Topic Sheet - Health

THE IMPORTANCE OF LONGITUDINAL SURVEYS
In a longitudinal study, the same people are
interviewed periodically over time. This type of
survey enables researchers to follow changes in
people’s lives and understand cause and effect
relationships.
For example, a researcher might what to know how
much of an earnings boost results from additional
job training or completing a college degree. Other
surveys that aren’t longitudinal have shown that
people who have received more training or education
tend to have higher earnings, but this may confuse
cause and effect: for example, an individual’s family
resources may cause them to have both more
training and higher earnings. A longitudinal survey
with the same participants can help disentangle

these effects by measuring what the individual
earned before and after receiving the training.
The NLSY97 is special because it has collected
information about you since young adulthood to
show how you have changed and how your skills
have developed. The survey gives researchers
the extra information needed to understand how
earlier events in your life affect things that happen
later as you age and grow.
And you are special because you have been part of
the NLSY97 since the beginning. If we interviewed
someone else instead of
you, we wouldn’t be able to
understand those important
cause and effect relationships.

HOW YOU
HAVE MADE
AN IMPACT
Over the years, your answers have reflected the
triumphs and challenges of your generation. Each
time you complete your interview, you make your
voice heard!
Your contributions have improved how researchers
and policy makers understand the important issues
that impact our nation’s economy and labor market.
Thank you for your continued participation!
Please contact us with any questions or comments:
Call: 877-504-1086
Text with your full name to: 312-835-1905
Email: [email protected]
Visit: www.bls.gov/respondents/nls/

NLSY97 findings about health and wellness

YOUR PARTICIPATION:

We ask about health issues that limit
productivity, such as physical pain or
emotional problems.

DATA COLLECTED:

YOUR PARTICIPATION:

YOUR PARTICIPATION:

YOUR PARTICIPATION:

DATA COLLECTED:

DATA COLLECTED:

DATA COLLECTED:

We asked a series of depression-related questions
in the NLSY97 COVID-19 supplemental survey.

At age 29, 15 percent of respondents
reported some level of pain interfering with
normal work within the four weeks prior to
their interview.

34 percent of respondents reported three or
more days of restless sleep in the week prior to
their interview. 18 percent said they had felt sad
on three or more days in the week prior to their
interview.

RESEARCH PUBLISHED:

RESEARCH PUBLISHED:

Using NLSY97 health and employment
data, researchers found that individuals who
reported pain interfered with work at age 29
had an increased likelihood of subsequent
labor force exit and later health-related work
limitations.
Pooleri, Anand, Rishita Yeduri, Gabrielle
Horne, Adrianne Frech and Dmitry Tumin.
“Pain Interference in Young Adulthood and
Work Participation.” PAIN published online
(30 August 2022): https://doi.org/10.1097/j.
pain.0000000000002769

Using the NLSY97 COVID-19 data, researchers
examined the relationship between parents’ mental
health and their children’s schooling. They found
that parents with children participating in remote
learning were more likely to suffer from symptoms
of depression than parents whose children were
completing school in-person.
Lassi, Nicholas. “Remote Learning and Parent
Depression During the COVID-19 Pandemic.”
Educational Research Quarterly, 46(2), 40-70:
https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1370453

We ask about health limitations that impact
general tasks.
In a recent interview, 6 percent of NLSY97
participants reported that their health limits
moderate activities. 8 percent reported difficulty
with several flights of stairs.

RESEARCH PUBLISHED:

Researchers used NLSY97 health data and
information on family environment during
respondents’ adolescence to learn whether family
environment is related to adult health outcomes.
They found that factors related to family environment
were connected to the likelihood of physical health
limitations in adulthood, but not to mental health.
Kelsey L. Corallo, Christopher P. Carr, Justin A. Lavner,
Kalsea J. Koss, and Katherine B. Ehrlich. “The Protective
Role of Parental Vigilance in the Link between Risky
Childhood Environments and Health.” Social Science and
Medicine published online (5 December 2022): https://
doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2022.115593

We ask a series of questions used to measure the
likelihood of depressive symptoms.
One question in the depression scale asks
respondents about levels of effort to complete
daily tasks. 21 percent said everything felt like it
took extra effort on three or more days within the
past week.

RESEARCH PUBLISHED:

Using NLSY97 health and work schedule data,
researchers found that women given two weeks
or less notice of their upcoming work schedule
were more likely to suffer symptoms of depression
than women with greater periods of notice.
Hawkinson, Colin B., Sarah B. Andrea, Anjum Hajat,
Anita Minh, Shanise Owens, Kieran Blaikie, Jessie
Seiler, Andrea R. Molino and Vanessa M. Oddo. “A
Cross-sectional Analysis of Work Schedule Notice
and Depressive Symptoms in the United States.” SSM
- Population Health published online (24 April 2023):
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssmph.2023.101413.