Description: The National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, 1997 (NLSY97) is designed to document the transition from school to work and into adulthood. It collects extensive information about youths' labor market behavior and educational experiences over time. Aside from educational and labor market experiences, the NLSY97 contains detailed information on many other topics including: youths' relationships with parents, contact with absent parents, marital and fertility histories, dating, sexual activity, onset of puberty, training, participation in government assistance programs, expectations, time use, criminal behavior, and alcohol and drug use.

Population: Survey of nationally representative sample of 8,984 young men and women, from 6,819 households, born between 1980 and 1984 and first interviewed in 1997. Data collected from school surveys, interviews, etc., in annual waves.

Periodicity: This ongoing cohort has been surveyed 17 times to date and is now interviewed biennially. Data are now available from Round 1 (1997-98) to Round 17 (2015-16).

Additional relevant topics covered in this dataset: Youth employment history, educational experiences, time use, youths’ early child care, and custody arrangements.

(Information adapted from the publisher)

For more information, please see the Compendium of Family-Self Sufficiency Databases.