John F. Kennedy School of Government/Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation/National Public Radio Health News Interest Index: Social Security/Vitamins, 1999

Investigators: Robert J. Blendon, Catherine M. DesRoches, John M. Benson, Mollyann Brodie, & Drew E. Altman

The John F. Kennedy School of Government/Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation/National Public Radio Health News Interest Index: Social Security/Vitamins, 1999 was a nationally representative, public opinion telephone survey of U.S. adults. The purpose of the study was to examine the characteristics of dietary supplement users, attitudes about dietary supplements, attitudes towards government regulation of supplements, and to examine differences in attitudes between users and nonusers of dietary supplements. Data was collected from 1,208 U.S. adults, age 18 or older, between February 19 and 25, 1999.

Let's Chat

Investigators: Seth C. Kalichman

Let’s Chat is a four-session intervention designed for use with same-sex groups of adults with chronic mental illness. Based on the Information-Motivation-Behavioral (IMB) Skills Model, Let’s Chat addresses risk-reduction needs specific to persons with mental illness. In each of the 90-minute sessions, a team of two facilitators conveys important AIDS-prevention information, alternating lectures and video clips with role-play and group-participation activities. Participants discuss sexual pressure and coercion, practice negotiating condom use, and learn the proper method for using both male and female condoms. All four sessions place emphasis on clear, simple messages and useful skills practice. Click here to view more detailed information on this program.

Longitudinal Retirement History Study 1969-1979; Earnings Summary

Investigators: United States Social Security Administration Office of Research and Statistics

The Longitudinal Retirement History Study (LRHS) is a ten-year investigation of the retirement process conducted by the Office of Research and Statistics of the Social Security Administration. Six waves of data were collected from a national sample of 11,153 persons aged 58 to 63. Baseline data were collected in 1969; follow-up surveys were administered at two-year intervals in 1971, 1973, 1975, 1977, and 1979. The primary focus of this study was to assess Social Security program provisions for retired workers. A broad range of information was collected from participants and their spouses; topic areas studied include health, living arrangements, financial resources and assets, expenditures, retirement plans and attitudes, and characteristics of work lives. This dataset also includes income information from the Summary of Social Security Earnings for sample persons and spouses for the years 1951 through 1974. Widows and widowers of sample persons were extensively surveyed in the 1975 through 1979 waves of data collection.

Los Angeles County Study of Motivations, Roles, and Family Planning of Women, 1975

Investigators: Linda J. Beckman

The study contains data collected in 1975 from a Los Angeles County representative sample of 583 married women in their childbearing years (age 18 through 49). Information collected include contraceptive perceptions and usage, sex-role attitudes and behaviors, fertility and fertility preferences, perceived satisfactions and costs of children, perceived satisfactions and costs of motherhood, and perceived values of employment.

Los Angeles Women's Health Risk Study, 1990

Investigators: David Kanouse

Investigators interviewed a stratified probability sample of 1,024 female street prostitutes in Los Angeles County between May 1990 and February 1991 to study behavior that is linked to transmission of HIV and other STDs. Although the study also collected blood samples from a subsample of 638 women to examine markers for HIV infection, as well as past syphilis and hepatitis B infection, the original investigator did not include blood sample data in this public use dataset. The specific aims of this study were to: develop numerical estimates of the size of the prostitute population in Los Angeles County and its distribution by predominant mode of solicitation of customers; characterize prostitute career patterns; perform HIV antibody testing to determine the prevalence of HIV infection in this population and its subgroups; measure the prevalence and incidence of specific sexual and drug-related risk behaviors and prevention behaviors and determine how these are related to prostitute characteristics and risk and prevention behaviors; and compare the characteristics of the population of prostitutes with those subgroups most likely to be recruited in convenience samples (e.g., from jails or STD clinics). The present study is unique in describing the characteristics, risk behavior and serological status of a probability sample of street prostitutes from a major metropolitan area of the U.S., which is also in AIDS epicenter.

Madison, Wisconsin Study of Premarital Sexuality Among Young People: Nonstudents, 1973

Investigators: John DeLamater

This is the identical survey described in DAAPPP Data Set No. 56, only conducted with a non-student population. The sample was designed to consist of persons between the ages of 18 and 23 who resided in Madison, Wisconsin but were not students at the University. The sample was obtained by calling a systematic probability sample of residences in the telephone directory. Of the 1,134 eligible persons, 663 completed interviews. With the exclusion of married couples, the total sample consisted of 220 nonstudent males and 293 nonstudent females. Note for users of DAAPPP Data Sets #01-B1DAAPPP data sets 01 through B1 are comprised of a User's Guide, SPSS syntax files (*.SPS or *.SPX) and raw data files only. Most of these datasets contain SPSS syntax files that use Job Control Language (JCL) from 1980s versions of SPSS-X. Because the syntax is old, the syntax files require editing to conform to the current syntax standards used by SPSS/Windows or SPSS/Unix. If you require technical assistance in using or editing these syntax files, please contact Sociometrics' Data Support Group at 800.846.3475 or socio@socio.com.

Madison, Wisconsin Study of Premarital Sexuality Among Young People: Students, 1973

Investigators: John DeLamater

The focus of this study is on the social aspects of premarital sexuality, sociopsychological characteristics, current sexual behavior and contraceptive knowledge and use among young people. Information on personal and family characteristics, sexual experience, peer group influence, and self-image was also collected. Interviews for the study were conducted with a stratified sample of undergraduates, consisting of 432 male students and 431 female students (see DAAPPP Data Set No. 57 for the corresponding non-student sample). The response rate for the study was 82%; married students were excluded from the survey. Note for users of DAAPPP Data Sets #01-B1DAAPPP data sets 01 through B1 are comprised of a User's Guide, SPSS syntax files (*.SPS or *.SPX) and raw data files only. Most of these datasets contain SPSS syntax files that use Job Control Language (JCL) from 1980s versions of SPSS-X. Because the syntax is old, the syntax files require editing to conform to the current syntax standards used by SPSS/Windows or SPSS/Unix. If you require technical assistance in using or editing these syntax files, please contact Sociometrics' Data Support Group at 800.846.3475 or socio@socio.com.

Maricopa County, Arizona Study of Child Maltreatment Risk Among Adolescent Mothers, 1976-1978

Investigators: Frank G. Bolton, Jr.

The purpose of this study was to determine whether the incidence of child maltreatment was higher among natural children born to adolescent mothers, compared to that obtained for children born to post-adolescent women. A random sample of 5,098 observations was drawn from the child maltreatment cases referred to the Maricopa County unit of the Arizona Department of Economic Security's Child Protective Services between January 1, 1976 and December 31, 1978.

Marital Instability Over the Life Course: 1981-1988

Investigators: Alan Booth, David J. Johnson, Lynn K. White, and John N. Edwards

This study consists of data drawn from a three wave panel study on marital instability. Five major dimensions of marital quality formed the foci of the study: divorce proneness (or marital instability), marital problems, marital happiness, marital interaction, and marital disagreements. Initially, the investigators devoted considerable attention to female labor force participation as it related to marital dissolution and divorce proneness. For the last two waves, the investigators drew heavily on a life course perspective to guide their investigation. Life course theories emphasize the extent to which social behaviors are a product of individuals' relative positions along a developmental continuum. A total of 2,033 cases were assessed across the three waves. Topics addressed in the study include: demographics (i.e., household characteristics, race, income, religion, education, etc.); marital/divorce history; pre- marital courtship history; marital behavior (e.g., division of labor, quarreling/violence); mental and physical health of husband and wife; employment (history, status, attitudes, and aspirations); attitudes about children; satisfaction about various aspects of life (e.g., marriage, home, community, etc.); problem areas in marriage; divorce/separation (including previous discussions of and current behavior, attitudes about divorce); and involvement with friends, relatives, voluntary associations, and the community.

Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS), 1996

Investigators: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ)

The 1996 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) is a nationally representative panel survey of the U.S. civilian noninstitutionalized population. The survey was designed to provide nationally representative estimates of health care use, expenditures, sources of payments, and insurance coverage for this population. Begun in 1996, MEPS is an ongoing survey, administered to a new panel each year. MEPS comprises four component surveys: the Household Component, the Medical Provider Component, the Insurance Component, and the Nursing Home Component. The Household Component is the core survey and the 1996 Household Component yields comprehensive data that provide national estimates of the level and distribution of health care use and expenditures for calendar year 1996. The Household Component survey collects detailed data on demographic characteristics, health conditions, health status, use of medical care services, charges and payments, access to care, satisfaction with care, health insurance coverage, income, and employment. MEPS is valuable in its ability to link medical expenditures and health insurance data to survey respondents' demographic, employment, economic, health status, utilization of health services, and other characteristics.