The National Longitudinal Survey 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. Some of the dependent variables include diet and nutrition, eating disorders, depression, violent behavior, intentional injury, unintentional injury, suicide, exercise, health service use, and health insurance coverage.

Add Health data were collected in two waves. Wave I (collected between September, 1994 and December, 1995) includes three sets of data available for public use. The in-school data was collected from students grades 7 through 12 and consists of responses to questions about social and demographic characteristics of the respondents, the education and occupation of parents, household structure, risk behaviors, expectations for the future, self-esteem, health status, friendships, and school-year extracurricular activities. The in-home dataset consists of responses to a detailed and lengthy interview of a subset of adolescents who were selected from the rosters of the sampled schools. Finally, the Parent data were collected from one parent or parent-figure for each In-home sampled student.

Wave II of the Add Health data (collected from April, 1996 through August, 1996) consists of the in-home adolescent follow-up interviews.