OPR Data Archive

Princeton Fertility Survey

Basic Information

Author: Charles F. Westoff
Conducted by: National Analysts, Inc., Philadelphia.
Funded by: The Carnegie Corporation, the Milbank Memorial Fund, and the Population Council.
Data Prepared by: Office of Population Research, Princeton University
Universe: Currently married native-born white couples, who had never been separated, had recently had a second child, and never experienced a miscarriage or child death.
Date of Survey: Longitudinal; Surveys in 1957, 1963, and a final interview in 1963 - 1967.
Coverage: SMA's of New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Detroit, San Francisco-Oakland, and Pittsburgh.
Sample Size:
- First Round: 1165
- Second Round: 905
- Third Round: 814
Record Weights: None.
Access: Public

Additional Information

Sample

A simple random sample was drawn in each SMA, based on Vital Records, to identify eligible women who had had a second birth four to six months before the projected interview date. After excluding women who had moved out of the SMA, or died, by the time of interview, 1314 eligible couples were identified for the first round, of whom 1165 completed interviews. The response rate was thus 88.7%. A self-administered questionnaire left for the husband and wife to mail back after the interview yielded a response rate of over 80%. Any couple whose marriage was no longer intact, or who had had a sterilizing operation, or who had left the area or died, was excluded from the eligible pool for the second interview. 1129 of the original couples were still eligible for the second interview; of these, 905 completed second interviews (response rate 80.2%). In the third round, women were divided into 5 groups based on age, years of marriage and future childbearing expectations, with the intention of interviewing them as close as possible to the end of their reproductive lives. The final interviews took place over a five-year period based in these criteria. The intention was that in the final interview, the woman should be at least 36.5 years old, have been married at least 11 years and have had all the children the couple wanted. The final group included all women who had not completed these requirements. Of the 870 couples eligible for the final round, 814 completed interviews (response rate 93.6%).

Field Work

The interviews were conducted by experienced women interviewers on the staff of National Analysts, Inc. Three days of additional training were provided the interviewers. The average length of the first interview was one and one half hours. In addition, self-administered questionnaires were left for the husband and the wife to return by mail. The followup interviews were shorter than the first and additional training was provided before each round.

Data Collected

Questions were asked about the couple's attitudes toward family planning, personal goals, work, leisure, religion, world problems. Detailed questions were asked about the planning status, timing, and wantedness of each birth. Contraceptive use, intentions for future childbearing, periods of separation, and opinions on abortion are also recorded.

Other References

Three books were published, each related to one of the three interview rounds:

Family Growth in Metropolitan America, by C.F. Westoff, R.G. Potter, P.C. Sagi, and E.G. Mishler.
The Third Child, by C.F. Westoff, R.G. Potter, and P.C. Sagi.
The Later Years of Childbearing, by L.L. Bumpass and C.F. Westoff.

All three books were published by the Princeton University Press.

Structure of the data

The data are in a rectangular file, with one record for each respondent. All three interviews are recorded on a single record. you can click here for a file list

People Administration Faculty Staff Students Jobs Research Projects Seminars Working Papers and Publications Dissertations Training Prospective Students Programs Courses Course Schedule Resources Data Archive Library Pop Index NIH Public Access Policy Mail OPR Mail	Princeton Fertility Survey Princeton Fertility Survey Basic Information Author: Charles F. Westoff Conducted by: National Analysts, Inc., Philadelphia. Funded by: The Carnegie Corporation, the Milbank Memorial Fund, and the Population Council. Data Prepared by: Office of Population Research, Princeton University Universe: Currently married native-born white couples, who had never been separated, had recently had a second child, and never experienced a miscarriage or child death. Date of Survey: Longitudinal; Surveys in 1957, 1963, and a final interview in 1963 - 1967. Coverage: SMA's of New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Detroit, San Francisco-Oakland, and Pittsburgh. Sample Size: First Round: 1165 Second Round: 905 Third Round: 814 Record Weights: None. Access: Public Additional Information Sample A simple random sample was drawn in each SMA, based on Vital Records, to identify eligible women who had had a second birth four to six months before the projected interview date. After excluding women who had moved out of the SMA, or died, by the time of interview, 1314 eligible couples were identified for the first round, of whom 1165 completed interviews. The response rate was thus 88.7%. A self-administered questionnaire left for the husband and wife to mail back after the interview yielded a response rate of over 80%. Any couple whose marriage was no longer intact, or who had had a sterilizing operation, or who had left the area or died, was excluded from the eligible pool for the second interview. 1129 of the original couples were still eligible for the second interview; of these, 905 completed second interviews (response rate 80.2%). In the third round, women were divided into 5 groups based on age, years of marriage and future childbearing expectations, with the intention of interviewing them as close as possible to the end of their reproductive lives. The final interviews took place over a five-year period based in these criteria. The intention was that in the final interview, the woman should be at least 36.5 years old, have been married at least 11 years and have had all the children the couple wanted. The final group included all women who had not completed these requirements. Of the 870 couples eligible for the final round, 814 completed interviews (response rate 93.6%). Field Work The interviews were conducted by experienced women interviewers on the staff of National Analysts, Inc. Three days of additional training were provided the interviewers. The average length of the first interview was one and one half hours. In addition, self-administered questionnaires were left for the husband and the wife to return by mail. The followup interviews were shorter than the first and additional training was provided before each round. Data Collected Questions were asked about the couple's attitudes toward family planning, personal goals, work, leisure, religion, world problems. Detailed questions were asked about the planning status, timing, and wantedness of each birth. Contraceptive use, intentions for future childbearing, periods of separation, and opinions on abortion are also recorded. Other References Three books were published, each related to one of the three interview rounds: Family Growth in Metropolitan America, by C.F. Westoff, R.G. Potter, P.C. Sagi, and E.G. Mishler. The Third Child, by C.F. Westoff, R.G. Potter, and P.C. Sagi. The Later Years of Childbearing, by L.L. Bumpass and C.F. Westoff. All three books were published by the Princeton University Press. Structure of the data The data are in a rectangular file, with one record for each respondent. All three interviews are recorded on a single record. you can click here for a file list	Archive Catalog Search Start typing in a keyword (e.g. family) and then click on the button to see the list of studies. Or just click on the button to see all the studies. Data and Statistical Services Princeton University's Data Library is maintained by Data and Statistical Services (DSS), part of Firestone Library's Social Science Reference Center, has extensive data collection and offers statistical consulting. Inter-university Consortium of Political and Social Research If you can't find the data you need at Princeton, the next step is the ICPSR Archive at the University of Michigan. Especially, the Data Sharing for Demographic Research project (DSDR) provides resources to demographic data producers and users.
	Office of Population Research, Princeton University, Wallace Hall, Princeton NJ 08544 Phone: (609) 258-4870 • Fax: (609) 258-1039 • Email: webmaster

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