National Couples Survey

DESCRIPTION: Data for the National Couples Survey (NCS) were collected in 2005-2006 as part of two NIH-funded studies examining couples' contraceptive decision-making. The survey obtained separate, parallel reports from both partners, providing unique and detailed data on the power relations, birth desires, method-related expectancies, values, perceptions, preferences, and behaviors of men and women making contraceptive and disease prevention choices within the context of an intimate heterosexual relationship. Other eligibility criteria were that the female was not currently pregnant, postpartum, or trying to get pregnant, and that both partners were neither medically nor surgically sterile (for whom consistency of contraceptive use is of limited interest). Included variables measure sexual identity, whether the respondent is part of a same-sex couple, what gender of person the respondent is sexually attracted to, and whether the respondent is partnered. Completed interviews were obtained from both partners of 413 married couples, 261cohabiting couples and 335 dating non-cohabiting heterosexual couples (2,018 individuals), in which the female was age 20 to 35 years and the male was age 18 or older. The survey used computer-assisted self interviewing to collect data from an area probability sample of household residents in four cities and their adjacent county subdivisions: Baltimore, MD; Durham, NC; St. Louis, MO; and Seattle, WA. Wave I was conducted in-person while the Wave II survey of married and cohabiting couples was conducted via telephone. The sample design is a stratified, probability-proportional-to-size sample of compact clusters. Analysis weights are available for each individual site as well as for the dataset as a whole.

CODEBOOKS: NCS WAVE I CODEBOOK; NCS WAVE II CODEBOOK

WEBLINK: http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/DSDR/STUDY/24384.xml