Tsogolo La Thanzi (TLT and TLT-2): Couples Data, Malawi, 2009-2015 [Healthy Futures] (ICPSR 39292)
Version Date: Jan 26, 2026 View help for published
Principal Investigator(s): View help for Principal Investigator(s)
Sara Yeatman, University of Colorado-Denver;
Abdallah Chilungo, Tsogolo La Thanzi Centre;
Jenny Ann Trinitapoli, University of Chicago
Series:
https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR39292.v1
Version V1
Summary View help for Summary
Tsogolo la Thanzi (TLT) is a longitudinal study in Balaka, Malawi designed to examine how young people navigate reproduction in an AIDS epidemic. Tsogolo la Thanzi means "Healthy Futures" in Chichewa, Malawi's most widely spoken language. New data are being collected to develop better understandings of the reproductive goals and behavior of young adults in Malawi -- the first cohort to never have experienced life without AIDS. To understand these patterns of family formation in a rapidly changing setting, TLT used the following approach: an intensive longitudinal design where respondents are interviewed every fourth months at TLT's centralized research center. Data collection began in May of 2009 and was completed in June of 2012. To assess changes on a longer time-horizon, a follow-up survey referred to as Tsogolo la Thanzi 2 (TLT-2) was fielded between June and August of 2015.
The Couples Data include supplementary data intended to link partners across the full TLT-1 and TLT-2 time period for the purpose of conducting couple-level analyses.
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Funding View help for Funding
Subject Terms View help for Subject Terms
Geographic Coverage View help for Geographic Coverage
Restrictions View help for Restrictions
These data may not be used for any purpose other than statistical reporting and analysis. Use of these data to learn the identity of any person or establishment is strictly prohibited. To protect respondent privacy, this data collection is restricted from general dissemination. To obtain this file, researchers must agree to the terms and conditions of a Restricted Data Use Agreement in accordance with existing ICPSR servicing policies.
Distributor(s) View help for Distributor(s)
Time Period(s) View help for Time Period(s)
Date of Collection View help for Date of Collection
Data Collection Notes View help for Data Collection Notes
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For further information, please visit the Tsogolo la Thanzi website.
Study Purpose View help for Study Purpose
The purpose of this data collection was to create a couple-linking file that identifies and links respondents in relationships and describes the status of their relationships across the course of the study.
Study Design View help for Study Design
Tsogolo la Thanzi (TLT) is an ongoing longitudinal study of young Malawians living within a 7-kilometer radius of Balaka. Please refer to the Baseline data (ICPSR 36863) and the TLT-2 2015 follow-up (ICPSR 38444) for more details on the overall study design.
Couples Data were constructed from all 10 waves of TLT-1 (2009-2012) and TLT-2 (2015 follow-up). Each unique couple contributes 10 observations to these data and each observation details the relationship status of that couple during one wave of the TLT study.
Sample View help for Sample
For information on sampling, please refer to the Tsogolo la Thanzi (TLT) Baseline data (ICPSR 36863), the TLT-2 2015 follow-up (ICPSR 38444), the Sampling Protocol, and the TLT-2 Overview available on the TLT study website. The Couples Data include a total of 1220 unique couples that were linked during the full TLT-1 and TLT-2 period.
Time Method View help for Time Method
Universe View help for Universe
Young women and men aged 15-25 in 2009 living in a 7km radius around Balaka, Malawi.
Unit(s) of Observation View help for Unit(s) of Observation
Data Type(s) View help for Data Type(s)
Mode of Data Collection View help for Mode of Data Collection
Description of Variables View help for Description of Variables
The Couples Data includes a unique identifier for each couple, COUPLEID, and identifiers for male and female respondents, MALEID and FEMALEID, which match the variable RESPID in previous Tsogolo la Thanzi (TLT) waves. These variables are designed to allow users to merge the Couples Data with the main TLT datasets. Other variables include a wave-indicating variable, two linking variables indicating responses where partners answered questions about one another, and two variables indicating relationship status.
All other variables were drawn directly from previous TLT waves, and are labelled with the original variable names. Users should refer to the User Guide for additional details on how these data were compiled. Users are also advised to reference relevant questionnaires and documentation from the TLT website, namely Documentation Guide 18: Data Key (2009-2019)
Response Rates View help for Response Rates
95 percent of recruited respondents completed interviews at baseline.
HideOriginal Release Date View help for Original Release Date
2026-01-26
Version History View help for Version History
2026-01-26 ICPSR data undergo a confidentiality review and are altered when necessary to limit the risk of disclosure. ICPSR also routinely creates ready-to-go data files along with setups in the major statistical software formats as well as standard codebooks to accompany the data. In addition to these procedures, ICPSR performed the following processing steps for this data collection:
- Checked for undocumented or out-of-range codes.
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.
One or more files in this data collection have special restrictions. Restricted data files are not available for direct download from the website; click on the Restricted Data button to learn more.
This study was originally processed, archived, and disseminated by Data Sharing for Demographic Research (DSDR), a project funded by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD).