Research from the Child and Young Adult Studies of the NLSY79

1986 marks the first survey of children born to women who were members of the 1979 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth and who were 21-28 years old at that time. A total of 11,512 children have been born to these women now in their 50s. In 2018 these “children” will be 5-45 years old and we have continued to survey them every other year. A wide range of information is available on these youth including their cognitive development, educational progress, employment histories, mental and physical health, living arrangements, risky behaviors, marriage and childbearing trajectories. This presentation introduces the audience to the data, provide information on how to access the files, and highlight a few research examples focusing on studies that have taken a cross-national approach.