The NLSY97 survey provides data on respondents' experiences with dating and sexual activity, marriage or marriage-like relationships, pregnancy, and children. Table 1 summarizes the topics available and any global universe restrictions affecting those topics.
| 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 (R3) or 12/31/99 (R4) | 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. | all ages | all ages | all ages | all ages | |
| Adopted children Details about adopted children include birthdate, gender, residence, etc. | child reported on household (HH) roster | >=17 as of 12/31/97 or child on HH roster | >=17 as of 12/31/98 (R3) or 12/31/99 (R4) or child on HH roster | all ages | |
| Child Care Includes type of child care used, number of hours, who paid for child care, etc. | -- | -- | -- | Females with resident child under age 13 answer basic child care questions. Rounds 5, 9, 12, 15, and 17 included an expanded series of questions that provided more details about child care, along with some questions about hypothetical child care asked to respondents without children. | |