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The Los Angeles Metropolitan Area Surveys [LAMAS] 5, 1972 collection reflects data gathered in 1972 as part of the Los Angeles Metropolitan Area Surveys (LAMAS). The LAMAS, beginning in the spring of 1970, were a shared-time omnibus survey of Los Angeles County community members, usually repeated twice annually. The LAMAS were conducted ten times between 1970 and 1976 in an effort to develop a set of standard community profile measures appropriate for use in the planning and evaluation of public policy.

The LAMAS instruments, indexes, and scales were used to track the development and course of social indicators (including social, psychological, health, and economic variables) and the impact of public policy on the community. Questions in this survey covered respondents' attitudes toward the following topics: health care services in the community, problems facing Los Angeles and the United States, psychological well-being, civic engagement, political party affiliation, and financial well-being. In addition, participating researchers were given the option of submitting questions to be asked in addition to the core items. These additional question topics included: air pollution, drinking and driving, and school and residential desegregation.

Demographic variables in this collection include age, marital status, sex, education, income, household size, race, ethnicity, and housing type.

The Los Angeles Metropolitan Area Surveys [LAMAS] 8, 1974 collection reflects data gathered in 1974 as part of the Los Angeles Metropolitan Area Surveys (LAMAS). The LAMAS, beginning in the spring of 1970, are a shared-time omnibus survey of Los Angeles County community members, usually repeated twice annually. The LAMAS were conducted ten times between 1970 and 1976 in an effort to develop a set of standard community profile measures appropriate for use in the planning and evaluation of public policy.

The LAMAS instruments, indexes, and scales were used to track the development and course of social indicators (including social, psychological, health, and economic variables) and the impact of public policy on the community. Questions in this survey cover respondents' attitudes toward the following topics: commute times, means of transportation, and trust in government. In addition, participating researchers were given the option of submitting questions to be asked in addition to the core items. These additional topics include: mental health and psychological factors, access to medical care, alcoholism, the energy crisis, and attitudes towards black-owned businesses.

Demographic variables in this dataset include age, sex, marital status, ethnicity, education, income, occupation, political party affiliation, and language.

The Los Angeles Metropolitan Area Surveys [LAMAS] 9, 1974 collection reflects data gathered in 1974 as part of the Los Angeles Metropolitan Area Surveys (LAMAS). The LAMAS, beginning in the spring of 1970, were a shared-time omnibus survey of Los Angeles community members, usually repeated twice annually. The LAMAS were conducted ten times between 1970 and 1976 in an effort to develop a set of standard community profile measures appropriate for use in the planning and evaluation of public policy.

The LAMAS instruments, indexes, and scales were used to track the development and course of social indicators (including social, psychological, health, and economic variables) and the impact of public policy on the community. Questions in this survey covered respondents' attitudes toward the following topics: health care services in the community, financial well-being, local government politics, drinking and driving, views of President Gerald Ford, migration, and psychological well-being. Participating researchers were given the option of submitting questions to be asked in addition to the core items. These additional question topics included: medical care, health, and personal values.

Demographic variables in this dataset include age, sex, education, marital status, household size, income, race, ethnicity, geographic origin, and housing type.

The Youth Development Study (YDS) was initiated as a school-based study of adolescent children and their parents to examine the consequences of formative experiences in adolescence for mental health, value formation, educational achievement, and multiple facets of behavioral adjustment. Particular attention was directed to the impacts of early work experience. Data were also obtained about parent-child and peer relationships and experiences in school. As the study continued, the focus shifted to adult development and attainment and, most recently, mid-life adjustment and health. This comprehensive longitudinal study now encompasses three generations: the initial cohort studied from adolescence to mid-life (G2), their parents (G1), and their adolescent children (G3). Data from three generations in the same families enable study of intergenerational relationships and differences in the experience of adolescence and transition to adulthood across parent and child cohorts. The YDS covers a wide range of topics of interest to sociologists, social psychologists, developmental psychologists, and life course scholars, including the development and impacts of agentic resources, socioeconomic attainment, processes of inter- and intra-generational mobility, objective and subjective work conditions, family relationships, intergenerational relationships, mental and physical health, and well-being.

In-school administration of paper surveys during the first four years of the study was supplemented by mailed surveys. Subsequent data collection took place entirely by mail, with 19 surveys conducted between 1988 and 2011. A final survey was conducted on-line in 2019. Survey data was obtained from the parents (G1) of this cohort during the first and fourth waves of the study (1988 and 1991). Surveys of the children (G3) began in 2009, continued in 2010 and 2011 (by mail) and in 2019-2020 (online).

The Youth Development Study measures a wide range of formative experiences and both psychological and behavioral variables, using survey methodology.

The G1 surveys obtained information about socioeconomic background as well as attitudes toward teenage employment, the parents' own employment as teenagers, their current work experiences, and educational expectations for their children.

The G2 surveys during the high school years included detailed questions about students' work and volunteer experiences, as well as experiences in their family, school, and peer groups, with an emphasis on the ways that working affected other life domains, mental health, and well-being. Shorter surveys containing many of the same topics were administered to students in 1992, 1993, and 1994, and included questions about current family and living arrangements. In 1995, a full survey was administered covering the wide range of topics included in previous surveys as well as information about career plans and life events that had occurred in the past five years. G2 Waves 9 through 19 (1997-2011) included many of the same questions contained in earlier surveys and additional sections that focused on the respondents' educational experiences, family relationships, sources of living expenses, and health and well-being. The most recent G2 survey (2019), administered on-line, included questions about support of aging parents. The YDS is unique in its coverage of both objective and subjective work experiences from adolescence to mid-life.

The topics covered by the G3 surveys are very similar to the G2 variables described above. Variables in each G2 and G3 wave are included in cross-wave codebooks, available at the Data Archive Codebook website.

For an overview of the Youth Development Study, see Mortimer, Jeylan T. (2012) "The Evolution, Contributions, and Prospects of the Youth Development Study: An Investigation in Life Course Social Psychology." Social Psychology Quarterly 75(1, March):5-27.