National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth (NLSCY)

Summary of changes

Activity on this program started: 1994

Reference period of change - 2008-2009 (Cycle 8)

At Cycle 7, Early Childhood Development (ECD) children ranged in age from 0 to 9, while at Cycle 8, the ECD children range in age from 0 to 7.

Prior to Cycle 7, for the ECD samples, only respondents from the previous cycle were surveyed at subsequent cycles. At Cycle 7, this rule was modified so that non-respondents from previous cycles were surveyed, so long as they did not have 2 or more consecutive cycles of non-response. At Cycle 8, this latter condition was dropped so that all non-respondents from previous cycles were surveyed, regardless of the number of consecutive cycles of non-response.

Collection instrument - The following is a list of the main changes to the content of the survey for Cycle 8:

Self-Complete Booklet
The Self-Complete Booklet for 12- to 13- year- olds, Booklet 21, has been retired. The youngest respondents for the longitudinal cohort in Cycle 8 are the 14- to 15- year- olds.

Political Engagement (ages 20 - 25)
In addition to asking youth if they voted in a previous election, youth were asked if they believed they had a duty to vote and how often they talked about political events with others .(HPOLhQ1 to HPOLhQ7).

Abilities (ages 16 - 25)
The Abilities questions were added in Cycle 8 but had previously appeared in Cycle 5 on the self-complete paper questionnaires (HABYhQ1 to HABhQ6)..

Family Formation and Fertility (ages 18 - 25)
A new section of questions was added to gather information about the factors influencing young adults' transition to marriage and parenthood (HFFYhQ1 to HFFYhQ16)..

Reference period of change - 2006-2007 (Cycle 7)

Prior to Cycle 7 children in the Early Childhood Development (ECD) cohorts ranged in age from 0 to 5. At Cycle 7, the ECD children range in age from 0 to 9 years old. These are children who were first sampled as 0- to 1-year-olds at Cycles 3, 4, 5 and 6, plus returning children who were first sampled at age 2 to 5 at Cycle 6.

Prior to Cycle 7, ECD returning children were only surveyed if they were respondents at the previous cycle, while at Cycle 7 we began surveying returning ECD children even if they were non-respondents at a previous cycle (which leads to two different sets of longitudinal weights for the ECD children at Cycle 7).

Also prior to Cycle 7, returning children belonging to the original cohort were not surveyed if they had two consecutive previous cycles of non-response. This rule was dropped for children aged 18 and above at Cycle 7.

In Cycle 7, when basic demographic information is recorded at the beginning of the interview such as the sex, date of birth, marital status, and relationships between household members, sex and date of birth are updated for new respondents only.

Estimation - At Cycle 7, the ECD children have two sets of longitudinal weights: funnel weights for those who responded at all cycles, and non-funnel weights for those who responded at Cycle 7 but not necessarily all previous cycles. Prior to Cycle 7, the ECD children only received one set of longitudinal weights (effectively, funnel weights).

Collection instrument - Changes in instrument design from Cycle 6 to Cycle 7:
The self-complete booklet for 10- to 11-year-olds, Booklet 20, has been retired. The youngest respondents for the longitudinal cohort in Cycle 7 are the 12- and 13-year-olds.

The oldest respondents in the longitudinal cohort are now 22- and 23-years-old. Many of the questions for this age group are the same as those asked in Cycle 6. There are also new questions for these youth. There are new questions about training at work, financial responsibility - credit, debt, investments, wellness and health and physical activity.

For Cycle 7 new content was added to the Childcare section that will provide information on issues of interest such as parental interactions with childcare provider, the preferred form of childcare, reasons for using childcare, criteria for selecting childcare, availability of financial assistance/subsidy and cost of childcare.

The Problem Solving Exercise for the 16- and 17-year-olds was revised in Cycle 7.

In Cycle 7, the Adult Education section was reworked, in order that only first time respondents or longitudinal respondents who had attended school in the past 2 years were asked about their highest level of education.

Reference period of change - 2004-2005 (Cycle 6)

Sampling - The longitudinal sample at Cycle 6 consists of three cohorts. The first cohort consists of children aged 0 to 11 at the time of their selection at Cycle 1 in 1994, who are 10-21 at Cycle 6. The second cohort is made up of children aged 0 to 1 at the time of their selection at Cycle 4 in 2000, who are 4-5 at Cycle 6. These children will be interviewed in Cycle 7. The third cohort consists of children aged 0 to 1 at the time of their selection at Cycle 5 in 2002, who are 2-3 at Cycle 6. These children will be interviewed in Cycle 7.

For Cycle 6, children aged 0-5 as of December 31, 2004 can be considered representative of the 2004 cross-sectional population. This cross-sectional sample consists of the sample of 0-1 year olds selected in 2000, the 0-1 year olds selected in 2002, the 0-1 year olds selected in 2004, and a top-up sample of 2-5 year-olds selected in 2004.

Quality evaluation - Since the original sample drawn at Cycle 1 has never been topped-up for immigrants, this sample is not considered to be representative of all children aged 10-21 at Cycle 6 (2004). It is for this reason that cross-sectional weights are no longer produced for this sample.

Collection instrument - Changes in instrument design from Cycle 5 to Cycle 6:

The self-complete booklet for 18- to 19-year-olds, Booklet 24, has been dropped. The questions from the booklet are now included in the computer-assisted interviewing (CAI) questionnaire.

The oldest respondents in the longitudinal cohort are now 20 and 21 years old. Many of the questions for this age group are the same as those asked in Cycle 5. There are also new questions for these youth. There are new questions about financing post-secondary education, job quality, dependent children and about voting.

Two new direct assessments were added in Cycle 6. A literacy assessment for 18- to 19-year-olds and a numeracy assessment for 20- to 21-year-olds.

The Education component (Kindergarten Teacher's questionnaire) has been dropped.

Questions were added that allow a respondent to self-identify as an Aboriginal person.

Reference period of change - 2002-2003 (Cycle 5)

The cohort of longitudinal children who were aged 0-1 when sampled in 1996 was dropped. These children were only followed until age 5 (by Cycle 5 they were 6-7).

Children aged 0-5 as of December 31, 2002 can be considered representative of the 2002 cross-sectional population. This cross-sectional sample consists of the sample of 0-1 year olds selected in 2002, in 2000 and in 1998.

Revisions and seasonal adjustment - In 2004, cross-sectional, longitudinal and bootstrap weights (for Cycles 1 through 4) were updated to reflect the 2001 Census population counts. The intended impact of updating the survey weights is to create accurate, representative estimates that reflect the growing population of Canadians.

Collection instrument - Changes in instrument design from Cycle 4 to Cycle 5:

For the Child Survey, the gross motor skills test from the Ages and Stages component has been dropped. In addition, a custody section will be released. The Motor & Social Development (MSD) score will be imputed in Cycle 5.

For the Youth Survey, a series of items to determine emotional quotient has been added. New content has also been added for ages 18 to 19. This includes a self-complete portion of the questionnaire for 18 and 19-year-olds.

Reference period of change - 2000-2001 (Cycle 4)

The cross-sectional sample consists of children aged 0 to 1 selected in 2000 and children aged 5 selected in 2000. The 0-1 group will make up the fourth longitudinal cohort in Cycle 5.

Reference period of change - 1998-1999 (Cycle 3)

A third longitudinal cohort, consisting of children aged 0 to 1 at the time of their selection in 1998, is added. These children will remain in the survey until they reach the age of 5.

Reference period of change - 1996-1997 (Cycle 2)

As of Cycle 2, the survey name was changed from the National Longitudinal Survey of Children (NLSC) to the National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth (NLSCY).

The second longitudinal cohort, consisting of children aged 0 to 1 at the time of their selection in 1996, is added. These children will remain in the survey until they reach the age of 5.

Reference period of change - 1994-1995 (Cycle 1)

The National Longitudinal Survey of Children (NLSC) began in 1994.

The longitudinal sample comprises children aged 0 to 11 at the time of their selection in 1994. They will remain in the survey until they reach the age of 25.

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