National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, Wave III, 2001-2002 (Add Health)
Investigators: J. Richard Udry, Carolina Population Center, UNC at Chapel Hill

The National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health) was mandated by Congress to collect data for the purpose of measuring the impact of social environment on adolescent health. It examines the general health and well-being of adolescents in the United States, including, with respect to these adolescents, (1) the behaviors that promote health and the behaviors that are detrimental to health; and (2) the influence on health of factors particular to the communities in which adolescents reside. Dependent variables include diet and nutrition, eating disorders, depression, violent behavior, intentional injury, unintentional injury, suicide, exercise, health service use, and health insurance coverage.

Sociometrics is responsible for distribution of the public-use version of Add Health Wave III. Wave III was designed to collect data helpful in analyzing the transition between adolescence and young adulthood. Many of the choices adolescents make staying in school or dropping out, getting married or staying single, attending college or getting a job are more consequential later on than during adolescence. As adolescents move toward adulthood, the decisions they made begin to influence the outcomes they experience. To better understand this transition, original Wave I respondents were re-interviewed between August 2001 and April 2002. Wave III respondents were between 18 and 26 years of age; 4,882 respondents were reinterviewed. The research emphasis in Wave III was on the multiple domains of young adult life that individuals enter during the transition to adulthood, and their well-being in these domains: labor market, higher education, relationships, parenting, community involvement. Data collected at Wave III allow for diverse analyses across a spectrum of social, economic, and health-related outcomes.

This dataset includes eight data files:
Main Respondent File (Q1-Q2): This file includes 1859 variables, including the in-home questionnaire data, grand sampling weights, Add Health Picture Vocabulary Test scores, and biospecimen data for 4,882 respondents.
Relationship Table File (dataset Q3): This file contains 19 variables and 13,998 relationship records.
Pregnancy Table File (dataset Q4): This file contains 7 variables and 2,348 pregnancy records.
Relationship Detail File (dataset Q5): This file contains 209 variables and detailed information on 12,680 relationships.
Completed Pregnancies File (dataset Q6): This file contains 39 variables and information on 2,163 completed pregnancies.
Current Pregnancies File (dataset Q7): This file contains 39 variables and information on 180 current pregnancies.
Live Births File (dataset Q8): This file contains 20 variables and information about 1,357 live births.
Children and Parenting File (dataset Q9): This file contains 74 variables and detailed information about 1,323 children.

The investigator hopes this research will enable Congressional leaders, parents, researchers, policy makers, educators, and health-care providers to better understand how to protect the health of young people in the United States.

Please Note: Before the Add Health data set can be shipped, we must have a signed copy of the Use Agreement (fax copy is OK) in our office. The original is to be kept by the ordering institution or individual, and EVERY person who accesses the data set must read and sign the agreement. There is no need to send us additional copies of the agreement as new users add their signatures. However, the Carolina Population Center reserves the right to audit the Use Agreement Form. To expedite your shipment, it is helpful to download the Use Agreement, and fax it back to Sociometrics at (650) 949-3299. Due to the necessity of the Use Agreement, this data set is not available for download.