This survey, conducted as an extension of the NATIONAL SURVEY OF PROBLEMS FACING ELDERLY AMERICANS LIVING ALONE, 1986 (ICPSR 9379) (NSPFEALA), was designed to investigate specific problems of the elderly in order to gain a better understanding of the economic, health, and social status of this group. The survey focused on many of the same issues investigated by the NSPFEALA to allow comparisons between Hispanic elderly and the elderly population as a whole. Respondents were given their choice of English or Spanish as the interview language. Elderly Hispanics were asked if they had serious problems with family relationships, loneliness, anxiety, care of a sick spouse or relative, paying for medical bills, having enough money to live on, or dependence on others. In the same vein, respondents were asked if they had disabilities that affected their daily activities such as bathing, dressing, walking, eating, and shopping, and who, if anyone, helped them to perform these functions. Respondents were also asked if they were generally satisfied with their lives and if they felt excited, restless, proud, pleased, bored, depressed, optimistic, or upset during the few weeks preceding the interview. In addition, the survey inquired about willingness to accept various changes in Social Security benefits and taxation and also queried respondents about their living arrangements (actual and preferred), social networks, general health, doctor visits and hospital stays during the last 12 months, coverage by and utilization of social programs and services, income and sources of income, fluency in English and Spanish, current and past employment, usual means of transportation, home ownership, ancestry, country of birth, year of immigration, religion, education, number of living children, age, sex, and marital status.
The data is available in the following formats (For SAS and SPSS formats, double click on the SAS or SPSS icon to begin downloading the data set. Stata users should copy the provided use command into their routines.):
Stata 4 MB
SAS 445 KB
SPSS 336 KB
This survey, which is partially comparable in content to AMERICANS' CHANGING LIVES (ICPSR 9267, 6438) and the NATIONAL HEALTH INTERVIEW SURVEY, 1984: SUPPLEMENT ON AGING (ICPSR 8659), was designed for use in cross-cultural analyses of aging in the United States and Japan. The survey has nine sections: demographics (age, sex, marital status, education, employment), social integration (interpersonal contacts, social supports), health status (attempts to measure limitations on daily life and activities, health conditions, level of physical activity), subjective well-being and mental health status (life satisfaction, morale), psychological indicators (life events, locus of control, self-esteem), financial situation (financial status), memory (measures of cognitive functioning), and interviewer observations (assessments of respondents).
The data is available in the following formats (For SAS and SPSS formats, double click on the SAS or SPSS icon to begin downloading the data set. Stata users should copy the provided use command into their routines.):
STATA 2 MB
SAS 511 KB
SPSS 371 KB
The Hispanic Established Populations for the Epidemiologic Studies of the Elderly (Hispanic EPESE) collected baseline data beginning in September 1993 through June 1994 on a representative sample of community-dwelling Mexican-American elderly, aged 65 years and older, residing in the five southwestern states of Arizona, California, Colorado, New Mexico, and Texas. The primary purpose of the study was to provide estimates of the prevalence of key physical health conditions, mental health conditions, and functional impairments in older Mexican Americans and to compare these estimates with those for other populations. The Hispanic EPESE attempted to determine whether certain risk factors for mortality and morbidity operate differently in Mexican Americans than in non-Hispanic White Americans, African Americans, and other major ethnic groups. The public use baseline data cover demographic characteristics (age, sex, type of Hispanic race, income, education, marital status, number of children, employment, and religion), height, weight, social and physical functioning, chronic conditions, related health problems, health habits, self-reported use of dental, hospital, and nursing home services, and depression.
The data is available in the following formats (For SAS and SPSS formats, double click on the SAS or SPSS icon to begin downloading the data set. Stata users should copy the provided use command into their routines.):
STATA 2 MB
SAS 480 KB
SPSS 683 KB
Codebook/Questionnaire User Guide (PDF)
Stata (in gzipped format):
SPSS (in gzipped format):
The Longitudinal Study of Aging, 70 years and over, 1984- 1990 (LSOA) was conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) in collaboration with the National Institute on Aging (NIA). This four-wave study began in 1984, as part of the Supplement on Aging to the 1984 National Health Interview Survey (SOA). Follow-up surveys were administered in 1986, 1988, and 1990 to 7,527 respondents, 70 years of age or older at the time of the SOA. The LSOA was designed to assess the future needs of the elderly in the United States by gathering information on functional status and impairment, living arrangements, caregiving and social support, health attitudes, retirement income, and mortality. This archive includes two data files for LSOA participants. The LSOA person file includes questionnaire data from 7,527 respondents for the SOA and the 1986, 1988, and 1990 follow-up surveys, as well as information on decedents. The Medicare data file includes hospital records, diagnostic information, and indicators of health care use for those LSOA participants who have released Medicare information to the National Center for Health Statistics. The table below lists prices for specific products of this dataset.
These data were acquired from the The Data Archive of Social Research on Aging (DASRA) of Sociometrics Corporation. Funding for data acquisition, and processing was provided by the grant from the National Institute on Aging
List of variables for AGE0102A - Part1 | Part2
List of variables for AGE0102B
Stata format (in gzipped form):
age0102a.dta.gz 16 MB
age0102b.dta.gz 2 MB
SPSS portable format (in gzipped form):
age0102a.por.gz 3 MB
age0102b.por.gz 420 KB
The Longitudinal Retirement History Study, 1969-1979 (LRHS) is a ten-year investigation of the retirement process conducted by the Office of Research and Statistics of the Social Security Administration. Six waves of data were collected from a national sample of 11,162 persons aged 58 to 63. Baseline data were collected in 1969; follow-up surveys were administered at two-year intervals in 1971, 1973, 1975, 1977, and 1979. The primary focus of this study was to assess Social Security program provisions for retired workers. A broad range of information was collected from sample persons and their spouses; topic areas studied include health, living arrangements, financial resources and assets, expenditures, retirement plans and attitudes, and characteristics of worklives. This data set also includes income information from the Summary of Social Security Earnings for sample persons and spouses for the years 1951 through 1974. Widows and widowers of sample persons were extensively surveyed in the 1975 through 1979 waves of data collection.
These data were acquired from the The Data Archive of Social Research on Aging (DASRA) of Sociometrics Corporation. Funding for data acquisition, and processing was provided by the grant from the National Institute on Aging
List of variables for AGE0314 - Part1 | Part2 | Part3 | Part4 | Part5 | Part6 | Part7 |
Stata/SE format (in gzipped form):
age0314.dta.gz 30 Mb
Stata/SE is available on the Unix systems econ.bc.edu, ecsa200.bc.edu, and goanna.bc.edu, and may be acquired for desktop systems. You may use Stata/SE or Stat/Transfer on one of the Unix systems to create a subset file that may be used with standard (Intercooled) Stata, and will require much less RAM.
SPSS portable format (in gzipped form):
age0314.por.gz 30 Mb