Attitudes

This section describes respondents' attitudes toward the justice system, parents, peers, school, self, and respondents' domains of influence.  The NLSY97 Youth Questionnaire periodically collected information about the respondents' attitudes toward the justice system and toward their parents.  The round 1 Youth Questionnaire also asked about respondents' attitudes toward school and perceptions of their peers and themselves.  In some cases, the round 1 Parent Questionnaire asked similar questions of the responding parent.  Questions about a respondent's attitude toward self (including mental health issues) were asked in rounds 4, 6, 8, and 10. Rounds 7 and 9 featured a "domains of influence" section, which asked respondents about whom they turned to for advice. In round 10, a new "Tell Us What You Think" section was added that features a variety of attitude questions.

Perceptions about Justice System

In the self-administered section of the round 1-5 surveys, a series of questions focused on the respondent's beliefs about the criminal justice system.  The survey first queried respondents about their perceived odds of being arrested if they stole a car.  Supposing that he or she had in fact been arrested for stealing a car, the respondent was then asked to report his or her perceived odds of being released without charges, being released with only a fine, and serving time in jail.

Relationship with Parents

The NLSY97 obtains a great amount of detail about the respondent's relationship with his or her parents in each interview.  Complementary information was gathered from the responding parent in round 1.  This section also collects information about the relationship the respondent's parents have with each other.  Users should note that "parent" in these descriptions generally refers to the respondent's parent or parent-figure and not only to biological parents; exceptions are clearly stated.

The universes of respondents who answered these questions and the parents to whom the questions referred changed across rounds. 

Contact with absent parent.  In round 1, the survey first determined the specific month and year that the NLSY97 respondent last lived with any absent biological mother or father or adoptive mother or father.  Each round established whether the most recent contact with that parent was within a month, a week, or a day. 

A number of questions then focused on the respondent's contact with the absent parent during the past 12 months (round 1) or since the last interview in subsequent rounds. For each of these absent parents, the respondent is asked the following questions:

• Number of times youth contacted or tried to contact absent parent by mail or phone
• Number of times youth received a card, letter, or phone call from absent parent
• Number of times youth visited absent parent without spending the night
• Number of times youth stayed overnight at the absent parent's home

Starting in round 5, questions about contact with each absent parent were designed to be more suitable for older respondents.  In round 5, the two youngest cohorts received the original set of questions, but the three oldest cohorts received a new question set that pertained to absent biological parents and absent parent figures.  In round 6, only the youngest cohort received the original series; the four oldest cohorts all received the newer questions.  In round 7, the original questions were completely phased out.

Parent's supportiveness and permissiveness.  This series first asked whether the respondent feels that each parent is supportive of him or her.  A second question gathered information on whether the parent is permissive or strict about making sure the respondent did what he or she was supposed to do.  Cohorts vary per survey year.  No questions in this category were asked in rounds 5, 8, 9, or 11.

Respondent's opinion of parent.  For a group of younger respondents, additional data are collected on the respondent's opinion of each parent.  Respondents state whether they think highly of the parent, want to be like him or her, and enjoy spending time with him or her.  This series was not included in rounds 4 or 6.  The question format changed in round 5:  those respondents born in 1983 and 1984 were asked the original set of questions, while the three oldest birth cohorts received the new set of questions.  In round 7, all respondents received the new set of questions. 

Parent's knowledge and behavior toward respondent.  In rounds 1-3, information about the parent's behavior toward the respondent, collected from a group of younger respondents, included how often the parent did each of the following:

• Praised the respondent for doing well
• Criticized the respondent or the respondent's ideas
• Helped the respondent to do things important to the respondent
• Blamed the respondent for his or her problems
• Made plans with the respondent and cancels for no good reason

In addition, the survey gathered data on the respondent's opinion of how well his or her parent knew the respondent's close friends, the parents of the respondent's close friends, the people the respondent is with when not at home, and the respondent's teachers/school activities.  Specific questions in this series varied among survey years.  These questions were discontinued after round 3.

In rounds 5, 7, and 9, respondents rated how much their parents knew about the respondents' life goals, their values and spiritual beliefs, and their friends.

Parent relationship behaviors.  These questions ask about the frequency with which each parent displays the following behaviors:

• Blames his or her partner for problems
• Criticizes his or her partner or the partner's ideas
• Encourages his or her partner to do things that the partner considers important
• Expresses affection or love for his or her partner
• Is fair and willing to compromise when they disagree
• Screams and yells at his or her partner when angry

This series was included in rounds 1-3 and in rounds 5-6.

Contact between respondent's biological parents.  These questions determined the frequency of contact between the respondent's biological parents and the level of friendliness or hostility in their relationship.  This series was included in rounds 1-3 and round 6.

Several question series about the respondent's parents were added in round 5 for older respondents born in 1980-82 and in round 6 for older respondents born in 1980-83.  The first questioned how often the respondent asked his or her parent for advice or help on education/training/job decisions and on friendships or close personal relationships.  Another series asked about the parent's knowledge concerning the respondent's goals and aspirations in life, values and spiritual beliefs, friends, and what the respondent is really like as person.  In addition, these respondents were asked how often their family gathers to celebrate family events like birthdays, holidays, weddings, etc.  A follow-up question asked the respondent to rate the importance of attending these events to him or her.

Parent Questionnaire (round 1).  The NLSY97 also asked two of these series of questions in the parent survey.  First, if the youth was born in 1982, 1983, or 1984, the responding parent described the frequency with which his or her spouse or partner displayed the parent relationship behaviors listed above.  If the responding parent was one of the youth's biological parents and the other biological parent did not reside in the household, the responding parent answered a second set of questions about the frequency of contact with the other parent and the friendliness or hostility of their relationship.

Perceptions of Peers

Youth Questionnaire. A series of questions in the round 1 survey asked respondents about their perception of their peers' activities and behaviors.  Respondents who were enrolled at the time of the survey were asked to estimate the percentage of peers in their grade involved in the activities listed below; respondents who were not enrolled were asked the same questions about the percentage of peers in their grade when last enrolled.

• Belong to a gang that participates in illegal activities
• Cut classes or skip school
• Do volunteer work
• Ever use marijuana, inhalants, or other drugs
• Get drunk at least once per month
• Go to church or religious services on a regular basis
• Participate in organized sports, clubs, or school activities
• Plan to go to college
• Smoke cigarettes
• Ever had sexual intercourse (asked of those age 15 and older)

Attitudes towards School

Youth Questionnaire. The round 1 NLSY97 survey attempted to ascertain the impact that school has had on the feelings of well-being experienced by various youths.  To this end, respondents who were enrolled at the time of the survey were asked to agree or disagree with the following statements regarding their school's environment and their teachers:

• Discipline is fair
• Disruptions by other students get in the way of my learning
• I feel safe at this school
• Students are fairly graded
• Teachers are good
• Teachers are interested in the students
• There is a lot of cheating on tests and assignments

Attitudes towards Self

Youth Questionnaire.  In round 1, a series of questions designed to elicit information on the respondent's attitude about him- or herself was asked of respondents born in 1982, 1983, and 1984.  These respondents were asked whether they strongly disagreed, disagreed, agreed, or strongly agreed with the following statements: 

• I hardly ever expect things to go my way
• I rarely count on good things happening to me
• I'm always optimistic about my future
• In uncertain times, I usually expect the best

The round 1 NLSY97 survey asked the same youths questions similar to those found in Achenbach's Youth Self Report.  For each behavior, respondents were asked how well the statement described them over the past six months (not true, somewhat or sometimes true, or often true).  The questions asked of male and female respondents are listed in Figure 1.

Figure 1. Youth Descriptors of Attitude toward Self

Rounds 4, 6, 8, and 10 included a series that addressed respondents' mental health.  The self-administered questions asked how often they felt the following ways during the last month before the interview:  very nervous, calm and peaceful, downhearted and blue, happy, or so down in the dumps that nothing could cheer them up.  Respondents answered all, most, some, or none of the time for each feeling. These questions correspond to the Mental Health Inventory (MHI-5), a well-being scale developed by Veit and Ware in 1983.

Parent Questionnaire (round 1).  Parents were also asked a set of questions similar to Achenbach's Youth Self Report.  For each NLSY97 youth born in 1983 or 1984, the responding parent was asked how well each statement described the youth's behavior in the past six months. 

Domains of Influence

All respondents in round 7 and 9 answered a series of questions about the people to whom respondents could turn for advice on the following issues: friendships or personal relationships; employment, education, and training; and finances.  Respondents gave the total number of people they could ask for advice and the first person to which they would turn (e.g., biological mother, boyfriend/girlfriend, clergy).

"Tell Us What You Think" Questions

The round 10 survey introduced a “Tell Us What You Think” section (YTEL-1 through YTEL-22).  Respondents provided opinions about wanting to change the amount of time they spent on certain activities (time at work, time doing household chores, time with family and friends, time in leisure activities, and time to relax); to what degree in their daily lives they felt rushed; how often they had time on their hands; and whether they found life exciting or dull. Respondents also were asked about what role they think society should take, with questions about the government’s responsibility for providing jobs and health care, keeping prices under control, providing a decent standard of living for the elderly and unemployed, offering industry help to grow, reducing income differences, giving financial assistance to college students, providing decent housing for all, and imposing strict environmental controls on industry. Respondents also rated how good or bad their life had been since the previous interview.  For these round 10 opinion questions, the respondent sample was divided into four groups: one group receiving the time questions, one group receiving the government responsibility questions, one group rating quality of life, and one group skipping the section entirely.

The round 11 "Tell Us What You Think" section (YTEL) included the following types of questions: Charitable acts in past 12 months (such as donating blood, giving to the homeless, returning extra change to cashier, letting someone ahead in line, and allowing a person to borrow a valuable item); opinion questions on personal responsibility (such as whether individuals should look after themselves or whether people should help the less fortunate); community participation questions (such as how important it is to vote, serve on jury duty, report a crime, and keep informed). As in round 10, round 11 respondents rated how good or bad their life had been since the previous interview. Only a subsample of total respondents answered the round 11 "Tell Us What You Think" questions.

Comparison to Other NLS Surveys:  The Children of the NLSY79 age 10 and older (including the Young Adults) have answered questions about their attitudes toward their school and themselves, about their relationship with their parents, and about their parents' relationship with each other.  Users should note, however, that the wording of these questions is not identical to the NLSY97.  For more information, consult the NLSY79 Child & Young Adult User's Guide.

Survey Instruments:  Questions from the Youth Questionnaire are found in the self-administered (question names begin with YSAQ), peers (YPRS), and schooling (YSCH) sections in round 1 and the self-administered section (YSAQ) in rounds 2, 3, and 4.  The "Tell Us What You Think" question names begin with YTEL. In the round 1 Parent Questionnaire, these questions are found in sections P6 and PC12.

Main Areas of Interest	Attitudes Family Process Measures Illegal Activity & Arrest
Supplemental Areas of Interest	Marriage & Cohabitation Parent Current Status Parent Retrospective

Reference

Achenbach, T. M. Manual for the Youth Self-Report and 1991 Profile. Burlington, VT: University of Vermont Department of Psychiatry, 1991.