In many surveys, respondents answered questions about their attitudes and aspirations. Many questions referred to attitudes about work and retirement. Periodically, the surveys asked about educational and occupational goals, housework, child care, and satisfaction with life in general.
Attitudes toward women working: The 1972, 1978, 1983, and 1988 surveys asked women about their opinions on the employment of wives. Table 4.4.1 presents reference numbers for these statements about married women's participation in the paid labor market by survey year.
| Statement | Survey Year | |||
| 72 | 78 | 83 | 88 | |
| Modern conveniences permit a wife to work without neglecting her family | R03867.00 | R06336.00 | R08630.00 | R11590.00 |
| Women's place is in the home | R03868.00 | R06337.00 | R08631.00 | R11591.00 |
| Job provides wife with interesting outside contacts | R03869.00 | -- | -- | -- |
| Wife with a family doesn't have time for employment | R03870.00 | R06338.00 | R08632.00 | R11592.00 |
| Working wife feels more useful | R03871.00 | R06339.00 | R08633.00 | R11593.00 |
| Employment of wives leads to more juvenile delinquency | R03872.00 | R06340.00 | R08634.00 | R11594.00 |
| Working wives help raise the standard of living | R03873.00 | -- | -- | -- |
| Working wives lose interest in home and family | R03874.00 | -- | -- | -- |
| Employment of parents needed to keep up with cost of living | R03875.00 | R06341.00 | R08635.00 | R11595.00 |
| It is better for all if man is outside achiever & woman takes care of family | -- | R06342.00 | R08636.00 | R11596.00 |
| Men should share the work around the house with women | -- | R06343.00 | R08637.00 | R11597.00 |
| Working mothers can have as secure relationship with child as non-working mothers | -- | R06344.00 | R08638.00 | R11598.00 |
| Women are happier if they stay home & take care of kids | -- | R06345.00 | R08639.00 | R11599.00 |
| Rearing children should not inhibit career | -- | R06346.00 | R08640.00 | R11600.00 |
A three-question series asked in 1968, 1972, 1978, and 1983 assessed respondents' approval of women working. On a scale of definitely all right to definitely not all right, respondents indicated their opinion about women working if necessary to make ends meet, if the woman desires and the husband agrees, and if the woman desires and the husband disagrees. Related questions, including her husband's attitude toward the respondent's working, were asked at select survey points (see Table 4.4.2).
| Question | Year |
| Would you say that during the past year there has been any change in your feeling about having a job outside the home for pay, in what way and why? |
1969, 1970, 1972, 1973 |
| If, by some chance, you and your husband were to get enough money to live comfortably without working, do you think you would work anyway, why and on what would it depend? |
1970, 1972, 1978, 1983, 1988 |
| In this family situation, how do you feel about the mother taking a full-time job outside the home - to make ends meet, if husband agrees, if husband disagrees? |
1968, 1972, 1978, 1983 |
| How does your husband feel about your working (employed )? | 1968, 1972, 1978, 1983 |
| How do you think your husband would feel about your working now (out of labor force)? | 1968, 1972, 1978, 1983 |
Attitudes toward retirement: As this cohort aged, the surveys began eliciting attitudes and expectations about retirement. In 1995-2001, Young Women responded to a series of statements on their attitudes toward retirement in general. These questions (e.g., R42013.00‑R42017.00) asked respondents to agree or disagree with statements such as "Work is the most meaningful part of life" and "People who don't retire when they can afford to are foolish."
Attitudes toward life: In addition to attitudes about work and working, respondents provided data on their feelings about life in general. In the 1980, 1982, and 1985-2003 surveys, respondents answered a global life satisfaction question on how they were feeling these days (e.g., R15693.00). They were asked to classify themselves overall as very happy, somewhat happy, somewhat unhappy, or very unhappy. Additional measures of psychological well-being are discussed in the "Health" section of this guide.
Attitudes toward housekeeping and child care: Respondents were asked about their opinions on working in the home as a part of the non-paid labor force. Specifically, at five-year intervals (beginning in 1978) respondents were asked for their attitudes about domestic labor and child care. In 1978, 1983, and 1988, respondents were asked, "How do you feel about keeping house in your own home?" and "How do you feel about taking care of children?" In 1971, employed women with children were asked to state their attitude toward child care centers. See the "Child Care" section of this guide for more information about child care arrangements.
At select survey points, the women were asked more detailed questions about their responsibility for a variety of household tasks. In the 1975, 1978, 1982, 1983, and 1987 surveys, a series of questions was asked of respondents about the degree of their responsibilities for select household chores. The response categories included respondent has sole responsibility, respondent shares responsibility, others have responsibility, and not applicable. In some of these survey years, respondents who answered that they shared responsibility for a particular task with others or that others had sole responsibility for the task were asked for their relationship to the other person who usually performed (shared) the task. In addition, those women who shared responsibility with someone else for a given task were asked the frequency (less than half of the time, about half the time, or more than half the time) with which they performed the task. In the 1982 survey, respondents were asked how they felt about performing each task (like, dislike, or don't mind). Table 4.4.3 summarizes this series of items.
Survey Year |
Child care | Cleaning dishes | Cleaning house | Cooking | Family paperwork | Grocery shopping | Care of ill/ disabled | Washing clothes | Yard/home maintenance |
| Extent of respondent responsibility for task1 | |||||||||
| 1975 | R05314.00 | R05316.00 | R05317.00 | R05315.00 | -- | R05313.00 | -- | R05318.00 | R05319.00 |
| 1978 | R06311.00 | R06315.00 | R06317.00 | R06313.00 | -- | R06309.00 | -- | R06319.00 | R06321.00 |
| 1982 | R07905.00 | R07911.00 | R07914.00 | R07908.00 | R07923.00 | R07902.00 | -- | R07917.00 | R07920.00 |
| 1983 | R08601.00 | R08607.00 | R08610.00 | R08604.00 | R08619.00 | R08596.00 | -- | R08613.00 | R08616.00 |
| 1987 | R10772.00 | R10775.00 | R10776.00 | R10774.00 | R10779.00 | R10771.00 | R10773.00 | R10777.00 | R10778.00 |
| Relationship of other person sharing/performing task | |||||||||
| 1978 | R06312.00 | R06316.00 | R06318.00 | R06314.00 | -- | R06310.00 | -- | R06320.00 | R06322.00 |
| 1982 | R07906.00 | R07912.00 | R07915.00 | R07909.00 | R07924.00 | R07903.00 | -- | R07918.00 | R07921.00 |
| 1983 | R08602.00 | R08608.00 | R08611.00 | R08605.00 | R08620.00 | R08599.00 | -- | R08614.00 | R08617.00 |
| Frequency respondent performs task | |||||||||
| 1983 | R08603.00 | R08609.00 | R08612.00 | R08606.00 | R08621.00 | R08600.00 | -- | R08615.00 | R08618.00 |
| Respondent's attitude toward performing task | |||||||||
| 1982 | R07907.00 | R07913.00 | R07916.00 | R07910.00 | R07925.00 | R07904.00 | -- | R07919.00 | R07922.00 |
| 1 Numbering of response categories may change over time. Users should consult the codebook for precise coding | |||||||||
Educational goals: Because the Young Women's survey was developed to examine the transition from school to work, significant effort was devoted to collecting information on future educational plans. From 1968 to 1978, questions were asked about the respondent's goal for her completed education (categories range from less than high school to 7 or more years of college), the actual amount of education she expected to receive, and the reason for any change in her educational plans between surveys. For generational comparisons, the respondent's report of her parents' goal for her education was collected in select survey years, as was the respondent's educational goal for her own children. Table 4.4.4 summarizes the reference numbers for this data and indicates universe limitations where applicable.
| Question | Survey Year | ||||||
| 68 | 69 | 70 | 71 | 72 | 73 | 78 | |
| Respondent's educational goal1 | R00142.00 | R00941.00 | R01532.00 | R02602.00 | R03410.00 | R04229.00 | R05925.00 |
| Comparison of current year's goal to goal at last interview | -- | R00942.00 | R01534.00 | R02604.00 | R03412.00 | R04231.00 | -- |
| Reason for change in goal2 | -- | R00943.00 | R01535.00 | R02605.00 | R03413.00 | R04232.00 | -- |
| Actual educational level expected | -- | -- | R01533.00 | R02603.00 | R03411.00 | R04230.00 | R05926.00 |
| Respondent's goal for own children3 | R00341.00 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| Parents' goal for respondent at age 14 | -- | -- | -- | -- | R03414.00 | -- | -- |
| 1 Enrolled respondents only | |||||||
| 2 Asked only of respondents whose educational goal changed between surveys | |||||||
| 3 Asked only of respondents with children | |||||||
Occupational goals: In order to map educational experience to future employment experience, the NLS collected information on the Young Women's occupational goals as they moved into adulthood. Thus, from 1968 to 1987 (when the last respondent reached age 35), questions were asked on their future plans, including the occupation they desired at age 35. Two questions were addressed to respondents who had not yet reached that age. Typically, the first question (e.g., R00329.00 in 1968) asked what respondents' plans were for age 35. This question was asked of all respondents regardless of their current employment status. The response set included: (1) working at a different job; (2) working at the same job as the current/most recent job; (3) married, keeping house, raising a family; and (4) other. Users should be aware that coding categories for this variable have changed slightly over time and the codebook should be consulted before using individual survey year items in computer programs.
To complete information on the respondent's occupational goal, a second question collected verbatim information on the type of occupation the respondent desired at age 35. This information was then coded in multiple ways. In most survey years, the occupation was coded according to standard Census three-digit occupation codes (see Attachment 2 in the Codebook Supplement (PDF)). In addition, data were coded using a variety of prestige indices, including a measure of the atypicality of the occupation and the Bose and Duncan Indices (see the "Occupations & Occupational Prestige Indices" section in this guide for a discussion of the various indices and additional references). The atypicality index measures the difference for each three digit occupational category between women as a percentage of all workers in that occupation and women as a percentage of the experienced civilian labor force in 1970 (see Appendix 5 in the Codebook Supplement (PDF)). Table 4.4.5 gives reference numbers for the variables discussed above.
For select survey years (1969-73), items that distinguished whether a respondent's occupational goal had changed between the current and last survey are also provided in the data set, along with the respondent's reason for the change in her occupational plans.
| Survey Year | Type of Variable | ||||
| Respondent's plans for age 35 | Occupation desired at age 35 | ||||
| Census 3-digit | Bose Index | Duncan Index | Atypicality | ||
| 1968 | R00329.00 | R00330.00 | R00771.10 | R00771.00 | R00775.00 |
| 1969 | R01102.00 | R01101.00 | R01359.20 | R01359.10 | R01383.10 |
| 1970 | R01903.00 | R01902.00 | R02202.15 | R02202.10 | R02207.20 |
| 1971 | R02962.00 | R02961.00 | R03300.10 | R03300.00 | R03299.00 |
| 1972 | R03883.00 | R03882.00 | R04130.10 | R04130.00 | R04130.20 |
| 1973 | R04644.00 | R04643.00 | R04986.10 | R04986.00 | R04986.20 |
| 1975 | R05335.00 | R05336.00 | R05336.30 | R05336.20 | R05336.10 |
| 1977 | R05837.00 | R05838.00 | R05838.30 | R05838.20 | R05838.10 |
| 1978 | R06333.00 | R06332.00 | R06488.30 | R06488.20 | R06488.10 |
| 1980 | R07521.00 | R07522.00 | R07522.30 | R07522.20 | R07522.10 |
| 1982 | R07993.00 | R07994.00 | -- | -- | -- |
| 1983 | R08624.00 | R08625.00 | -- | -- | -- |
| 1985 | R10553.00 | R10554.00 | -- | -- | -- |
| 1987 | R11013.00 | R11014.00 | -- | -- | -- |
Related Variables: The "Aptitude, Achievement & Intelligence Scores" section of this guide provides information about the "Knowledge of the World of Work" scale. The "Job Satisfaction" section describes questions about the respondent's attitude toward her current or most recent job. The "Job Search" section discusses questions about reservation wages, hypothetical job offers, and plans to seek work in the future. See the section on "Health" for additional measures of emotional well-being.
Survey Instruments: Questions on attitudes can be found in various questionnaire sections, including "Work Attitudes and Job Plans," "Work Experience and Attitudes," "Work Attitudes," "Attitudes Toward Woman's Role," "Attitudes," "Health," and "Future Plans."
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