Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID): Main Interview, 1968-2015 (ICPSR 37142)

Version Date: Oct 4, 2018

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Principal Investigator(s):
David S. Johnson; Vicki A. Freedman; Narayan Sastry; Katherine A. McGonagle; Charles Brown; Paula Fomby; Fabian R. Pfeffer; Robert F. Schoeni; Frank P. Stafford

Series:

https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR37142.v1

Version V1

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Summary

This catalog record includes detailed variable-level descriptions, enabling data discovery and comparison. The data are not archived at ICPSR. Users should consult the data owners (via PSID) directly for details on obtaining the data.

The PSID is the world's longest-running nationally representative household panel survey. With over 50 years of data on the same families and their descendants, the PSID is a cornerstone of the data infrastructure for empirically based social science research in the U.S. PSID gathers data on the family as a whole and on individuals residing within the family, emphasizing the dynamic and interactive aspects of family economics, demography, and health. PSID data were collected annually from 1968-1997 and biennially after 1997. In the Main Interview, one person per family is interviewed on a regular basis. Information about each family member is collected, but much greater detail is obtained about the reference person and, if married/cohabitating, the spouse or long-term cohabitor. Survey content changes to reflect evolving scientific and policy priorities, although many content areas have been consistently measured since 1968. Information includes employment, income, wealth, expenditures, health, education, marriage, childbearing, philanthropy, and numerous other topics. With low attrition and high success in following young adults as they form their own families, the sample size has grown from roughly 5,000 families in 1968 to more than 10,000 families and 24,000 individuals by 2017. Over the course of the study, the PSID has distributed data on more than 80,000 individuals. The long panel, genealogical design, and broad content of the data offer unique opportunities to conduct generational and life-course research. The PSID now contains thousands of inter- and intragenerational relationships over 50 years of data, including:

  • "Paired" generational relationships, with each family in the pair providing independent interviews (as of the 2017 wave)
  • Parent-Adult Child pairs: ~5,500
  • Sibling pairs: ~3,600
  • Cousin pairs: ~4,500
  • "Tripled" generational relationships, with all three generations providing independent interviews (as of the 2017 wave)
    • Grandparent-Parent-Adult Child triplets: ~1,400
The PSID gathers rich information in the domains of health, wealth, and pensions. These data can be used in combination with panel data on employment, income, race, and education. Data collected on health includes health status, onset and recency of health conditions, health behaviors such as alcohol use, smoking, and exercise, BMI, health insurance, and expenditures. Information about mental health was collected starting in 2001. A health history calendar was implemented starting in 2007 to collect information on early childhood health conditions, including age of onset and duration.

Citation

Johnson, David S., Freedman, Vicki A., Sastry, Narayan, McGonagle, Katherine A., Brown, Charles, Fomby, Paula, … Stafford, Frank P. Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID): Main Interview, 1968-2015. Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2018-10-04. https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR37142.v1

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Funding

National Science Foundation, United States Department of Health and Human Services. National Institutes of Health. National Institute on Aging, United States Department of Health and Human Services. National Institutes of Health. Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Indiana University Center on Philanthropy, United States Department of Agriculture

Subject Terms

Geographic Coverage

Distributor(s)

Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research
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Time Period(s)

1968 -- 2015

Date of Collection

1968 -- 2015

Data Collection Notes

  1. The data for this collection are available on the PSID Web site.

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Sample

The original PSID sample of roughly 18,000 people in 5,000 households consisted of a nationally representative sample and an oversample of low income families. The oversample was included to facilitate investigations of poverty-related issues. PSID families are followed regardless of where they live. The sample grows naturally as children and grandchildren from these families form their own households and are invited to join the PSID. Samples of immigrants have been added to the PSID in 1997/1999 and 2017 so that the sample continues to closely resemble the national population.

Time Method

Longitudinal: Panel: Interval

Universe

U.S. households

Unit(s) of Observation

individual, household

Data Type(s)

Mode of Data Collection

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Original Release Date

2018-10-04

Version History

2018-11-12 The variable-level documentation for DS 34 was updated.

2018-10-25 The variable-level documentation was updated and variable-level metadata for DS 1-40 was released.

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Notes

  • The public-use data files in this collection are available for access by the general public. Access does not require affiliation with an ICPSR member institution.