Search results

Downloads of Add Health require submission of the following information, which is shared with the original producer of Add Health: supervisor name, supervisor email, and reason for download. A Data Guide for this study is available as a web page and for download.

The National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health), 1994-2018 [Public Use] is a longitudinal study of a nationally representative sample of U.S. adolescents in grades 7 through 12 during the 1994-1995 school year. The Add Health cohort was followed into young adulthood with four in-home interviews, the most recent conducted in 2008 when the sample was aged 24-32. Add Health combines longitudinal survey data on respondents' social, economic, psychological, and physical well-being with contextual data on the family, neighborhood, community, school, friendships, peer groups, and romantic relationships.

Add Health Wave I data collection took place between September 1994 and December 1995, and included both an in-school questionnaire and in-home interview. The in-school questionnaire was administered to more than 90,000 students in grades 7 through 12, and gathered information on social and demographic characteristics of adolescent respondents, education and occupation of parents, household structure, expectations for the future, self-esteem, health status, risk behaviors, friendships, and school-year extracurricular activities. All students listed on a sample school's roster were eligible for selection into the core in-home interview sample. In-home interviews included topics such as health status, health-facility utilization, nutrition, peer networks, decision-making processes, family composition and dynamics, educational aspirations and expectations, employment experience, romantic and sexual partnerships, substance use, and criminal activities. A parent, preferably the resident mother, of each adolescent respondent interviewed in Wave I was also asked to complete an interviewer-assisted questionnaire covering topics such as inheritable health conditions, marriages and marriage-like relationships, neighborhood characteristics, involvement in volunteer, civic, and school activities, health-affecting behaviors, education and employment, household income and economic assistance, parent-adolescent communication and interaction, parent's familiarity with the adolescent's friends and friends' parents.

Add Health data collection recommenced for Wave II from April to August 1996, and included almost 15,000 follow-up in-home interviews with adolescents from Wave I. Interview questions were generally similar to Wave I, but also included questions about sun exposure and more detailed nutrition questions. Respondents were asked to report their height and weight during the course of the interview, and were also weighed and measured by the interviewer.

From August 2001 to April 2002, Wave III data were collected through in-home interviews with 15,170 Wave I respondents (now 18 to 26 years old), as well as interviews with their partners. Respondents were administered survey questions designed to obtain information about family, relationships, sexual experiences, childbearing, and educational histories, labor force involvement, civic participation, religion and spirituality, mental health, health insurance, illness, delinquency and violence, gambling, substance abuse, and involvement with the criminal justice system. High School Transcript Release Forms were also collected at Wave III, and these data comprise the Education Data component of the Add Health study.

Wave IV in-home interviews were conducted in 2008 and 2009 when the original Wave I respondents were 24 to 32 years old. Longitudinal survey data were collected on the social, economic, psychological, and health circumstances of respondents, as well as longitudinal geographic data. Survey questions were expanded on educational transitions, economic status and financial resources and strains, sleep patterns and sleep quality, eating habits and nutrition, illnesses and medications, physical activities, emotional content and quality of current or most recent romantic/cohabiting/marriage relationships, and maltreatment during childhood by caregivers. Dates and circumstances of key life events occurring in young adulthood were also recorded, including a complete marriage and cohabitation history, full pregnancy and fertility histories from both men and women, an educational history of dates of degrees and school attendance, contact with the criminal justice system, military service, and various employment events, including the date of first and current jobs, with respective information on occupation, industry, wages, hours, and benefits. Finally, physical measurements and biospecimens were also collected at Wave IV, and included anthropometric measures of weight, height and waist circumference, cardiovascular measures such as systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, and pulse, metabolic measures from dried blood spots assayed for lipids, glucose, and glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c), measures of inflammation and immune function, including High sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) and Epstein-Barr virus (EBV).

Wave V data collection took place from 2016 to 2018, when the original Wave I respondents were 33 to 43 years old. For the first time, a mixed mode survey design was used. In addition, several experiments were embedded in early phases of the data collection to test response to various treatments. A similar range of data was collected on social, environmental, economic, behavioral, and health circumstances of respondents, with the addition of retrospective child health and socio-economic status questions. Physical measurements and biospecimens were again collected at Wave V, and included most of the same measures as at Wave IV.

The overall goal of Wave VI was to better understand life course trajectories, determinants, and consequences of critical dimensions of aging, health, and health disparities among U.S. early midlife adults. Data collection took place from 2022 to 2025, with participants between the ages of 39 and 51, with an average age of 44. Beyond longitudinal survey measures, newly added questions included those on cumulative stress, discrimination, despair, work-life balance, memory, physical limitations, and caregiving. Continuing from previous waves, home exams collected physical measurements and biospecimens with most of the same measures as Wave V.

This data collection is part of a longitudinal survey designed to provide detailed information on the economic situation of households and persons in the United States. These data examine the distribution of income, wealth, and poverty in American society and gauge the effects of federal and state programs on the well-being of families and individuals.

There are three basic elements contained in the survey. The first is a control card that records basic social and demographic characteristics for each person in a household, as well as changes in such characteristics over the course of the interviewing period. The second element is the core portion of the questionnaire, with questions repeated at each interview on labor force activity, types and amounts of income, participation in various cash and noncash benefit programs, attendance in post-secondary schools, private health insurance coverage, public or subsidized rental housing, low-income energy assistance, and school breakfast and lunch participation. The third element consists of topical modules, which are a series of supplemental questions asked during selected household visits.

Topical modules include some core data to help link individuals to the core files.

A topical module was not created for Wave I. The Wave II Topical Module (Part 17) covers recipiency, employment, work disability, education and training, marital status, migration, and fertility histories along with household relationships. The Wave III Topical Module (Part 19) includes data on work schedules, child care, child support agreements, support for nonhousehold members, functional limitations and disability, and utilization of health care services. Data from the Wave IV Topical Module (Part 21) include assets and liabilities, retirement expectations and pension plan coverage, and real estate property and vehicles. The Wave V Topical Module (Part 23) provides data on educational financing and enrollment. The Wave VI Topical Module (Part 25) covers time spent outside the work force, child care, child support agreements, support for nonhousehold members, functional limitations and disability, and utilization of health care services. Data in the Wave VII Topical Module (Part 27) cover selected financial assets, medical expenses and work disability, and real estate, shelter costs, dependent care, and vehicles. Wave VIII Topical Module (Part 29) includes data on annual income and retirement accounts, taxes, and school enrollment and financing. Part 33 of this study is the Wave V Topical Module Research File, an unedited version of Part 23. This research file has not been edited nor imputed but has been topcoded or bottomcoded and recoded if necessary by the Census Bureau to avoid disclosure of individual respondents' identities.

This data collection is part of a longitudinal survey designed to provide detailed information on the economic situation of households and persons in the United States. These data examine the distribution of income, wealth, and poverty in American society and gauge the effects of federal and state programs on the well-being of families and individuals.

There are three basic elements contained in the survey. The first is a control card that records basic social and demographic characteristics for each person in a household, as well as changes in such characteristics over the course of the interviewing period. The second element is the core portion of the questionnaire, with questions repeated at each interview on labor force activity, types and amounts of income, participation in various cash and noncash benefit programs, attendance in post-secondary schools, private health insurance coverage, public or subsidized rental housing, low-income energy assistance, and school breakfast and lunch participation. The third element consists of topical modules, which are a series of supplemental questions asked during selected household visits.

Topical modules include some core data to help link individuals to the core files.

A topical module was not created for the first wave of the 1991 Panel. The Wave 2 Topical Module (Part 5) covers employment, work disability, education and training, marital status, migration, fertility history, and receipt of benefits from government programs. The Wave 3 Topical Module (Part 9) includes data concerning work schedule, child care, child support agreements, support for nonhousehold members, functional limitations and disability, and utilization of health care services. Data in the Wave 4 Topical Module (Part 13) include selected financial assets, medical expenses and work disability, real estate, shelter costs, dependent care, and vehicles. The Wave 5 Topical Module (Part 17) covers annual income and retirement accounts, taxes, and school enrollment and financing. The Wave 6 Topical Module (Part 20) includes information on consumer durables, living conditions, and basic needs. The Wave 7 Topical Module (Part 22) focuses on assets and liabilities, retirement expectations and pension plan coverage, and real estate property and vehicles. The Wave 8 Topical Module (Part 24) covers school enrollment and financing. Part 26 of this study is the Wave 5 Topical Module Microdata Research File, an unedited version of Part 17. This research file has not been edited nor imputed but has been topcoded or bottomcoded and recoded if necessary by the Census Bureau to avoid disclosure of individual respondents' identities.

This is a longitudinal survey designed to provide detailed information on the economic situation of households and persons in the United States. These data examine the distribution of income, wealth, and poverty in American society and gauge the effects of federal and state programs on the well-being of families and individuals.

There are three basic elements contained in the survey. The first is a control card that records basic social and demographic characteristics for each person in a household, as well as changes in such characteristics over the course of the interviewing period. The second element is the core portion of the questionnaire, with questions repeated at each interview on labor force activity, types and amounts of income, participation in various cash and noncash benefit programs, attendance in postsecondary schools, private health insurance coverage, public or subsidized rental housing, low-income energy assistance, and school breakfast and lunch participation. The third element consists of topical modules, which are a series of supplemental questions asked during selected household visits.

Topical modules include some core data to help link individuals to the core files.

Topical module data for the 1992 Panel cover the following topics: Topical Module 1 -- welfare and other aid recipiency and employment, Topical Module 2 -- work disability, education and training, marital status, migration, and fertility histories, Topical Module 3 -- extended measures of well-being, including consumer durables, living conditions, and basic needs, Topical Module 4 -- assets and liabilities, retirement expectations and pension plan coverage, real estate, property, and vehicles, Topical Module 5 -- school enrollment and financing, Topical Module 6 -- work schedules, child care, support for nonhousehold members, functional limitations and disabilities, utilization of health care services, and home-based self-employment and size of firm, Topical Module 7 -- selected financial assets, medical expenses and work disability, real estate, shelter costs, dependent care, and vehicles, Topical Module 8 -- school enrollment and financing, Topical Module 9 -- work schedule, child care, child support agreements, child support, support for nonhousehold members, functional limitations and disability, utilization of health care, functional limitations and disability of children, health status and utilization of health care services, and utilization of health care services for children. Parts 26 and 27 are the Wave 5 and Wave 8 Topical Module Microdata Research Files obtained from the Census Bureau. These two topical module files include data on annual income, retirement accounts and taxes, and school enrollment and financing. These topical module files have not been edited nor imputed, although they have been topcoded or bottomcoded and recoded if necessary by the Census Bureau to avoid disclosure of individual respondents' identities.

This data collection is part of a longitudinal survey designed to provide detailed information on the economic situation of households and persons in the United States. These data examine the distribution of income, wealth, and poverty in American society and gauge the effects of federal and state programs on the well-being of families and individuals.

There are three basic elements contained in the survey. The first is a control card that records basic social and demographic characteristics for each person in a household, as well as changes in such characteristics over the course of the interviewing period. The second element is the core portion of the questionnaire, with questions repeated at each interview on labor force activity, types and amounts of income, participation in various cash and noncash benefit programs, attendance in post-secondary schools, private health insurance coverage, public or subsidized rental housing, low-income energy assistance, and school breakfast and lunch participation. The third element consists of topical modules, which are series of supplemental questions asked during selected household visits.

Topical modules include some core data to link individuals to the core files.

The Wave 1 Topical Module covers recipiency history, which includes welfare and other aid, and employment history. The Wave 2 Topical Module includes data on work disability, education and training, marital, migratory, and fertility histories, and household relationships. The Wave 3 Topical Module covers work schedule, child care, child support agreements, support for nonhousehold members, functional limitations and disability, and utilization of health care services. The Wave 4 Topical Module covers selected financial assets, medical expenses and work disability, real estate, shelter costs, dependent care, and vehicles. The Wave 5 Topical Module covers annual income, retirement accounts, and taxes in one file and school enrollment and financing in the second file. The Wave 6 Topical Module covers the same subjects as the Wave 3 Topical Module, but in greater detail, and includes a section on children's well-being. The Wave 7 Topical Module covers assets and liabilities, medical expenses and work disabilities, real estate, shelter costs, dependent care, and vehicles. The Wave 8 Topical Module covers school enrollment and financing. The Wave 9 Topical Module covers retirement expectations and pension plan coverage, work schedule, child care, children's well-being, child support agreements, support for nonhousehold members, and basic needs, including ability to meet expenses, food adequacy, and minimum income.