Dating/Sex, Marriage/Cohabitation & Fertility/Children: An Introduction

Table 1. Dating/Sex, Marriage/Cohabitation & Fertility/Children Topics and Universe Restrictions

NLSY97 User's Guide Topic		Round 1 Universe	Round 2 Universe	Rounds 3 and 4 Universe	Rounds 5 and up
Sexual Activity & Dating
	Dating	all ages	all ages	all ages	all ages
	Intercourse & Pregnancy	>14	>=14 as of 12/31/97	all ages	all ages
	Birth Control Use	>14	>=14 as of 12/31/97	all ages	all ages
Marital/Marriage-Like Relationships Includes marital and cohabitation status as well as details on spouse/partner. For rounds 1-8, a marriage-like relationship was defined as a sexual relationship in which partners of the opposite sex live together; in rounds 9 and up the phrase "of the opposite sex" was removed from the definition.		>=16 as of 12/31/96	>=16 as of 12/31/97	>=16 as of 12/31/98 (rnd 3) or 12/31/99 (rnd 4)	all ages
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 birth date, 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
Child Care Includes type of child care used, number of hours, who paid for child care, etc.		--	--	--	female with resident child under age 13 answer basic child care questions. Rounds 5, 9, and 12 include an expanded series of questions that provide more details about child care. Rounds 5, 9, and 12 also include some questions about hypothetical child care asked to respondents without children.