I. DATA DESCRIPTION
This users’ guide describes constructed family structure variables provided by Add Health. All
20,745 Wave I respondents have had family structure indicators created for them. Each family variable
consists of a different number of response categories, with fourteen, providing the greatest precision, and
five, the least. The fourteen categories were collapsed to create the more general ones.
II. FAMILY STRUCTURE CONSTRUCTION
The Add Health project utilized four arrays of variables measured at Wave I and released in
allwave1 to construct family structure indicators. The Wave I questions used in this construction inquired
about respondents’ relationships to all members of their households (h1hr3a-h1hr3t). Additional
questions of relevance requested that respondents specify the relationship reported if the household
member identified was described as a daughter or son (h1hr4a-h1hr4t), brother or sister (h1hr5a-h1hr5t),
or father or mother (h1hr6a-h1hr6t).
Most categories of family structure measured in this file seem rather intuitive, while others may
warrant additional explanation. For instance, the “adoptive mother and adoptive father” category refers to
families that specifically include both an “adoptive father” and “adoptive mother.” This means that the
category excludes parents listed as “step/adoptive father” or “step/adoptive mother.” The stepparent
classification encompasses any mother or father identified as neither (1) a biological parent nor (2) an
“adoptive” parent, when in the presence of both an adoptive father and adoptive mother. Stepparent
does include the “step/adoptive” category and the “adoptive” category when only one adoptive parent
exists. If a parental partner exists in the absence of a specified parent, then the partner is defined as “any
non-biological” parent, not partner. The “other” family structure type designates any households without
members classified as “father” or “mother.” Frequently, the “other” category refers to a family consisting of
an “other non-relative.” Nearly as frequently are those including only a “grandmother” or only a
“grandmother and grandfather.”
Also, note that some relationships take precedence over others. For instance, should a
respondent report a biological father, biological mother, and a stepfather in their household roster, the
respondent’s family structure variables will only indicate the presence of both biological parents, while
neglecting mention of the stepparent.
As stated, the family structure variable with the greatest precision consists of fourteen categories.
The next most precise measure has eight categories. In order to reduce the number of outcomes to
eight, the fourteen categories were collapsed in the following manner:
Eight Category Classification
Fourteen Category Classification
2. biological mother and any other non-
biological father
2. biological mother and any other non-
biological father
6. biological mother and partner
3. biological father and any other non-
biological mother
3. biological father and any other non-
biological mother
7. biological father and partner
The following citation should be used for papers/presentations using this data:
Harris, K. M. 1999. The Health Status and Risk Behavior of Adolescents in Immigrant
Families. In Hernandez, D.J. (Ed.), Children of Immigrants: Health, Adjustment, and Public
Assistance (pp. 286-347). Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press.
WAVE I: FAMILY STRUCTURE VARIABLES
