 10 Round 11

12

1169

--

--

--

--

--

--

-- -- -- --

13

1726

105

--

--

--

--

--

-- -- -- --

14

1858

1597

109

--

--

--

--

-- -- -- --

15

1877

1676

1664

58

--

--

--

-- -- -- --

16

1719

1736

1632

1555

67

--

--

-- -- -- --

17

614

1747

1728

1667

1548

--

--

-- -- -- --

18

21

1416

1622

1657

1620

1620 113 -- -- -- --

19

--

109

1387

1606

1610

1591 1501 52 -- -- --

20

--

--

67

1402

1588

1651 1605 1447 83 -- --

21

--

--

--

136

1339

1588 1590 1519 1444 133 --
22

--

--

--

--

111 1447 1570 1554 1502 1475 187
23

--

--

--

--

--

-- 1297 1535 1537 1541 1461
24

--

--

--

--

--

-- 79 1299 1473 1581 1534
25

--

--

--

--

--

-- -- 97 1235 1548 1534
26 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 64 1234 1483
27 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 47 1198
28 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --   21

Total

8984

8386

8209

8081

7883

7897 7755 7503 7338 7559 7418

Noninterview

--

598

775

903

1101

1087 1229 1481 1646 1425 1566

 

Note: Table based on CV_AGE_INT_DATE.

 

Comparison to Other NLS Surveys:  Age data are available for all NLS cohorts.  These variables include both the age of the respondents as of a fixed date during the initial survey year and as of the interview date in various years.  Date of birth is also available for all cohorts.  Consult the appropriate cohort's User's Guide for information about accessing these data.

Survey Instruments:  This information was collected in the household roster section of the Screener, Household Roster, and Nonresident Roster Questionnaire (round 1).  Verification or correction of the information is found in the youth information section (question names begin with YINF) of the round 1 Youth Questionnaire and the PINF section of the Parent Questionnaire (round 1).

Related User's Guide Sections

Household Composition
Characteristics of Non-Residential Relatives
Parent Characteristics

Main Areas of Interest

Created Variables
Demographic Indicators

Supplemental Area of Interest

Common Variables

 

Return to Topical Guide Table of Contents
Return to Main Menu
Return to Top