N C H S - N S F G - Survey Description

Surveys of Women, 1973-1995: The National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG) was conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) in 1973, 1976, 1988, and 1995. These surveys were based on personal interviews conducted in the homes of a national sample of women 15-44 years of age in the civilian, non-institutionalized population of the United States. The main purpose of the 1973-1995 surveys was to provide reliable national data on marriage, divorce, contraception, infertility, and the health of women and infants in the United States. More than 300 studies in academic journals and NCHS reports have been published using NSFG data. Those are listed on this web site at the "List of Reports and Articles using NSFG Data." NSFG statistics have also been cited in thousands of newspaper, magazine, and newsletter articles.

Surveys of Men and Women, 2002: The National Survey of Family Growth was conducted again in 2002 and 2003. The contractor for the survey, the Survey Research Center of the University of Michigan, hired and trained over 200 female interviewers. Over 12,500 in-person (not telephone) interviews were conducted between March of 2002 and February of 2003. The 2002 NSFG was based on an area probability sample drawn from 120 Primary Sampling Units (PSU’s). The sample represents the non-institutionalized male and female population of the United States, including Alaska and Hawaii, between the ages of 15 and 44. Signed parental consent was obtained to interview minors 15-17 years of age living at home with their parents. About 4,900 men and 7,600 women 15-44 years of age were interviewed. Black, Hispanic, and 15-24-year-old respondents were sampled at higher rates than others. To safeguard the confidentiality and privacy of survey participants, only one person per household was interviewed. The interviews were voluntary and confidential, and survey participants were offered $40 as a token of appreciation for participating.

The sample sizes by age, gender, and race/ethnicity are shown below. The male questionnaire averaged about 60 minutes in length, while the female interview averaged about 80 minutes. For most of the survey, a Computer-Assisted Personal Interviewing (CAPI) technique was used, in which the interviewer enters the respondent’s answers into a laptop computer. In the last section of the survey, the survey participant entered his or her own answers into the computer (using a technique called Audio Computer-Assisted Self-Interviewing).

The interviews include questions on schooling, work, marriage and divorce, having and raising children (including contraceptive use, infertility, and parenting), and related medical care. Brief outlines of the male and female questionnaires are shown below. The first statistical reports and public use data files and documentation should be available in 2004.

The full male and female questionnaires are available here as well as on the NSFG homepage under Methods.