An increasing number of studies have focused on the importance of contextual level influences on outcomes ranging from adolescent sexual behavior and teen pregnancy to educational attainment and delinquency. Although contextual variables constitute more distal influences than factors such as parenting styles and peer pressure, these "neighborhood" variables are reported to have substantial effects on individual outcomes. The data set, Antecedents of Sexual Attitudes and Behavior: Contextual Data Supplement to the 1976-1987 National Survey of Children, was created to examine the contextual predictors of adolescent sexual intercourse and teen attitudes about sex. Data from the 1976 and 1987 National Survey of Children (NSC) and other sources were assembled to assess neighborhoodand state-level demographic, economic, social, cultural and policy factors that influence adolescent sexual behavior. Zip code-level data were obtained from the NSC and the 1980 U.S. Census. State-level data were obtained from a variety of sources, including, the U.S. Census, State and Metropolitan Area Data Book, the Handbook of Labor Statistics, the National Center for Health Statistics, and the Alan Guttmacher Institute.

Contextual variables included in this data set span the following categories: population; family structure; income and poverty; labor force participation; education; religion; marriage and divorce; voting behavior; substance use and crime; housing; teen deaths; women's status; birth rates, pregnancy, and abortion rates; neighborhood quality; and mobility.