National Longitudinal Study of Youth 1979
The NLSY 1979 Cohort is a longitudinal project that follows the lives of a sample of American youth born between 1957 and 1964. The study was intended to be representative of United States residents, both male and female. It observes the life-course experiences of young adults that had, typically, finished their schooling and were making decisions about education and training, entering the labour market, military service, marriage, and having families. Main topics addressed include:
- Labor market behavior
- Educational experiences (high school, college, training)
- Family background
- Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (measures knowledge and skills including reading and mathematics)
- High school information received from respondents' schools and from respondents' school transcripts
- Government program participation
- Family life (marital status, fertility, and child care)
- Health issues
- Assets and income
Overview
- Acronym
- NLSY79
- Website
- NLSY79
- Investigators
-
- Contacts
-
General Design
- Study design
- Cohort
- Start - End Year
- 1979 -
- General Information on Follow Up (profile, frequency)
-
Yearly personal interviews were conducted from 1979 - 1986. In 1987, a telephone interview was conducted. Personal interviews resumed in 1988 and continued yearly until 1994. Since 1994, NLSY79 participants have been interviewed in even-numbered years.
- Recruitment Target
-
- Individuals
- Number of Participants
- 12,686
Access
Availability of data and biosamples
| Possible Access to Data | |
| Possible Access to Biosamples | |
| Other |
|
Marker Paper
https://nlsinfo.org/content/cohorts/nlsy79
Timeline
Populations
A military sample of 1,280 individuals was designed to represent the population born January 1, 1957, through December 31, 1961, serving in the military as of September 30, 1978. The inclusion of the military sample allows comparative civilian-military analyses.
In 1985, interviewing of the full military sample ceased. Retained were 201 military respondents randomly selected from the entire military sample. Of these, 51 were cases that would have been selected as part of a random sample of youth including the military, and 150 additional cases were selected to provide a sufficient number of original military sample members to avoid overly large sampling variability for the military sample.
Selection Criteria
- Minimum age
-
17
- Maximum age
-
21
- Countries
-
- United States of America
Sample Size
- Number of Participants
- 1,280
Data Collection Events
| # | Name | Data sources | Data sources - Biosamples | Start | End |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | NLSY79 - Military Sample - 1979 Interview |
|
1979 (January) | 1979 (August) | |
| 1 | NLSY79 - Military Sample - 1980 Interview |
|
1980 (January) | 1980 (August) | |
| 2 | NLSY79 - Military Sample - 1981 Interview |
|
1981 (January) | 1981 (July) | |
| 3 | NLSY79 - Military Sample - 1982 Interview |
|
1982 (January) | 1982 (July) | |
| 4 | NLSY79 - Military Sample - 1983 Interview |
|
1983 (January) | 1983 (June) | |
| 5 | NLSY79 - Military Sample - 1984 Interview |
|
1984 (January) | 1984 (June) | |
| 6 | NLSY79 - Military Sample - 1985 Interview |
|
1985 (January) | 1985 (June) | |
| 7 | NLSY79 - Military Sample - 1986 Interview |
|
1986 (February) | 1986 (July) | |
| 8 | NLSY79 - Military Sample - 1987 Interview |
|
1987 (March) | 1987 (October) | |
| 9 | NLSY79 - Military Sample - 1988 Interview |
|
1988 (June) | 1988 (December) | |
| 10 | NLSY79 - Military Sample - 1989 Interview |
|
1989 (June) | 1989 (December) | |
| 11 | NLSY79 - Military Sample - 1990 Interview |
|
1990 (June) | 1990 (December) | |
| 12 | NLSY79 - Military Sample - 1991 Interview |
|
1991 (June) | 1991 (December) | |
| 13 | NLSY79 - Military Sample - 1992 Interview |
|
1992 (May) | 1992 (December) | |
| 14 | NLSY79 - Military Sample - 1993 Interview |
|
1993 (June) | 1993 (November) | |
| 15 | NLSY79 - Military Sample - 1994 Interview |
|
1994 (June) | 1994 (December) | |
| 16 | NLSY79 - Military Sample - 1996 Interview |
|
1996 (April) | 1996 (October) | |
| 17 | NLSY79 - Military Sample - 1998 Interview |
|
1998 (March) | 1998 (September) | |
| 18 | NLSY79 - Military Sample - 2000 Interview |
|
2000 (April) | 2001 (January) | |
| 19 | NLSY79 - Military Sample - 2002 Interview |
|
2002 (January) | 2002 (December) | |
| 20 | NLSY79 - Military Sample - 2004 Interview |
|
2004 (January) | 2005 (February) | |
| 21 | NLSY79 - Military Sample - 2006 Interview |
|
2006 (January) | 2007 (March) | |
| 22 | NLSY79 - Military Sample - 2008 Interview |
|
2008 (January) | 2009 (March) | |
| 23 | NLSY79 - Military Sample - 2010 Interview |
|
2009 (December) | 2011 (February) | |
| 24 | NLSY79 - Military Sample - 2012 Interview |
|
2012 (September) | 2013 (September) |
A set of 5,295 individuals was designed to oversample civilian Hispanic or Latino, black, and economically disadvantaged, nonblack/non-Hispanic youths born January 1, 1957, through December 31, 1964.
In 1991, the 1,643 members of the economically disadvantaged, non-Black/non-Hispanic supplemental sample were no longer interviewed.
Selection Criteria
- Minimum age
-
14
- Maximum age
-
21
- Countries
-
- United States of America
- Ethnic Origin
-
- Hispanic or Latino
- Black
- non-Black non-Hispanics
Sample Size
- Number of Participants
- 5,295
Data Collection Events
| # | Name | Data sources | Data sources - Biosamples | Start | End |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | NLSY79 1979 Interview |
|
1979 (January) | 1979 (August) | |
| 1 | NLSY79 1980 Interview |
|
1980 (January) | 1980 (August) | |
| 2 | NLSY79 1981 Interview |
|
1981 (January) | 1981 (July) | |
| 3 | NLSY79 1982 Interview |
|
1982 (January) | 1982 (July) | |
| 4 | NLSY79 1983 Interview |
|
1983 (January) | 1983 (June) | |
| 5 | NLSY79 1984 Interview |
|
1984 (January) | 1984 (June) | |
| 6 | NLSY79 1985 Interview |
|
1985 (January) | 1985 (June) | |
| 7 | NLSY79 1986 Interview |
|
1986 (February) | 1986 (July) | |
| 8 | NLSY79 1987 Interview |
|
1987 (March) | 1987 (October) | |
| 9 | NLSY79 1988 Interview |
|
1988 (June) | 1988 (December) | |
| 10 | NLSY79 1989 Interview |
|
1989 (June) | 1989 (December) | |
| 11 | NLSY79 1990 Interview |
|
1990 (June) | 1990 (December) | |
| 12 | NLSY79 1991 Interview |
|
1991 (June) | 1991 (December) | |
| 13 | NLSY79 1992 Interview |
|
1992 (May) | 1992 (December) | |
| 14 | NLSY79 1993 Interview |
|
1993 (June) | 1993 (November) | |
| 15 | NLSY79 1994 Interview |
|
1994 (June) | 1994 (December) | |
| 16 | NLSY79 1996 Interview |
|
1996 (April) | 1996 (October) | |
| 17 | NLSY79 1998 Interview |
|
1998 (March) | 1998 (September) | |
| 18 | NLSY79 2000 Interview |
|
2000 (April) | 2001 (January) | |
| 19 | NLSY79 2002 Interview |
|
2002 (January) | 2002 (December) | |
| 20 | NLSY79 2004 Interview |
|
2004 (January) | 2005 (February) | |
| 21 | NLSY79 2006 Interview |
|
2006 (January) | 2007 (March) | |
| 22 | NLSY79 2008 Interview |
|
2008 (January) | 2009 (March) | |
| 23 | NLSY79 2010 Interview |
|
2009 (December) | 2011 (February) | |
| 24 | NLSY79 2012 Interview |
|
2012 (September) | 2013 (September) |
A cross-sectional sample of 6,111 individuals, designed to represent the noninstitutionalized civilian segment of young people living in the United States in 1979 and born January 1, 1957, through December 31, 1964.
Selection Criteria
- Minimum age
-
14
- Maximum age
-
21
- Countries
-
- United States of America
- Territory
-
Most of the 50 states and the District of Columbia
Sources of Recruitment
- General Population
-
- Selected sample
- Supplementary Information
-
Household screening interviews were conducted to select the NLSY79 civilian cross-sectional sample from the civilian population. Approximately 18,000 of the screening interviews were carried out among 918 sample segments in 102 Primary Sampling Units (PSUs), which were selected from the NORC Master Probability Sample of the United States.
Sample Size
- Number of Participants
- 6,111
Data Collection Events
| # | Name | Data sources | Data sources - Biosamples | Start | End |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | NLSY79 1979 Interview |
|
1979 (January) | 1979 (August) | |
| 1 | NLSY79 1980 Interview |
|
1980 (January) | 1980 (August) | |
| 2 | NLSY79 1981 Interview |
|
1981 (January) | 1981 (July) | |
| 3 | NLSY79 1982 Interview |
|
1982 (January) | 1982 (July) | |
| 4 | NLSY79 1983 Interview |
|
1983 (January) | 1983 (June) | |
| 5 | NLSY79 1984 Interview |
|
1984 (January) | 1984 (June) | |
| 6 | NLSY79 1985 Interview |
|
1985 (January) | 1985 (June) | |
| 7 | NLSY79 1986 Interview |
|
1986 (February) | 1986 (July) | |
| 8 | NLSY79 1987 Interview |
|
1987 (March) | 1987 (October) | |
| 9 | NLSY79 1988 Interview |
|
1988 (June) | 1988 (December) | |
| 10 | NLSY79 1989 Interview |
|
1989 (June) | 1989 (December) | |
| 11 | NLSY79 1990 Interview |
|
1990 (June) | 1990 (December) | |
| 12 | NLSY79 1991 Interview |
|
1991 (June) | 1991 (December) | |
| 13 | NLSY79 1992 Interview |
|
1992 (May) | 1992 (December) | |
| 14 | NLSY79 1993 Interview |
|
1993 (June) | 1993 (November) | |
| 15 | NLSY79 1994 Interview |
|
1994 (June) | 1994 (December) | |
| 16 | NLSY79 1996 Interview |
|
1996 (April) | 1996 (October) | |
| 17 | NLSY79 1998 Interview |
|
1998 (March) | 1998 (September) | |
| 18 | NLSY79 2000 Interview |
|
2000 (April) | 2001 (January) | |
| 19 | NLSY79 2002 Interview |
|
2002 (January) | 2002 (December) | |
| 20 | NLSY79 2004 Interview |
|
2004 (January) | 2005 (February) | |
| 21 | NLSY79 2006 Interview |
|
2006 (January) | 2007 (March) | |
| 22 | NLSY79 2008 Interview |
|
2008 (January) | 2009 (March) | |
| 23 | NLSY79 2010 Interview |
|
2009 (December) | 2011 (February) | |
| 24 | NLSY79 2012 Interview |
|
2012 (September) | 2013 (September) |
Participating Studies
| Acronym | Name | Study design | Countries |
|---|
Harmonization Initiatives Included
| Acronym | Name |
|---|
Datasets
| Name | Data Collection Events | Variables |
|---|
Areas of Information Collected
- Socio-demographic and economic characteristics
- Death
- Lifestyle and behaviours
- Physical measures and assessments
- Birth, pregnancy and reproductive health history
- Laboratory measures
- Perception of health, quality of life, development and functional limitations
- Cognition, personality and psychological measures and assessments
- Diseases
- Life events, life plans, beliefs and values
- Symptoms and signs
- Preschool, school and work life
- Medication and supplements
- Social environment and relationships
- Non-pharmacological interventions
- Physical environment
- Health and community care services utilization
- Administrative information
Variables Content Summary
Areas of Information Collected
Areas of Information Collected per per Population and Data Collection Event
Networks
| Acronym | Name | Harmonization Initiatives | Individual Studies |
|---|