Marital History, Children & Fertility: An Introduction


The NLSY97 survey provides data on respondents' experiences with pregnancy, children, and marriage or marriage-like relationships.  Throughout the survey, a marriage-like relationship is defined as a sexual relationship in which partners of the opposite sex live together. 

Table 1 summarizes the topics available in this section and any global universe restrictions affecting those topics. 

Table 1. Marital History & Fertility Topics and Universe Restrictions

NLSY97 User's Guide Topic

Round 1 Universe

Round 2 Universe

Rounds 3 and 4 Universe

 

Rounds 5 to 11

Child Care

Includes type of child care used, number of hours, who paid for child care, etc.

-- -- -- female with resident child under age 13. Rounds 5 and 9 include a longer series of questions that provided more details about child care. Rounds 5 and 9 also include some questions about hypothetical child care asked to respondents without children.

Fertility, Pregnancy & Children

  

Pregnancies not ending in live birth

Female >=14 as of 12/31/96

>=14 as of 12/31/97

all ages

all ages

  

Fertility and children

Information gathered on respondents giving birth and fathering children. Details about each live birth include birthdate, gender, residence, etc.

all ages

all ages

all ages

all ages

  

Adopted children

Details about adopted children include birthdate, gender, residence, etc.

child reported on household roster

>=17 as of 12/31/97 or child on HH roster

>=17 as of 12/31/98 (rd 3) or 12/31/99 (rd 4) or child on HH roster

all ages

Marital/Marriage-Like Relationships

Includes marital and cohabitation status as well as details on spouse/partner

16 as of 12/31/96

>=16 as of 12/31/97

>=16 as of 12/31/98 (rd 3) or 12/31/99 (rd 4)

all ages


 

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