April 9, 1999
MEMORANDUM TO SPD Steering Committee
From:
Jenny Hess
Center for Survey Methods Research/SRD
Subject:
Results of cognitive testing on the Residential History Module for
Survey of Program Dynamics 2000
Enclosed are two reports on results of the cognitive testing conducted
on the residential history questions for the Survey of Program Dynamics
2000. Dr. Robert Belli (Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan)
prepared the first report under contract with CSMR. I prepared the second
report. Both reports detail the problems found during cognitive testing.
Dr. Belli's report provides general recommendations for revising the questions
at the end of the report. In addition to the two reports, there are several
attachments. Attachment A is a copy of the questionnaire tested and interviewing
protocol. Attachment B is the residential history calendar that was used
during the cognitive testing. Attachment C details respondent characteristics
for the interviews I conducted. Attachment D contains item-by-item recommendations
for revising the questionnaire and calendar as well as issues raised during
cognitive testing that need to be resolved. Attachment E is a draft questionnaire
based on the recommendations contained in Attachment D and the Belli report.
Note that Attachment E does not address all the issues raised in the reports,
but is provided in order to give readers the general flow of the recommended
questionnaire.
Our basic recommendation is to allow interviewers to use a more flexible
interviewing technique to collect the information on separations from
biological mothers and fathers and periods of living with other adults.
We propose that a flexible interviewing technique be used to fill out
the residential history calendar completely before inputting data into
the automated instrument. (All data will be input in the automated instrument
during the course of the interview.) A flexible technique will allow interviewers
and respondents to use the residential history calendar to its fullest
extent and not force respondents to proceed through the interview in a
linear manner. Once the calendar has been filled out, the interviewer
will input the data into the automated instrument and ask all appropriate
follow-up questions. If this technique is not adopted, the results from
the cognitive interviews suggest that the sponsor will need to consider
one of two options, either reduce the scope of content collected and focus
only on a few critical residential history elements, or drastically increase
the list of scripted questions. We favor using the flexible interviewing
technique to fill out the calendar because we believe it will improve
data quality and accommodate the scope of content desired.
Please note that Dr. Belli and I conducted our interviews using different
methodologies. For most of his interviews, Dr.Belli did not use the structured
protocol I had developed because he found it difficult to use. Instead
he relied more on a flexible interviewing technique and allowed respondents
to "tell their stories." Since our methods differed substantially, I asked
him to include a description of how he conducted his interviews in his
report ("methodology section"). I used the protocol included in Attachment
A with an emphasis are obtaining respondents' understanding of the questions.
I did not provide respondents with additional information beyond what
is included in the questions, but rather probed them for their understanding
of the questions tested. If you would like additional information regarding
differences in our interviewing techniques, please let me know.
Please contact me on 457-4968 if you have any questions or comments on
the report or recommendations.
To: Jenny Hess, Bureau of the Census
From: Bob Belli, University of Michigan
Date: 3/23/99
Report of Cognitive Interviews for "Event History Calendar Method
for Improving Retrospective Recall of Survey Questions" project, using
SPD 2000 interviewing protocol.
I. Methodology
Robert Belli conducted six concurrent cognitive think-aloud interviews
during February and March of 1999. Respondents were screened for having
had minor children who stopped or started living with them. In all interviews,
the household roster information was collected following the scripts in
the protocols. This included asking questions about eligible children
both within and outside the respondents present household, and asking
for eligible children of all household members aged 15 and older. In no
case was there a situation in which a household member other than the
respondent had an eligible child living outside the household.
Table 1: Respondents and Eligible Children
Gender |
Birth
date |
Race |
Eligible Children |
Sex |
Relation to R |
In R's
house? |
Birth
date |
1. Female |
3/8/67 |
African American |
1.F
2.M
3.F |
bio child
bio child
bio child |
no
no
yes |
2/26/85
2/9/88
1/17/98 |
2. Female |
7/24/61 |
white |
1.M
2.F |
adopted child
adopted child |
yes
yes |
1/31/77
3/10/79 |
3. Female |
12/24/55 |
white |
1.M
2. F
3. F |
bio child
bio child
grandchild |
no
yes
yes |
7/9/78
4/2/80
7/16/98 |
4. Female |
2/16/54 |
white |
1. M
2. M
3. F
4. M |
bio child
bio child
bio child
bio child |
no
no
no
no |
7/3/78
12/28/88
7/9/90
5/31/92 |
5. Female |
3/16/67 |
white |
1. F |
guardianship |
no |
x/x/80 |
6. Female |
10/13/53 |
Native American |
1. M |
bio child |
no |
5/19/77 |
Note: x means that this value was not known by the respondent
The methodology for conducting the interviews was mixed. The first four
interviews followed the screener questions as written. With the last two
interviews, the screener questions (SCRIA - SCR1E) were asked only to
the extent that eligible children were identified. In all of the interviews
except the third one, the calendar information was collected flexibly
with respondents, that is, the scripted questions MOM1 to OTHAD5 were
not asked exactly as written, nor in the prescribed order. Instead, the
calendar, used interactively with the respondent, was used as a guide
to collect the required information. Interestingly, an attempt was made
to follow the scripted question sequence of MOM1 to OTHAD5 during the
fourth interview, but R4 was too impatient and preferred a more interactive
style. In all interviews, while introducing the calendar with INTROCAL,
the respondent was shown the respective parts of the calendar as INTROCAL
was read, which implicitly invited the respondent to work with the interviewer
in filling out the required information. Since the calendar was often
dealt with in a flexible manner, the respondent often found themselves
telling narratives about their experiences, which were flexibly probed
for purposes of recording information as specified by the calendar.
In all interviews, respondents were asked the retrospective probes asking
about hypothetical move vignettes, and the debriefing questions concerning
the calendar. Additionally, a flashcard was constructed for OTHAD5 and
used in all interviews, as an aide for respondents to answer this question.
It is recommended that a flashcard be used for this question.
Interviews were audiotaped, and respondents were paid $25 for their participation.
Table 2: Calendar information
R# |
Child # |
Living Apart from Biological |
Living With |
Mother |
Father |
1 |
1 & 2
3 |
x/95 - now |
x/85 - now
1/98 - now |
grandmother: x/95 - now
grandfather: x/85 - now
aunt: x/85 - now |
2 |
1
2 |
6/91 - 7/92
8/92 - 3/97 |
6/91 - 10/91
8/92 - 1/95 |
foreign student: 6/91 - 10/91
stepfather: 10/83 - 9/85
nonmarital partner: 6/87 - 10/92
stepfather: 10/83 - 9/85
nonmarital partner: 6/87 - 10/92
stepmother: 10/92 - 9/93
adoptive mother: 9/93 - 3/97 |
3 |
1
2
3 |
8/91 - 7/96
8/91 - 3/92 |
11/89 - 8/91
11/89 - 8/91
3/92 - 4/98
7/98 - now |
nonmarital partner: 8/91 - 7/96
nonmarital partner: 8/91 - 3/92
grandmother: 7/98 - now
housemate: 8/98 - now
housemate: 11/98 - now |
4 |
1
2, 3 & 4 |
7/78 - 7/96
12/97 - now |
7/78 - 7/96
12/97 - now |
unknown after adopted: 7/78 - 7/96
foster care: 12/97 - now |
5 |
1 |
5/96 - now |
5/96 - now |
biological sister: 5/96 - 8/96
brother of sister-in-law: 8/96- 12/96
biological brother: 1/97 - 5/97
guardian: 6/97 - 9/97
biological brother: 9/97 - now
housemate: 1/97 - 5/97
housemate: 6/97 - 9/97 |
6 |
1 |
11/94 - 5/95 |
|
|
Note: x means that this value was not known by the respondent
II. Observed Problems
1. CKMF
There are often situations in which the respondent is not living
with a male adult who serves a "parental" role. For R1, there were two
children who always lived together, yet it's unclear whether they shared
the same biological father -- there is no question that directly asks
for this (and I felt uncomfortable to ask). Since child-groups for the
calendar are partly based on whether the children shared the same biological
father or not, not having a question on whether eligible children share
the same biological father poses difficulties for this grouping.
2. SCR1C
There is a screener for grandparent. However, R1's mother and father
did not always live together, and each of these grandparents lived with
the children on and off over the years. Since the instrument will list
only one grandparent, this became a considerable problem. I was able
to resolve this issue only by allowing the R to tell her story--grandfather
and aunt were living together with mother; mother moved out in 1995
and grandmother moved in--and working with the calendar accordingly.
Having a show card would be helpful as R3 considered a nonmarital
partner as a stepmother when read the stepmother category. I also
found this section particularly time-consuming -- there were three
children to deal with, and going through each of these categories
for each child involved considerable looping.
For R5, the child lived with many adult siblings, who served as primary
caretakers. Should SCR1C (7) include older siblings? This may be important
with those groups who rely more often on extended family relationships.
Both R3 and R5 had reported "housemates" as "other adults." Does
the population division want to include these people? 3. OTHAD4; OTHAD5
Does not have any option for a child that was born into a household
in which another adult already resides. 4. SCR1A; SCR1B; MOM1; DAD1
The interview with R4 raised the issue of how to handle children
who were given up for adoption shortly after birth, that is, before
the mother left the hospital. R4 answered "yes" to both SCR1A and SCR1B
with this child in mind, but then this child would be reported as being
always away from biological parents, with no information concerning
any transitional elements in living with "other adults". 5. INTROCAL
Needs to be modified as respondents are not always the biological
parents. R2 is an adoptive and not a biological parent, she qualified
as "other adults" and not as "you." R3 is a grandparent to one of the
children. 6. MOM3 and DAD3
R3 was confused by response option 4, as "living" gave the impression
of an ongoing situation, and not one that had just started. Perhaps
should be "Child went to live with other biological parent;" or to avoid
the bias of an interpretation of child moving in with parent," "Child
and other biological parent began to live together." 7. Eligibility Criteria
R5 was a guardian of a child. This child would not meet eligibility
criteria of being either a "biological" and "adoptive" parent. Raises
the issue of foster care arrangements, as well. 8. MOVE1, etc.
R6's children moved many, many times (2-3x per year) between summer
and winter residences, which were owned by R3 and her husband, and in
which the children always moved with the parents. It's not clear that
the Population Division wants to include these kinds of moves. III. Probes & Hypotheticals
For the most part, respondents did not have difficulty with interpretation
of key concepts.
"Biological children" meant:
R1: "children that are not adopted, came from me."
R2: "children who were conceived by me"
R3: "who I birthed"
R4: "constitutes that child's relationship to parent is by birth"
R5: "I gave birth to them, or if I were the genetic mother"
R6: "children that I physically had and carried around for 9 months"
"Stepmother and stepfather" meant
R1: "if got remarried would be <child's> stepfather"
R2: "marital partner of natural parent"
"Basic needs" meant
R1: "helped when need to -- necessities, clothes, cosmetics, glasses"
R2: "room and board, but should mean nurture"
R3: "shelter, food, care"
R5: "providing shelter, food, guidance, keeping an eye on her, making
sure child goes to school"
Hypotheticals:
"If a child lived with his mother during the school year and his father
for three months during the summer, would you consider that a move?" 5
yes, 1 dk
"If a child lived with her grandmother during the week to attend school,
and with her parents on the weekends, would you consider that a move?"
1 yes, 5 no
"If a child spent every other weekend with his father and the rest of
the time with his mother, would you consider that a move?" 1 yes, 5 no
"If a child was at boarding school during the school year and at home
during the summer, would you consider that a move?" 6 yes
"If a child moved with his family from one apartment to another in the
same building, would you consider that a move?" 6 yes
"If a child spent two months during the summer with his father, and the
rest of the time with his mother, would you consider that a move?" 4 yes,
2 no
Respondent debriefing questions
1. We used this form (the residential history calendar) to record the
your (child/children's) living situation since birth. What did you think
about this form?
R1: "it wasn't complicated, brought up a lot of stuff"
R2: "holy smokes, should be 3x as big--format is good--color coded in
some way instead of variations of grey"
R3: "pretty self-explanatory and made it easier to figure out what was
going on in each of those years "
R4: "ages of different children when others were born was neat."
R5: "A little difficult to read -- don't understand numbers 1-15"
R6: [didn't use form enough to know]
2. Did you look at the form in order to help you remember the dates of your
child's/children's living situations?
R1: "No, [my memory] was cloudy -- year OK"
R2: "yes, and still didn't do well (respondent was able to provide the
months of transitions)"
R3: y
R4: "not sure"
R5: "no -- did math backwards"
R6: [didn't use form enough to know] 3. Did the form help you to remember dates when the child did not live with
(you/the biological mother/father) or not?
R1: "No, [my memory] was cloudy -- year OK"
R2: y
R3: y
R4: "not sure"
R5: "only with respect to determining age in years"
R6: [didn't use form enough to know] 4. Did the form help you to remember dates when the child lived with "other
adults" or not?
R1: "No, [my memory] was cloudy -- year OK"
R2: y
R3: y
R4: "not sure"
R5: "yes -- in the same respect -- and writing down different adults
was helpful -- and helpful when pointing to calendar points"
R6: [didn't use form enough to know]
5. Does the form look complicated or intimidating? Would other people think
the form looks complicated or intimidating?
R1: "looks like taking a test form"
R2: "yes--need to reduce all of those lines of numbers, need to reduce
the thickness of lines "
R3: "y --do not make border as bold"
R4: "not sure"
R5: "A little bit -- other people would think so too"
R6: [didn't use form enough to know] 6. At the top of the form, I wrote down your child's/children's ages and
grade levels. Did that information help you to recall the dates of these
different events?
R1: "can confirm the dates from ages/grade"
R2: "yes, grade levels not as helpful"
R3: "yes. did talk about first grade
R4: "not sure"
R5: "Yes -- ages and year were the most helpful"
R6: "the age/grade tie was confusing" IV. Other Issues
1. All respondents, except R1, were able to remember the months of transitional
events. Interviewers should be trained as to what to do for respondents
who are unable to remember the months of transitions.
2. With R2, there was an extended period in which there was a joint custody
following a divorce. During this time, the children were considered to
be living with both biological parents, although the biological parents
were not living together.
3. R2 served in three roles -- as a nonmarital partner, as a stepparent,
and as an adoptive mother, in living with one of the children. With the
other child, although she was a stepparent and adoptive parent, she did
not live with this other child in these roles. At issue is how to handle
these people. I had filled out three other adult lines on the calendar,
one for each role. Another option might be to fill out only one line per
person, but then it would become difficult to input an appropriate role.
4. R4 was a very challenging respondent. Although intelligent, R4 appeared
thought-disordered, and she was particularly motivated to discuss her
personal problems concerning her children. The household roster and the
screener questions took a great deal of time. I decided not to follow
the scripted questions while going through the calendar, as she had already
shown impatience with the earlier questions. I was able to fill out two
calendars for her biological children (the daughter had been placed in
a different foster care home than her sons). Additionally, I returned
to the script to ask about the causes of separation and living with other
adults (MOM3, DAD3, OTHAD5), the number of moves, the hypotheticals, and
the final debriefing questions concerning the calendar.
5. To my surprise, most respondents were confident in reporting the moves
of children, although it was clear that R2 missed one of the moves which
was mentioned while filling out the calendar.
IV. Overall Recommendation
In general, I found the scripted portions of the EHC frustrating. The
screener questions are too involved, and they should be used only to the
extent that they identify eligible children. As is, the interview length
will be considerable if for every child, one has to ask questions about
both the biological mother and father, and each of the other adults listed
in SCR1C. Additionally, the linear flow of the MOM1 to OTHAD5 section
interferes with the ability of the calendar to optimize autobiographical
recall. In particular, this linear flow discourages respondents to work
across the timelines, and to tell about their experiences in a natural,
narrative manner. In methodological production setting work conducted
at the University of Michigan, interviewers preferred administering a
flexible calendar than asking scripted questions, and that the length
of interviews was significantly shorter with the calendars. Accordingly,
I recommend that the calendar portion of the interview be highlighted
as a data collection instrument in its own right. Since there are likely
to be a great deal of variation in which aspects of the question objectives
are pertinent to individual respondents, interviews will be most efficient
by permitting flexible interviewing by using the calendar as the primary
guide to collecting information.
The following guidelines deserve to be cognitively tested. Although my
last interviews followed these guidelines with no observable major problems,
both respondents had rather uncomplicated histories.
1. Use the screener questions only to the extent to which eligible children
are identified. For most eligible children then, their eligibility will
be decided with SCR1A and SCR1B. If necessary, SCR1C can be used, but
present as a flashcard, and allow the respondent to decide with only a
single omnibus "yes" (eligible) or "no" response. The screener question
can be modified as "was there ever a period of three months of more when
(child) lived with any one of the following people?"
2. CKMF should function as well with the recommended changes as originally.
Since all of the information comes from the household roster and cycling
through the OTHCHLD section, the changes to the screener questions (above)
will not affect CKMF.
3. SCR1D and SCR1E should be asked after the calendar has been filled
out, using information from the calendar. During calendar work, interviewers
are likely to discover whether there were more than one stepmother. Or
they can be instructed to probe for more than one of each of the categories
of stepmother, etc. Of course, for each different person, a line should
be reserved on the calendar.
4. The calendar should be introduced with INTROCAL. INTROCAL ought to
be reworded to emphasize that the interest is to gain the periods of time
when children were living apart from biological parents for three months
or more, or with other adults for three months or more. Flexible interviewing
should then be encouraged. Interviewers should be trained regarding the
objectives of the calendar. The CAI program can prompt interviewers with
suggested question wordings for collecting the information that is presently
scripted from MOM1, DAD1, and SCR1C. SCR1C should be presented to respondents
as a flashcard, and the interviewer should be clear while interacting
with the respondent to include all other adults, whether living with either
of the biological parents or not. Interviewers can collect information
for each role (as depicted on the flashcard), per person, per line. Additionally,
for other adults who had served in more than one role, a line can be reserved
for each role that was served, and the interviewer can keep track that
an individual served more than one role.
5. After the calendar is filled out, the CAI can be used to enter the
information that is found in MOMSEP, MOM3, DADSEP, DAD3, OTHADSEP, OTHAD4,
and OTHAD5 (presented as a flashcard!). To record information on "other
adults,"for each calendar the CAI application can instruct the interviewer
to enter the total number of lines filled out (numerically, following
the calendar), how many persons served multiple roles, and for each multiple-roled
person, which lines were entered. Then, for each line number, information
can be collected concerning the type of role, the number of spells, the
start and stop times of each spell, who moved, and the reason for living
with the other adult. As some of this will be new information, the interviewer
will need to be asking the respondent some of these questions. In fact,
the interviewer and respondent can interact in the computer entry of all
of this information, which additionally may assist respondents' ability
to recall.
Report on Cognitive Interview Results for the
Survey of Program Dynamics
Children's Residential History Module
Jennifer Hess
Center for Survey Methods Research
Statistical Research Division
US Census Bureau
April 9, 1999
I. Background
Members of the American Statistical Association/Survey Research Methods
Section Working Group on Technical Aspects of the SIPP and the SPD suggested
including questions on children's residential history in the SPD during
their meeting on May 29-30, 1997. ChildTrends, Inc. (CTI) prepared a draft
children's residential history calendar and associated question list and
included it in materials submitted for consideration for the 1999 extended
measures of children's well-being module. The draft CTI submitted was
intended to be administered by paper and pencil. Staff from the Census
Bureau's Population Division (POP) revised the children's residential
history module with a computer-assisted administration in mind. Staff
from the Center for Survey Methods Research (CSMR) tested two different
versions of the children's residential history questions developed by
POP in two series of cognitive interviews conducted from February-June
1998. Based on the results of that testing, the SPD Steering Committee
decided to delay implementation of the children's residential history
module until 2000 to allow additional time for development and testing.
Dr. Robert Belli at the Institute for Social Research, University of
Michigan, under contract with CSMR developed a residential history calendar
and associated question list to be used in an automated questionnaire.
The calendar is a paper instrument to serve as an aid to enhance respondent
recall of their children's living situations since birth. POP and CSMR
staff revised the question list and calendar to be used in two series
of cognitive interviews, one at the University of Michigan and one at
CSMR. This report includes results from the latter only. Dr.Belli will
submit a separate report summarizing results from his testing. Below is
a description of the methodology, a summary of major problems identified,
and item-by-item results. Recommendations for revisions to the questionnaire
will be based on both sets of cognitive interviews and will be submitted
under separate cover.
II. Methodology
Jennifer Hess conducted seven concurrent cognitive think-aloud interviews
to test respondent comprehension of the children's residential history
questions during February 1999. In addition respondents were asked debriefing
questions following the cognitive interview about the usefulness of the
residential history calendar as an aid for enhancing respondent recall
of their children's living situations. The interviews lasted approximately
one hour and respondents received $30 for their participation. Four of
the interviews were conducted at CSMR's Response Research Laboratory and
were video and audio taped with the respondents' permission. Three of
the interviews were conducted at sites more convenient for the respondent
and were audio taped. The same interview protocol and debriefing questions
were used for interviews conducted at CSMR and the University of Michigan.
A copy of the questionnaire/cognitive interview protocol and the residential
history calendar tested are included as Attachments A and B.
We successfully recruited respondents whose children (or grandchildren
who live with them) have lived in a variety of different living situations
throughout their lifetimes (see Attachment C for a complete listing).
Three respondents are grandparents who are caring for their grandchildren
(respondents 1, 5, and 7 on attachment). One of these grandparents was
the foster care provider for four of her grandchildren and is now their
adoptive mother. Two respondents were single mothers in their mid-20's
(respondents 2 and 3 on attachment). One of these respondents lives with
her parents; she has one daughter who lives with her and one that lives
with the child's biological father. One respondent was a married father
of two children (respondent 4). And the last respondent was woman married
for the second time who had children from both marriages (respondent 6).
Three of the respondents completed 11th grade, one completed
high school, one completed two years of college, and the other two had
college degrees.
II. Summary of Major Problems Identified
Below is a brief summary highlighting the most important findings. (The
item labels from the questionnaire are shown in parentheses.) 1. The sponsoring division needs to consider the universe for the two
screening questions regarding additional biological children and adoptive
children living outside the household carefully. These questions were
asked of all persons age 15 or over and age 18 or over, respectively (OTHCHLD1
and OTHCHLD4). In some instances, we asked residential histories for children
who have never lived in the household and for whom we would have no other
child-related information. Moreover, the respondent may have very limited
information about that child's living situation since birth if the child
belongs to another household member and has never been a part of this
household. Consideration should be given regarding which household members
should be asked the screening items on additional biological and adoptive
children outside the household so that we are collecting residential history
data for only those children that are of interest to analysts.
2. There is evidence that the questions asking whether there was ever
a period of three months or more when the child did not live with the
biological mother (SCR1A) or the biological father (SCR1B) are confusing
for respondents if the child either never lived with the biological
parent of interest or lived with that parent for less than three months,
and may result in respondents providing the wrong answer to these critical
items.
3. The question asking whether the child ever shared a household with
"other adults" for a period of three months or more did not work well,
and introductions added during cognitive testing to clarify the question's
intent did not help (SCR1C). The intention of the question is to collect
data on times the child lived by himself/herself with the "other adult"
and times that the child lived with a biological parent and the "other
adult." Several problems surfaced during cognitive interviews: 1) Respondents
thought the question was asking about times the child lived by himself/herself
with the "other adult" and did not report times when the child and a
biological parent lived with the "other adult;" 2) Respondents thought
the questions were asking about persons outside their household, that
is, persons other than themselves or their current family members, even
if they were, for example, the child's adoptive parent, grandparent,
or stepparent; 3) Respondents had difficulty answering this question
when a person filled more than one role, such as being a nonmarital
partner of a biological parent and later becoming a stepparent.
4.The follow-up questions for "other adults" that ask when the child
lived with the "other adult" (OTHAD1), whether the "other adult" was
responsible for most of the child's basic needs (OTHAD3), the direction
of the move (OTHAD4), and the reasons for living with the other adult
(OTHAD5) were problematic for persons who filled multiple roles for
several reasons. First, there is no way in the current instrument to
differentiate between one person who fills multiple roles (e.g. a nonmarital
partner who became a stepparent) and two people filling two different
roles (e.g. one person who was a nonmarital partner and a second person
who was the stepfather) making it impossible to assess the number of
different people with whom the child has lived. Persons who fill multiple
roles will appear as changes in living situations when, in fact, no
change has occurred. Second, some respondents reported the time periods
the child lived with the "other adult" in terms of the person rather
than the role, some reported in terms of the role, and others used both
methods during a single interview. This results in inconsistent data
and also leads to respondent confusion in subsequent questions. Third,
asking follow-up questions for each role the person filled seems redundant
and overly burdensome to respondents.
5. Rules for grouping children who have always lived together on a
calendar require that both the child's biological mother and father
be in the household before children are potentially eligible to be grouped
on the same roster (check item CKMF). These rules may be overly restrictive
and result in unnecessary respondent burden. Siblings may have always
lived together even though the parents don't reside together in the
household. (Grouping children who have lived together is done for efficiency.
Questions are asked about the oldest child and data for younger children
are plugged based on the child's date of birth.)
6. Following the residential history calendar, we asked a series of
questions on moves during the child's lifetime (MOVE1, MOVE2, MOVE3,
and MOVE4). These questions are asked by aggregated age groups: prior
to elementary school (ages 0-4), elementary school (ages 5-11), middle
school (ages 12-14), and high school (ages 15-18). Results indicated
respondents had trouble with the reference periods in these questions,
which resulted in double counting of moves. III. Cognitive Testing Results
Provided below are the results of cognitive testing for the seven interviews
CSMR staff conducted. The question wording tested is provided along with
a summary of problems identified. The label name from the questionnaire
is shown in parentheses. 1.Tested wording (OTHCHLD1) (Universe
is all persons age 15 or over)
In this section, we would like to ask some questions about the
past and present living arrangements of the children of this household.
I have listed the following children born since January 1, 1974
who are living in this household.
Name
Sex
Birth date
Relationship to Resp
{LIST ALL CHILDREN BORN SINCE JANUARY 1, 1974 WHO ARE LIVING IN
THIS HOUSEHOLD.}
(Do you/Does name) have any other biological children who were
born since January 1, 1974 and are living somewhere else?
Problems identified:
Respondents understood that the question was asking
about biological children that
don't live with them. Two respondents, however,
didn't hear the date and reported
children that were born before 1974.
When there were several persons age 15 or over
in the household, this question and
a subsequent one on adopted children living outside
the household seemed verbose
and repetitive to the interviewer and may be better
handled in a topic-based
approach rather than a person-based approach, or
combined into a single item.
2. Tested wording (OTHCHLD2)
How many other biological children (do you/does name) have?
Problems identified:
All three respondents who answered this question
had already provided the
relevant information in response to the previous
item. Two of the three respondents
were confused by the question. One respondent thought
the question was asking
how many biological children she had, rather than
how many other biological
children she had living outside the household.
The other respondent thought this
question was asking for new information since she
had already told me how many
biological children she had living outside the
household in the previous item and
thought that the question might be asking about
children given up for adoption or
possibly miscarriages.
3. Tested wording (OTHCHLD3)
What is [the first] child's
name?
ASK IF NECESSARY: What is [his/her] sex?
When was [she/he] born?
Problems identified:
No problems were identified with the items on
the child's name or sex. The date of
birth given for one of the children was July 17,
1971, which is out of scope.
4. Tested wording (OTHCHLD4) (Universe is all persons age 18 or
over in household)
(Do you/Does name) have any adopted children
who were born since January 1, 1974 and are living somewhere else?
Problems identified:
No respondents had adopted children living outside
the household. Two
respondents thought the question was asking whether
they had any adopted children
(rather than adopted children living outside the
household).
5. Tested wording (OTHCHLD5 and OTHCHLD6)
How many adopted children living elsewhere
(do you/does name) have?
What is [the first] child's
name?
ASK IF NECESSARY: What is [his/her] sex?
When was [she/he] born?
Problems identified:
These questions were never asked. See problems
listed under comparable items (2
and 3 above) for biological children living outside
the household.
6. Tested wording (SCR1A)
[Up until he/she was 18,] Was there ever
a period of three months or more when (child) did not live with (his/her)
biological mother?
Problems identified:
This question was somewhat problematic for two
respondents. One of the
respondents was confused by this question because
in item 1 she had already told
me that she has a daughter who lives with her biological
father and this question
sounded redundant to her. In the end, this respondent
answered the question
correctly. Another respondent who is the grandparent
and adoptive mother of her
grandchildren answered this question incorrectly
for two of her grandchildren. The
children were taken away from the biological mother
before they were three months
old and given to the respondent. The respondent
answered "no" to this item because
the children never lived with the mother for a
period of three months.
7. Tested wording (SCR1B)
[Up until he/she was 18,] Was there ever a period of three months
or more when (child) did not live with (his/her) biological father?
Problems identified:
This question was problematic for three respondents.
The respondent who was the
adoptive mother of her grandchildren answered this
question incorrectly for three
of her four grandchildren. She answered "no" because
the children had either never
lived with their biological fathers or had lived
with them for a short period of time
(less than 3 months). She had great difficulty
understanding this question and
paraphrased the question as "They want to know
if he ever did live with his
biological father." A second respondent answered
"yes" to this item, when the
answer actually was "no." This respondent is divorced
from the child's father and
the biological mother is not happy with the current
living arrangement (the child is
spending most nights at her father's). She explained
"I probably answered 'yes' out
of defense." A third respondent thought the question
was only asking about past
living situations of the children and not their
present living situation.
8. Tested wording (SCR1C)
[Up until he/she was 18,] Was there ever a period of three months
or more when (child) shared a household with:
1. An adoptive mother
2. An adoptive father
3. A stepmother
4. A stepfather
5. A nonmarital partner of a biological parent
6. A grandparent
7. Some other adult relative such as an aunt or uncle
8. Some other adult non-relative
9. Foster care arrangement
10. An institution, boarding school, group home, or hospital
Introductions tested:
1. None.
2. Now we are interested
in periods of three months or more when (child) may
have
also lived with other adults. Include times when (he/she) lived with
these
other
adults even if (his/her) biological mother or father was with (him/her).
3. We are interested in periods of three months
or more when (child) shared a
household with adults other
than (his/her) biological mother or father, or adults
in additional to (his/her)
biological mother or father. Please include times in
which (child) moved in
with another adult and times when another adult moved in
with (child), even if (he/she)
was still living with (his/her) biological mother or
father.
Problems identified:
This item is intended to measure periods of three
months or more when the child
lived with other adults regardless of whether a
biological parent(s) was present.
After conducting the first two cognitive interviews,
it was apparent that
respondents thought this item was asking about
times that the child went to live with
another adult without a biological parent. Owing
to this, we tested two different
introductions in the remaining cognitive interviews
to attempt to clarify that we are
interested in periods that the child lived with
other adults even if a biological
parent was present. These two introductions are
shown above. Neither introduction
helped matters much as most respondents still interpreted
the question as asking if
the child had lived with these other adults without
a biological parent present. One
respondent thought the introduction was the question
and responded "no" before any
of the subsequent categories was read. Of seven
respondents, only one answered
this item correctly. This respondent's children
had the least complicated living
situation of any interviewed since the children
had always lived with both
biological parents, but the family had moved in
with "other adults" on two
occasions.
Another problem with this series is that respondents
thought the questions were
asking about persons other than themselves, or
persons outside the child's current
living situation. For example, one grandparent
who is the adoptive mother of
grandchildren in her household responded "no" to
the "adoptive mother" and
"adoptive father" items in the list even though
she is the adoptive mother and her
husband is the adoptive father of the grandchildren.
Another grandmother whose
grandson has lived with her since birth also thought
these items were asking about
persons other than herself. She responded "yes"
to "grandparent," but that was
because she was thinking about her nonmarital partner
because he is like the child's
grandfather. She did not think the question was
asking about her. A third respondent
who is remarried reported "no" to "stepfather"
even though her two daughters lived
with her and her second husband. A fourth respondent
reported "no" to grandparent"
even though she and her daughter currently live
with the child's grandparents.
Problems arose when one person filled multiple
roles. In the current instrument,
persons who fill multiple roles appear as separate
lines on the calendar. There is
no way to tell whether one person is filling more
than one role or whether each role
is a separate person. Among the respondents interviewed,
we had several situations
in which one person filled multiple roles: 1) a
couple who filled four roles--
grandparent, foster care arrangement, legal guardian,
and adoptive parents; 2) a
live-in ex-husband of the respondent filled two
roles, grandparent and nonmarital
partner; 3) two stepfathers who were the nonmarital
partners of the biological
mothers prior to marriage; 4) a stepmother who
was a nonmarital partner of the
biological father prior to marriage. Problems were
compounded in follow-up
questions regarding when the child lived with these
people, whether they were
responsible for most of their basic needs, the
direction of the move, and the reason
for the move. These questions are asked by role.
Some respondents answered in
terms of the person, rather than the role. Others
answered in terms of the role, and
some applied both methods during a single interview,
as their understanding of the
intent of the question changed during the interview.
Asking these questions by role
caused misreporting and also lead to additional
respondent burden.
The term "nonmarital partner of a biological parent"
was problematic for some
respondents. One respondent had no idea what this
term meant. One said she didn't
know but guessed that it meant "girlfriend" or "boyfriend."
Another respondent was
unclear how to respond since the child's biological
mother and stepfather weren't
married initially. She eventually responded "no"
to "unmarried partner of a
biological parent." Another respondent said "When
you said >nonmarital partner'
I
was thinking >boyfriend,'
but then you said "of a biological parent,' which would be
like my spouse." This respondent was unclear how
to respond to this item. She and
her second husband weren't married when their first
child was born, but they were
both his biological parents. Another respondent reported
"yes" to this item, but was
referring to her nonmarital partner. She is the child's
grandmother, not the
biological mother.
9. Tested wording (SCR1D)
[Up until he/she was 18,] Did (child) (live
with/live in) more than one (stepmother/stepfather/nonmarital partner
of a parent/foster care arrangement)?
Problems identified:
No problems were identified.
10. Tested wording (SCR1E)
[Up until he/she was 18,] How many different
(stepmothers/stepfathers/nonmarital partners of a parent/foster care
arrangements) did (child) (live with/live in)?
Problems identified:
Only one person answered this question. No problems
were identified.
11. Tested wording (ROSTER1)
[The next question will help me determine whether your children
have always lived together in the same household. By this I mean whether
they lived in the same household without a separation of three months
or more from each other.]
Have (name of younger child) and (name of older child) always
lived in the same household without a separation of three months or
more?
Problems identified:
Only one respondent went through this item. None
of the other respondents lived in
households in which both biological parents were
present as required in the check
item (CKMF). No problems were identified. There
were several other children that
had always lived together, but were not able to
be included on the same calendar
since both biological parents were not in the household.
These included: 1) one
respondent who had three biological daughters who
had always lived together, but
the children's father did not live with them, 2)
one respondent who was raising her
two grandsons who had always lived together, but
neither biological parent lived in
the household currently, and 3) the adoptive mother
of four grandchildren that could
have been on two calendars instead of four since
two of the children had always
lived together and the other two had always lived
together.
12. Tested wording
This form is something we call the Residential
History Calendar. I'll use it to help record
the times your child(ren) lived either away from you or with you and
other adults. The purpose of filling out this calendar is to help us
understand if there are a little or a lot of changes in the situations
children live in. You can see that there are boxes to show each year
of your child(ren)'s life. The lines down
the side show the people or situations your child(ren) lived in during
those periods. I'd like you to help me
fill out this calendar so that I make sure we don't
miss any changes in your child(ren)'s living
situations.
Problems identified:
This introduction was added part way through testing.
In the first couple of
interviews, respondents paid no attention to the
residential history calendar and did
not use it to help them remember dates. This introduction
was added to give
respondents a better understanding of the calendar
and to involve them as
participants in filling it out. Due to interviewer
oversight, respondents were not
probed regarding their understanding of the introduction.
Based on interviewer
observation, some of the respondents who were read
the introduction did seem to
take more interest in the calendar than those who
were not read the introduction.
13. Tested wording (MOM1)
We are interested in all periods lasting
three months or more in which (name of first child on roster) lived
apart from (his/her) biological mother. When did this occur?
Problems identified
Five of the seven respondents had children who
had been separated from their
biological mothers. Three of the respondents had
some trouble with dates of
separations, but did their best to come up with
dates. Respondents usually reported
only the beginning dates and did not report end
dates to this item. Field
Representatives (FRs) will need to be trained to
probe for end dates.
The one respondent who had a joint custody arrangement
for her two children
reported them as living with both parents when
the children spent parts of each
week with each parent, but then reported one daughter
as living only with the
biological father when she started spending most
of her nights at the biological
father's house and only spending a few nights a
month with the biological mother.
The respondent reported that this shift from a
joint arrangement to one in which the
child spent more time at the father's house happened
gradually over a period of
time, which made it difficult to give a date that
the arrangement changed.
Note that the interviewer made a mistake in one
interview regarding the date of
separation from the biological mother. The respondent
said it occurred when the
child was age one in about June. The interviewer
looked at the calendar for the
year in which the child was age 1 and wrote "6"
for June under that same year. The
"6" should have gone in the following year. FRs
should be trained that children are
age 1 up until they turn 2 the next year and to
be careful not to mark the wrong year.
14. Tested wording (MOM3)
What caused the [first/next] separation
-- that is, the separation between [month/year] and [month/year]?
Problems identified:
One respondent (a grandmother caring for her grandson)
reported that the mother
moved out to "be with her boyfriend and develop
their lives." A few years later the
mother had a car accident resulting in a head injury
and now requires round the
clock care at a group home. She wasn't sure whether
she was supposed to report
both reasons since they happened at different times.
Another respondent couldn't
read the flashcard but said "child abuse" in response
to this question. The
interviewer read the category "child removed by
government agency," and the
respondent initially said "yes," but then was unsure
because she said that Social
Service is run by the State. (Perhaps she equated
"government agency" with the
Federal government.) Another respondent chose "parental
financial hardship"
because the child "had it better at her dad's."
Is this an intended meaning of
this category?
The wording of this question is awkward if there
is only one separation. The
interview reworded the question as follows: "What
caused the separation between
(date) and (date)?"
Based on a respondent's misunderstanding of the
comparable item for separations
from the biological father, this item should specify
that we are talking about a
separation from the biological mother.
15. Tested wording (DAD1)
We are (also) interested in all periods
lasting three months or more in which (name of oldest child on roster)
lived apart from (his/her) biological father. When did this occur?
Problems identified:
Five of seven respondents answered this questions.
Respondents often gave the
start date for the separation but not the end date.
FRs will need to be trained to
probe for end dates.
One respondent (the grandmother of the child)
had trouble answering this question
about her nonmarital partner's biological son.
This child had never been a member
of this household. The best answer she could give
is the first quarter of 1982. FRs
will need to know how to code such answers.
16. Tested wording (DAD3)
What caused the [first/next] separation
-- that is, the separation between [month/year] and [month/year]?
Problems identified:
One respondent said that the "parents were no
longer compatible." The interviewer
asked her to choose a category from the flashcard
and the respondent chose "other
reasons" rather than "marital conflict between
parents." This suggests that the
flashcard may be too long for respondents to read
easily and quickly. Another
respondent was confused by this question on two
separate occasions. One of her
daughters lived with her when she was younger but,
after a custody battle, went to
live with the child's biological father. The respondent
thought this question was
asking why the child left the mother to go live
with the father. The younger daughter
of this same respondent has never lived with her
biological father and the
respondent was confused by the question because
"there never was a separation
because she never lived with him." A third respondent
had trouble with this
question because she and the children's father
were never married and she wasn't
sure whether she should use the category "marital
conflict between parents" since
the parents weren't ever married.
The wording of this question is awkward if there
is only one separation. The
interviewer reworded question as "What caused the
separation between (date) and
(date)?" Also, the question should specify that
we are asking about separations
from the biological father.
17. Tested wording (OTHAD1)
When did (Child) live for three months or
more in the same household as (adult1)?
Problems identified:
Many of the problems with this item stem from
respondents' misunderstanding of
the previous "screener" item regarding "other adults"
with whom the child has
shared a household. First, respondents who thought
the screener was asking only
about times that the child went by himself/herself
to live with the "other adult," did
not mention times that the biological parent(s)
and the child lived with the "other
adult." The grandmother who lives with her two
grandsons failed to mention the
two times the grandchildren and their biological
father lived with the grandparents
and only reported the times that the grandchildren
lived with the grandparent when
the biological father was not present. Two other
respondents failed to mention
times when they and their children lived with the
respondents' parents (child's
grandparents). One respondent failed to mention
the times she and her two
daughters lived with three different nonmarital
partners. One respondent did not
report the time the child's uncle lived in the
household for a year and a half.
Second, respondents who thought the question was
asking about persons other than
themselves or persons outside their current living
situation that the child lived with
were excluded from this item altogether. There
were several examples of this from
the cognitive interviews. Two separate grandparents
didn't include themselves in
the screener item. One of the grandparents was
the children's adoptive mother and
her husband was the adoptive father. One respondent
reported "no" to "stepfather"
even though her two daughters lived with her and
her second husband. One
respondent reported "no" to grandparents even though
she and her daughter live
with the child's grandparents.
Third, this item was also problematic for persons
who served more than one role in
a child's life. In some cases the respondent reported
the time periods the child lived
with the "other adult" in terms of the person and
did not differentiate between the
roles; in other cases, the respondent reported the
time periods in terms of the
role; and respondents sometimes applied both methods
during the same interview
as their understanding of what they thought we wanted
changed. This results in
inconsistent information.
We may need to clarify that the questions are
asking about the period of time from
birth to present (or to age 18 for persons currently
over 18). One respondent failed
to mention that she and her baby and the baby's
father lived with the child's
grandparent until the child was age one because
it happened a long time ago and
she thought the questions were asking only about
more recent events.
One respondent could give the year that the son
of her nonmarital partner started
living with a stepfather, but not the month. (The
son has never been a member of
this household.) FRs will need to be instructed
how to code such information on the
calendar.
Additionally, respondents tended to give start
dates but not end dates. FRs will
need to be trained to probe for end dates.
18. Tested wording (OTHAD3)
Was (adult1) responsible for most of the
basic needs of (name) from (month/year) to (month/year)?
Problems identified:
This question worked fairly well. Respondents
generally agreed on what the
term "basic needs" meant and included things
like food, clothing, shelter,
medical care, education. However, respondents
had different interpretations
of the concept of being "responsible for most
of the basic needs." Some
respondents thought of this in terms of financial
responsibility. Other
respondents indicated that it took more than
money to raise a child and thought
about everything that it takes to raise a child.
If the intention is to find out who
was financially responsible for the child, then
the word "financially" should be
inserted into the question.
One respondent had trouble answering this question
with regard to the time
that her daughter lived with a stepmother. The
respondent has a joint custody
arrangement for her daughter. For most of the
child's life, responsibility for
providing the basic needs of the child was shared
between the two families.
Later the daughter spent more time at the father's
house and he and his wife
provided more for the daughter. The respondent
wanted to provide two
answers. One from the time of the separation
until the daughter started living
with the biological father and his wife (when
custody was shared) and a
second for the time that the child lived with
primarily with the biological
father and his wife.
19. Tested wording (OTHAD4)
Did (name) move in with (adult1), did (adult1) move in with
(name), or did they move together to a new place in (month/year).
Problems identified:
This question did not work well. In a couple
of instances, the child was a
newborn and came home from the hospital to the
residence. This question was
awkward for those circumstances mostly likely
because respondents don't
think of children as "moving" when they come
home from being born.
This question also did not necessarily prompt
respondents to think about
changes in the initial living arrangement if
something more significant
occurred later like moving to a new house. For
example, one respondent
reported that the child and the grandparent moved
together to a new place.
This happened 9 months after the child was born.
When the child came home
from the hospital, she went with the mother to
live in the grandparents house
so the correct answer should have been "child
moved." Another respondent
reported that they moved to a new house, when
in fact the nonmarital partner
had moved in with her initially and later they
moved to a new house.
This question also did not work well in situations
in which the person's role
changed. For example, one respondent lived with
her husband before they
were married. His role changed from "nonmarital
partner" to "stepfather."
When this question was asked about the stepfather,
the respondent didn't know
how to answer because they were all living together
and no one moved; just
the stepfather's role had changed from nonmarital
partner to stepfather.
20. Tested wording (OTHAD5)
Why did (name) and (adult 1) begin living together in (month/year)?
Problems identified:
This question is similar to the two other questions
asking for reasons the child
was separated from the biological parents, but
no flashcard was used. Both
questions should be consistent by either using
or not using flashcards. A few
respondents thought they were supposed to use
the flashcard from the previous
question on reasons for separation from a biological
parent to answer this
question.
This question is awkward when the reason a child
and the "other adult" started
living together was because the child was born
and came home from the
hospital. At a minimum, the category "child born"
should be added to the
response options.
This question was confusing for some respondents,
particularly when a
biological parent and the child lived with the
"other adult." This prompted
responses of "because that's where I was living"
or "that's where his mom was
living." In these instances, the question really
should be why did the parent
start living with the "other adult" since the
reason the child is living there is
because that's where the parent is living.
This question also caused problems when persons
filled multiple roles and
answered the previous item OTHAD1 (time periods
child lived with the
"other adult") based on the person rather than
the role. For example, one
respondent answered OTHAD1 for the entire time
her daughter lived with the
person who eventually became her stepmother.
This included time when the
stepmother was the nonmarital partner of the
father. The month/year fill for
this item is based on data from OTHAD1. Thus,
the date and the role did not
match, since the date corresponded to the month
and year the daughter started
living with the father and his nonmarital partner
and the role corresponded to
"stepmother." The respondent pointed out the
inconsistency. In a standard
interview, such errors would require the FRs
to back up and change answers
to several previous items.
Questions on Moves During Child's Lifetime
The following questions on moves are not included as part of the residential
history questions. They are a separate series of questions that were
tested after all the questions pertaining to the residential history
were completed for all eligible children. The objective of the questions
is to provide the number of moves a child made with or without other
family members during the child's lifetime. The questions are asked
for aggregated ages that correspond to elementary, junior high, and
high school, as well as prior to entry in school. (Wording shown in
brackets is for children younger than the maximum age for the question.)
1. Tested wording (MOVE1)
Before (he/she) began school, that is, before age 5, how many
time did (child) move. By move, I mean move to a new address either
with or without you for a period of three months or more. [Since
birth, how many times has (chid) moved. By move, I mean to move to
a new address, either with or without you for a period of three months
or more.]
Problems identified:
The question reads "with or without you." Depending
on who the respondent
is, the "you" refers to different people. If
the respondent is not a biological
parent, should the question be filled "with or
without a biological parent?"
Several respondents did not hear the reference
period in this question, which
resulted in double counting moves. Additionally,
the phrase "Before he/she
began school," may be misleading respondents.
Two respondents thought it
was asking how many times the child moved since
starting school. Another
missed the reference period altogether and reported
the total number of moves
the child made during his lifetime.
Respondents may not know this information for
children that have never been
part of their household. One respondent had trouble
answering this question
for the biological son of her nonmarital partner.
She has never lived with this
child so wasn't really sure when he and his biological
mother moved.
2. Tested wording (MOVE2)
How many times did (child) move during elementary school, that
is, between ages 5 and (11/current age)? [How many times did (child)
move since (he/she) turned 5?]
Problems identified:
At least one respondent double counted a move
both at this question and the previous one. One
respondent had difficulty answering this question
for her 19 year old daughter because she had to think
about all the moves she made during those years
and all the moves her ex-husband made because they
shared custody of the child. The school reference
was helpful for one respondent because she knew that
her grandson changed schools every year until
5th grade. The other respondents relied more on the age
of the child rather than the reference to "elementary
school."
3.Tested wording (MOVE3)
How many times did (child) move during middle or junior high
school, that is, between ages 12 and 13/14? [How many time did
(child) move since (he/she) turned 12?]
Problems identified:
One respondent reported a move that was outside
the reference period (when the child was 16).
4. Tested wording (MOVE4)
And finally, how many times did (child) move during high school,
that is, between ages 15 and current age/18? [And finally, how
many times did (child) move since (he/she) turned 15?]
Problems identified:
The same respondent who reported a move that
was outside the reference period in the previous item,
neglected to report that move at this item. Another
respondent double counted a move both in the
previous item and here.
Respondent debriefing questions
Moves
Following the questions on moves, we asked a series of hypothetical
vignettes asking about different situations and whether respondents
thought the situation should be reported as a move based on their understanding
of our definition of a move ("by move I mean to move to a new address,
either with or without you for a period of three months or more.") The
results of the vignettes following.
Three of the vignettes dealt with situations in which children shuttled
between divorced parents. In one vignette, the child lived with the
mother during the school year and with the father for three months in
the summer. In a second, the child lived in the same arrangement but
only stayed with the father for two months in the summer. In the third,
the child spent every other weekend with his father and the rest of
the time with his mother. The majority of respondents would not report
such situations as moves. They characterized them as visits and just
temporary in nature, rather than as permanent moves. Respondents also
characterized the vignette in which the child lived with the grandmother
during the week to attend school and with her parents on the weekends
as a visit rather than a move.
Five of seven respondents said they would count the vignette in which
the child was at boarding school during the school year and at home
during the summer as a move. Two said they would not. And all but one
of the respondents thought that a move from one apartment to another
in the same building should be counted as a move since it involves different
addresses.
Opinions about the residential history calendar
Following the cognitive interviews, we asked respondents several questions
regarding their impression of the residential history calendar. Respondents'
overall impression of the calendar varied. Some thought the calendar
would be a useful tool for respondents even if they themselves did not
use it to help them answer questions. Other respondents thought the
calendar looked busy, confusing, and unorganized. For example, one respondent
didn't understand why "child 1" and "age" and "grade" appeared under
the columns marked 1994, 1995, and1996 at the top of the calendar. This
respondent also wondered why there was no place to put the child's birth
date on the form. (The interviewer put the birth date on top of the
first row in order to fill in the children's correct ages in the boxes.
The interviewer was unable to put the child's age and grade in the box
due to space limitations.) A few respondents also thought that there
were too many numbers at the bottom of the calendar. They are referring
to the small numbers within each box that correspond to the number of
the "other adult" on the far right-hand side. The interviewer did not
find these numbers particularly helpful and managed to enter data in
the wrong line anyway. One respondent indicated that her eye is drawn
to the left-hand side of the page (where we normally start reading)
and not to the right -hand side of the page where the children's names
and the "living with/apart" information is listed. She suggested putting
that information on the left-hand side so that she could read across
from left to right. Two respondents thought that the information would
be more easily seen and understood if it were more like a bar graph.
One suggested using high lighters to make it more visually dramatic.
Older respondents also had great difficulty seeing the form due to its
small print.
There were mixed results regarding whether the form helped respondents
remember dates. Some respondents knew the dates of changes in their
children's living arrangements and did not find the calendar useful.
Other respondents thought that it was helpful to have it in front of
them and that it might be useful for multiple children within a household.
None of the respondents knew what the numbers that the interviewer had
written in the boxes represented. (The numbers correspond to the month
that a change in the living situation occurred.)
ATTACHMENT A
DRAFT–INTERVIEWING PROTOCOL
SPD 2000 CHILD RESIDENTIAL HISTORY QUESTION LIST
________________________________________________________________________
[Read bracketed introduction once per household.]
[Cycle <OTHCHLD1> through <CKSCR1A> for each person age 15 or over
in household.]
<OTHCHLD1>
[In this section, we would like to ask some questions about the past
and present living arrangements of the children of this household.
I have listed the following children born since January 1, 1974 who
are living in this household.]
Name
Sex
Birthdate
Relationship to Resp
{LIST ALL CHILDREN BORN SINCE JANUARY 1, 1974 WHO ARE LIVING IN THIS
HOUSEHOLD.}
<1> Yes
<2> No (go to <OTHCHLD4>)
<D> Don’t know (go to <OTHCHLD4>)
<R> Refused (go to <OTHCHLD4>)
Probe:
What is this question asking in your own words?
What does the phrase “biological children” mean to you?
________________________________________________________________________
<OTHCHLD2> How many other biological
children (do you/does name) have?
ENTER NUMBER OF CHILDREN
________________________________________________________________________
<OTHCHLD3> What
is [the first] child’s name?
@1 __________________________________
ASK IF NECESSARY: What is [his/her] sex?
<1> Male
<2> Female
@2 ==>
When was [she/he] born?
@3 ___Month ____Day ____Year
________________________________________________________________________
[Ask if person is 18 or over. Otherwise go to CKSCR1A.]
<OTHCHLD4> (Do you/Does
name) have any adopted children who were born since January 1, 1974 and
are
living somewhere else?
<1> Yes
<2> No (go to CKSCR1A)
________________________________________________________________________
<OTHCHLD5> How many
adopted children living elsewhere (do you/does name) have?
ENTER NUMBER OF CHILDREN.
________________________________________________________________________
[Cycle through <OTHCHLD6@1-@3> until information for all additional
adopted children has been collected.]
<OTHCHLD6> What
is [the first] child’s name?
@1 ____________________________________
ASK IF NECESSARY: What is [his/her] sex?
<1> Male
<2> Female
@2==>
When was [s/he] born?
@3____Month ___ Day ____ Year
________________________________________________________________________
CKSCR1A. Go to <OTHCHLD1> and ask for next person in household age
15 or over.
If no additional person age 15 or over in household, go to <SCR1A>.
________________________________________________________________________
[Ask <SCR1A> through <SCR1C> for each eligible child beginning with
the oldest eligible child.]
[Fill bracket if child is 18 or over. Otherwise leave blank.]
<SCR1A> [Up
until he/she was 18,] Was there ever a period of three months or more
when (child) did not live
with (his/her) biological mother?
<1> Yes
<2> No
<D>
<R>
Probe:
What is this question asking in your own words?
________________________________________________________________________
[Fill bracket if child is 18 or over. Otherwise leave blank.]
<SCR1B> [Up
until he/she was 18,] Was there ever a period of three months or more
when (child) did not live
with (his/her) biological father?
<1> Yes
<2> No
<D>
<R>
Probe:
What is this question asking in your own words?
________________________________________________________________________
[Fill bracket if child is 18 or over. Otherwise leave blank.]
<SCR1C> Intro 1:
Now we are interested in periods of three months or more when (child)
may have also
lived with other adults. Include times when (he/she) lived with these
other adults even if
(his/her) biological mother or father was with (him/her).
Intro 2: We
are interested in periods of three months or more when (child) shared
a household
with adults other than (his/her) biological mother or father, or adults
in additional to
(his/her) biological mother or father. Please include times in which
(child) moved in with
another adult and times when another adult moved in with (child), even
if (he/she) was
still living with (his/her) biological mother or father.
[Up until he/she was 18,] Was there ever a period of three months or
more when (child) lived with:
READ CATEGORIES
an adoptive mother
<1> Yes <2> No
an adoptive father
<1> Yes <2> No
a stepmother
<1> Yes <2> No
a stepfather
<1> Yes <2> No
a nonmarital partner of a
biological parent
<1> Yes <2> No
a grandparent
<1> Yes <2> No
some other adult relative
such as an aunt or uncle
<1> Yes <2> No
some other adult non-relative <1> Yes
<2> No
foster care arrangement
<1> Yes <2> No
an institution, boarding school,
group home, or hospital
<1> Yes <2> No
Probe: (Re-read question)
What is this question asking in your own words?
What do the terms “stepmother” and “stepfather” mean to you?
What does the term “a nonmarital partner other than a biological
parent” mean to you, if anything?
What does the term “some other adult non-relative” mean to you?
Could you give me an example of someone who would be in that
category?
Do you think this question is asking about times that the child went to
live with the “X” or times when “X” came to live with the child or
both?
(For each “yes” ask) Did child go to live with “X” or did “X” come to
live with the child?
________________________________________________________________________
CK1.
If stepfather, stepmother, non-marital partner or foster care marked “yes”,
go to <SCR1D> for each “yes”
response.
If stepfather, stepmother, non-marital partner and foster care equal “no,”
“D,” or “R” for all responses, go to
CK2.
________________________________________________________________________
[Cycle <SCR1D> through <SCR1E> for each “yes” response in <SCR1C@3-@5>
and <SCR1C@9>.]
[Fill bracket if child is 18 or over. Otherwise leave blank.]
[Fill “live with” if asking about <SCR1C@3-@5>. Fill “live in”
if asking about <SCR1C@9>.]
<SCR1D> [Up until he/she was 18,] Did (child)
(live with/live in) more than one stepmother/stepfather/nonmarital
partner of a parent/foster care arrangement)?
<1> Yes
<2> No (GO TO CK2)
<D> (GO TO CK2)
<R> (GO TO CK2)
Probe: Could you tell
me more about that?
What is this question asking in your own words?
________________________________________________________________________
[Fill bracket if child is 18 or over. Otherwise leave blank.]
[Fill “live with” if asking about <SCR1C@3-@5>. Fill “live in”
if asking about <SCR1C@9>.]
<SCR1E>
[Up until he/she was 18,] How many different (stepmothers/stepfathers/nonmarital
partners of a
parent/foster care arrangements) did (child) (live with/live in)?
_____ Number
Probe:
Could you tell me more about that?
________________________________________________________________________
CK2. If additional “yes” response in stepfather,
stepmother, non-marital partner or foster care, go to <SCR1D> and ask
for next “yes” response.
Go
to <SCR1A> for next eligible child.
Otherwise
go to CKEND.
________________________________________________________________________
CKEND. If <SCR1A> and <SCR1B> and <SCR1C@1
- SCR1C@10> equal “2,” “D,” or “R” for all eligible children,
residential history is complete for this household. Go to <MOVE1>.
Otherwise go to CKMF.
________________________________________________________________________
CKMF. Instrument will check
mother’s line number and father’s line number for all eligible children
in household.
Instrument will form “Child Groups” as follows. Each adopted child
is a “Child Group” even though it only
contains one child. Each child age 18 or over at the time of the
interview is a “Child Group” even though it only
contains one child. The remaining children are grouped based on
whether they share the same biological parents
and stepparents (if applicable) within this household. Children
with the same biological parents and step parents
(if applicable) in this household are grouped and ordered oldest to youngest.
________________________________________________________________________
CKGRP. If there is only one child per “Child
Group,” go to <GROUPS>.
Otherwise go to <ROSTER1>.
________________________________________________________________________
[Cycle <ROSTER1> through <CKOLDER> for children within same group.
[Read bracketed introduction only once per household.]
<ROSTER1> [The next question
will help me determine whether your children have always lived together
in the
same household. By this I mean whether they lived in the same
household without a separation
of three months or more from each other.]
Have (name of younger child) and (name of older child) always lived in
the same household
without a separation of three months or more?
<1> Yes (Add this child to older child’s residential history roster)
<2> No (GO TO CKOLDER)
<D> (GO TO CKOLDER)
<R> (GO TO CKOLDER)
Probe:
What is this question asking in your own words?
________________________________________________________________________
CKOLDER. If there is an older child in this “Child
Group” who is on a separate roster, ask <ROSTER1> to see if this child
always lived with that older child.
If there is no older child in this “Child Group” on a separate roster,
place this child on his/her own roster. Go
to next eligible child in this “Child Group.”
If no other children in this “Child Group,” go to next “Child Group.”
If no other “Child Group,” display <GROUPS>.
________________________________________________________________________
[Instrument will fill “#”.]
<GROUPS> FILL IN (#) RESIDENTIAL HISTORY CALENDAR(S)
WITH THE FOLLOWING NAME AND
DATE OF BIRTH INFORMATION. ALSO MARK AGE/GRADE ANCHORS ON CALENDAR:
Calendar 1
Date of birth
Name of oldest child in group
{Instrument will fill this data.}
Name of second oldest child
Name of third oldest child
“
”
Name of youngest child
Calendar 2
Name of oldest child in group
Name of second oldest child
Name of third oldest child
“
”
Name of youngest child
.
.
.
Calendar “n”
Name of oldest child in group
Name of second oldest child
Name of third oldest child
“
”
Name of youngest child
________________________________________________________________________
<INTROCAL>
SHOW RESIDENTIAL HISTORY CALENDAR
This form is something we call the Residential History Calendar.
I’ll use it to help record the
times your child(ren) lived either away from you or with you and other
adults. The purpose of
filling out this calendar is to help us understand if there are a little
or a lot of changes in the
situations children live in. You can see that there are boxes to
show each year of your child(ren)’s
life. The lines down the side show the people or situations your
child(ren) lived in during those
periods. I’d like you to help me fill out this calendar so that
I make sure we don’t miss any
changes in your child(ren)’s living situations.
ENTER “P” TO PROCEED
==>__
________________________________________________________________________
CKMOM1. If no separation
from biological mother (<SCR1A> =“2,” “D,” “R,”), then go to CKDAD1.
Otherwise go to <MOM1> and ask for oldest child on roster.
_______________________________________________________________________
[Cycle <MOM1> through CKOTHAD5 for oldest child on each separate roster.]
[Fill bracketed introduction the first time through this series.
Otherwise leave blank.]
<MOM1> We
are interested in all periods lasting three months or more in which (name
of first child on
roster) lived apart from (his/her) biological mother. When did this
occur?
ENTER ALL PERIODS OF SEPARATION (MONTH NUMBER WITHIN YEAR) IN THE “LIVING
APART FROM BIOLOGICAL MOTHER” ROW OF THE CALENDAR.
==>__ ENTER “P” TO PROCEED
Probe:
How did you come up with your answer?
When I said “We are interested in all periods lasting three months or
more in which (name) lived
apart from (his/her) biological mother,”what does that mean in your own
words?
________________________________________________________________________
[If only one separation, fill “this separation.” If more than one
separation, fill “these separations.”]
<MOMSEP> “Now I’ll enter this information
in the computer and ask you a few more questions about the
reasons for (this separation/these separations).”
ENTER THE MONTH AND YEAR FOR THE BEGINNING AND ENDING DATES OF EACH
SEPARATION FROM THE BIOLOGICAL MOTHER.
Instrument edit: Create a variable containing
the total number of separations from the biological mother.
{SCREEN FORMAT TO BE DETERMINED BY DSD AND TMO.}
________________________________________________________________________
[Ask <MOM3> for each period of separation. Fill month/year information
from <MOMSEP>.]
<MOM3> What caused the [first/next]
separation -- that is, the separation between [month/year] and
[month/year]?
FLASHCARD X
MARK AS MANY REASONS AS APPLY
READ RESPONSE CATEGORIES IF TELEPHONE INTERVIEW
1. Child on vacation with other relatives or friends
2. Child in summer camp
3. Child in boarding school
4. Child living with other biological parent
5. Child went to live with adoptive parent(s)
6. Marital conflict between parents
7. Parent/guardian on vacation or business trip
8. Physical health problem of child
9. Mental health problem of child
10. Substance abuse problem of child
11. Behavior problem of child
12. Physical health problem of parent
13. Mental health problem of parent
14. Substance abuse problem of parent
15. Parent jailed/incarcerated
16. Financial hardship
17. Child removed by government agency (court, child protective services)
18. Other reason (specify)_____________________________________
D Don’t Know
R Refused
Probe:
What is this question asking in your own words?
________________________________________________________________________
CKMOMSEP. If additional separation for this child, ask <MOM3> for
next period of separation.
If no additional separation, go to CKDAD1.
CKDAD1. If no separation from biological father (<SCR1B> equals 2,
D, or R), go to CKOTH1.
If <SCR1B> equals 1, go to <DAD1>.
[If <SCR1A> equals “yes,” fill “also.” Otherwise leave blank.]
<DAD1> We are (also) interested in all periods lasting three months
or more in which (name of oldest child on roster) lived apart from (his/her)
biological father. When did this occur?
ENTER ALL PERIODS OF SEPARATION (MONTH NUMBER WITHIN YEAR) IN THE “LIVING
APART FROM BIOLOGICAL FATHER” ROW OF THE CALENDAR.
==>__ ENTER “P” TO PROCEED
Probe: How did you come up with your answer?
________________________________________________________________________
[If only one separation, fill “this separation.” If more than one
separation, fill “these separations.”]
<DADSEP> “Now I’ll enter this information in the computer and ask you
a few more questions about the reasons for (this separation/these separations).”
ENTER THE MONTH AND YEAR OF THE BEGINNING AND ENDING DATES OF SEPARATIONS
FROM THE BIOLOGICAL FATHER
Instrument edit: Create a variable containing the total number of separations
from the biological father.
{SCREEN FORMAT TO BE DETERMINED BY DSD AND TMO}
[Fill month and year information from <DADSEP>.]
<DAD3> What caused the [first/next] separation -- that is, the separation
between [month/year] and [month/year]?
FLASHCARD X
MARK ALL THAT APPLY
READ CATEGORIES IF TELEPHONE INTERVIEW
1. Child on vacation with other relatives or friends
2. Child in summer camp
3. Child in boarding school
4. Child living with other biological parent
5. Child went to live with adoptive parent
6. Marital conflict between parents
7. Parent/guardian on vacation or business trip
8. Physical health problem of child
9. Mental health problem of child
10. Substance abuse problem of child
11. Behavior problem of child
12. Physical health problem of parent
13. Mental health problem of parent
14. Substance abuse problem of parent
15. Parent jailed/incarcerated
16. Financial hardship
17. Child removed by government agency (court, child protective
services)
18. Other reason (specify)_____________________________________
D Don’t Know
R Refused
________________________________________________________________________
CKMOMSEP. If additional
separation for this child, ask <DAD3> for next period of separation.
If no additional separation, go to CKOTH1.
________________________________________________________________________
CKOTH1. If child lived with an “other adult” (any answer in <SCR1C@1>
through <SCR1C@10> equals 1), go to <OTHADSCR>.
If child did not live with “other adult” (all answers in <SCR1C@1>
through <SCR1C@10> equal 2, D, or R), go to CKMOM1 for next child group.
If no additional child groups, go to <MOVE1>.
<OTHADSCR> FILL FOLLOWING INFORMATION UNDER “LIVING WITH SOMEONE ELSE”
ON CALENDAR:
{INSTRUMENT LISTS “OTHER ADULTS” IDENTIFIED IN <SCR1C@1-@10>}
[Cycle <OTHAD1> through <CKOTHAD5> for each “yes” response in <SCR1C@1-@10>.]
<OTHAD1> When did (Child 1) live In the case of adopted children,
do we want the biological or adoptive mother/father on these lines?
for three months or more in the same household as (adult1)?
ENTER ALL PERIODS OF LIVING WITH THIS “OTHER ADULT” IN THE APPROPRIATE
“LIVING WITH SOMEONE ELSE” ROW OF THE CALENDAR. ENTER THE MONTH
NUMBER WITHIN THE YEAR.
==>__ ENTER “P” TO PROCEED
Probe: How did you come up with your answer?
What is this question asking in your own words?
Do you think we want you to include times when the child and a biological
parent lived with (adult1) or just when the child lived by himself/herself
with (adult1)?
[If only one separation, fill “this separation.” If more than one
separation, fill “these separations.”]
<OTHADSEP> “Now I’ll enter this information in the computer.”
ENTER THE MONTH AND YEAR OF THE BEGINNING AND ENDING DATES OF LIVING
WITH THIS “OTHER ADULT.”
Instrument edit: Cr
{SCREEN FORMAT TO BE DETERMINED BY DSD AND TMO}
[Cycle <OTHAD3> through CKOTHAD5 for each period of living with this
“other adult.”]
<OTHAD3> Was (adult1) responsible for most of the basic needs of (name)
from (month/year) to (month/year)?
<1> Yes
<2> No
Probe: What do you think this question is asking in your own words?
What does the term “basic needs” mean to you?
<OTHAD4> Did (name) move in with (adult1), did (adult1) move in with
name, or did they move together to a new place in (month/year)?
<1> Child moved
<2> Adult moved
<3> Both moved
<OTHAD5> Why did (name) and (adult1) begin living together in (month/year)?
1. Child went to live with biological parent
2. Child’s illness
3. Child in boarding school
4. Child placed in foster care
5. Child jailed
6. Child cared for by friend/relative
7. Child got married
8. Child out on own/got a job
9. Parental illness
10. Parental financial hardship
11. Parental work
12. Parent jailed/institutionalized
13. Parent moved elsewhere
14. Mother and father separated/divorced
15. Parent remarried/began living with a nonmarital partner
16. Parent died
17. Government agency/court order
18. Other (specify)_____________________
Probe: What is this question asking in your own words?
CKOTHAD5. If any additional periods of living with this “other
adult,” go to <OTHAD3> and ask for next period.
If no additional periods of living with this “other adult,” go to <OTHAD1>
and ask for next “yes” response in “other adult” (<SCR1C@1> through
<SCR1C@10>).
If no additional “yes” responses in “other adult” (<SCR1C@1> through
<SCR1C@10>), go to CKMOM1 for next child group.
If no additional child groups, go to <MOVE1>.
[Ask <MOVE1> - <MOVE4> for each eligible child beginning with the
oldest child.]
[If child is 5 or older, fill “Before (child) began school, that is before
age 5,” “did,” and “move.” If child is less than 5, fill “Since
birth,” “has,” and “moved.” ]
<MOVE1> [Before (he/she) began school, that is, before age 5/Since
birth,] how many times (did/has) (child) (move/moved). By
move, I mean move to a new address, either with or without you for
a period of three months or more.
_________ Enter number of moves
Probe: How did you come up with your answer?
What is this question asking in your own words?
CKMOVE2. If child is 5 or over, ask <MOVE2.>
If child is under 5, go to <MOVE1> and ask for next eligible
child.
If no more eligible children, end interview.
[If child is age 5, fill “since (he/she) turned 5.” If child is
ages 6 to 10, fill “during elementary school, that is, between ages 5
and current age.” If child is age 11 or over, fill “during elementary
school, that is, between ages 5 and 11.”]
<MOVE2> How many times did (child) move [since (he/she) turned 5?/during
elementary school, that is, between ages 5 and (current age/11)]?
_________ Enter number of moves
Probe: How did you come up with your answer?
CKMOVE3. If child is 12 or over, ask <MOVE3>.
If child is under 12, go to <MOVE1> and ask for next eligible
child.
If no more eligible children, end interview.
[If child is age 12, fill “since (he/she) turned 12?” If child
is age 13, fill “during middle or junior high school, that is, between
ages 12 and 13?” If child is age 14 or over, fill “during middle or junior
high school, that is, between ages 12 and 14?”]
<MOVE3> How many times did (child) move [since (he/she) turned 12?/during
middle or junior high school, that is, between ages 12 and (13/14)?
__________ Enter number of moves
Probe: How did you come up with your answer?
CKMOVE4. If child is 15 or over, ask <MOVE4>.
If child is under 15, go to <MOVE1> and ask for next eligible child.
If no more eligible children, end interview.
[If child is age 15, fill “since (he/she) turned 15. If child is
age 16 or 17, fill “during high school, that is, between ages 15 and current
age.” If child is age 18 or over, fill “during high school, that is, between
ages 15 and 18.”]
<MOVE4> And finally, how many times did (child) move [since (he/she)
turned 15?/ during high school, that is, between ages 15 and (current
age/18)?
_________ Enter number of moves
Probe: How did you come up with your answer?
CKMOVE5. If additional children in household, go to <MOVE1> and ask
for next eligible child.
If no more eligible children, end interview.
Probe after completing series on moves:
1. Find out how long child lived at each new address.
2. Ask hypothetical examples:
“The questions I just asked you were about moves during your child’s life.
And in these questions we defined “move” as “move to a new address, either
with or without you.” Now I’m going to ask you whether you would
count the following situations as moves based on your understanding of
our definition of move.”
“If a child lived with his mother during the school year and his
father for three months during the summer, would you consider that a move?”
“If a child lived with her grandmother during the week to attend school,
and with her parents on the weekends, would you consider that a move?”
“If a child spent every other weekend with his father and the rest of
the time with his mother, would you consider that a move?”
“If a child was at boarding school during the school year and at home
during the summer, would you consider that a move?”
“If a child moved with his family from one apartment to another in the
same building, would you consider that a move?”
“If a child spent two months during the summer with his father, and the
rest of the time with his mother, would you consider that a move?”
Respondent debriefing questions
We used this form (the residential history calendar) to record the your
(child/children’s) living situation since birth. What did you think
about this form?
Did you look at the form in order to help you remember the dates of your
child’s/children’s living situations?
Did the form help you to remember dates when the child did not live with
(you/the biological mother/father) or not?
Did the form help you to remember dates when the child lived with “other
adults” or not?
Does the form look complicated or intimidating? Would other people
think the form looks complicated or intimidating?
At the top of the form, I wrote down your child’s/children’s ages and
grade levels. Did that information help you to recall the dates
of these different events?
Attachment C
Characteristics of Respondents, Their Children, and Other Household Members
Resp. Gender Race Eligible children Highest Grade Comp. by
Resp. Other HH Members 15 + Relationship to Resp. Eligbile children of
other HH members 15 +
Gender Relationship to Resp. Birthdate
Gender Relation-ship to other HH member Birth- date
19191. F White 1. M 1. Grandson 4/x/90 College 1. M Nonmarital
partner 1. M 1. Bio son x/x/80
2. F Black 1. F 1. Bio daug 2. Bio daug2 7/17/97 2/27/90 11/GED 1. F 2.
M Mother Father
3. F Black 1. F 1. Bio daug 2. Bio daug 3. Bio daug 5/30/92 1/20/91 2/5/90
11
4. M Black 1. M 2. M 1. Bio son 2. Bio son 9/15/91 11/11/92 12 1. F Spouse
Resp. Gender Race Eligible children Highest Grade Comp. by
Resp. Other HH Members 15 + Relationship to Resp. Eligbile children of
other HH members 15 +
Gender Relationship to Resp. Birthdate
Gender Relation-ship to other HH member
19195. F White 1. M 2. M 3. F 4. M 5. M 1. Bio son 2. Adopted 3. Adopted4
4. Adopted4 5. Adopted4 8/18/80 4/7/88 8/16/89 10/9/90 5/7/92 11 1. M
Spouse
6. F White 1. M 2. F 3. F 4. F 1. Bio son 2. Bio daug 3. Bio daug 4. Bio
daug2 7/27/92 6/6/95 4/13/81 6/6/79 2 years college 1. M Spouse
7. F White 1. M 2. M 1. Grandson 2. Grandson 10/3/86 12/1/88 MA 1. M Spouse
ATTACHMENT D
Item-by-Item Recommendations
Residential History Question List
1. Tested wording (OTHCHLD1) (Universe is all persons age 15 or
over)
In this section, we would like to ask some questions about the past and
present living arrangements of the children of this household.
I have listed the following children born since January 1, 1974 who are
living in this household.
Name Sex Birth date Relationship
to Resp
{LIST ALL CHILDREN BORN SINCE JANUARY 1, 1974 WHO ARE LIVING IN THIS
HOUSEHOLD.}
(Do you/Does name) have any other biological children who were born since
January 1, 1974 and are living somewhere else?
Recommendations:
Cognitive interviews indicated that respondents understood this question,
although a couple of respondents reported children born prior to the reference
period. Both Dr. Belli and I felt that asking this item and the
subsequent one on adopted children living outside the household
(OTHCHLD4) of each person age 15 or over in the household (age 18 and
over for OTHCHLD4) is verbose and overly burdensome. We recommend
combining the two items: “Do you have any other adopted or biological
children who were born since January 1, 1974 and are living somewhere
else?” We also recommend using a topic-based approach to simplify
question reading. The full question would be asked of the first
person age 15 or over in the household followed by “How about (name)?”
This would simplify question reading and speed the interview.
Issues to resolve:
What is the appropriate universe for this item? In the cognitive
interviews we asked this question of all persons age 15 and over.
In some instances, we collected residential history information for persons
who have never been a part of this household and for whom we would have
no additional information from previous SIPP/SPD interviews.
Are foster children that are currently in the household supposed to be
listed on the roster for this item? What about children who live
with a legal guardian?
2. Tested wording (OTHCHLD2)
How many other biological children (do you/does name) have?
Recommendations:
Cognitive interviews indicated that respondents often provide this information
when answering the previous question, and this item confused some respondents
because they thought it is asking for additional information. We
recommend making this item “READ IF NECESSARY” and allowing Field Representatives
(FRs) to fill in the information without reading the question if the relevant
information has already been provided previously.
3. Tested wording (OTHCHLD3)
What is [the first] child’s name?
ASK IF NECESSARY: What is [his/her] sex?
When was [she/he] born?
Recommendations:
Some respondents did not hear the reference period in item 1 (OTHCHLD1)
and reported children born prior to the January 1, 1974. FRs will
need to be trained what to do if the child being added was born before
January 1, 1974 (e.g. back up and correct previous screen).
Consider revising the wording of the last item from “When was (he/she)
born?” to “What is (his/her) date of birth?” This suggestion is
not based on cognitive testing, but I believe that the latter indicates
that we want month/date/year information better than the former.
4. Tested wording (OTHCHLD4) (Universe is all persons age 18 or
over in household)
(Do you/Does name) have any adopted children who were born since
January 1, 1974 and are living somewhere else?
Recommendations:
See recommendation for item 1 above (OTHCHLD1).
5. Tested wording (OTHCHLD5 and OTHCHLD6)
How many adopted children living elsewhere (do you/does name) have?
What is [the first] child’s name?
ASK IF NECESSARY: What is [his/her] sex?
When was [she/he] born?
Recommendations:
See recommendations for items 2 and 3 above.
6. Tested wording (SCR1A)
[Up until he/she was 18,] Was there ever a period of three months
or more when (child) did not live with (his/her) biological mother?
Recommendations:
In the instrument that was cognitively tested, this item and the two that
followed it (SCR1B and SCR1C) were used as data collection items.
That is, we used them to determine whether a child ever lived apart from
the biological mother or father, whether a child ever lived with “other
adults,” and with which “other adults” a child lived. Our recommendation
is to use this item and the next two items (SCR1B and SCR1C) as screening
questions to determine whether a child is eligible to be included on a
residential history calendar (RHC), rather than as data collection items.
Once a child is determined to be eligible for the RHC, do not ask the
remaining screening questions. Most children will be identified
by SCR1A and SCR1B and will not need to be asked SCR1C, which will shorten
the interview. (Data for all items will be collected later when
filling out the RHC.)
Train FRs on the objective of this question (and the two subsequent screening
items–SCR1B and SCR1C). This is important since there is evidence
from the cognitive interviews that some respondents misunderstood this
question (and the comparable item on separations from the biological father)
particularly when the child either never lived with the biological mother/father
or lived with her/him for less than three months.
There is evidence from the cognitive interviews that some respondents
thought the questions were asking only about more recent living arrangements,
rather than the child’s entire lifetime. I recommend emphasizing
that the questions pertain to the child’s entire life and suggest revising
the wording as follows: “From the time (he/she) was born until (now/age
18), was there ever a period of three months or more when (child) did
not live with (his/her) biological mother?”
7. Tested wording (SCR1B)
[Up until he/she was 18,] Was there ever a period of three months or more
when (child) did not live with (his/her) biological father?
Recommendations:
See recommendation for item 6 above. Suggested wording is as follows:
“From the time (he/she) was born until (now/age 18), was there ever a
period of three months or more when (child) did not live with (his/her)
biological father?”
8. Tested wording (SCR1C)
We are interested in periods of three months or more when (child)
shared a household with adults other than (his/her) biological mother
or father, or adults in addition to (his/her) biological mother or father.
Please include times in which (child) moved in with another adult and
times when another adult moved in with (child), even if (he/she) was still
living with (his/her) biological mother or father.
[Up until he/she was 18,] Was there ever a period of three months or
more when (child) shared a household with:
1. An adoptive mother Yes No
2. An adoptive father Yes No
3. A stepmother Yes No
4. A stepfather Yes No
5. A nonmarital partner of a biological parent Yes
No
6. A grandparent Yes No
7. Some other adult relative such as an aunt or uncle Yes
No
8. Some other adult non-relative
Yes No
9. Foster care arrangement Yes No
10. An institution, boarding school, group home, or hospital Yes
No
Recommendations:
See recommendations for items 6 and 7 above. If our recommendation
to use SCR1A, SCR1B, and SCR1C as screening items is followed, only
children who have always lived with their biological mother and biological
father will be asked this item. (Children who have been separated
from their biological mother or father would already be eligible for inclusion
on a RHC and would not be asked this question, although data for this
item would be collected later when filling out the RHC.) Therefore,
there is no need to include the categories “adoptive mother,” “adoptive
father,” and “foster care arrangement,” since children who have always
lived with both biological parents would not have lived in these situations.
We retained the categories “stepmother,” “stepfather,” and “a boyfriend/girlfriend
of a biological parent” (previously listed as a “nonmarital partner of
a biological parent”) since these may apply in joint custody situations
in which children continue living part time with both biological parents
and the biological parents form new unions.
We suggest using the following two questions as screening items.
Note that the first item below would be answered with a blanket “yes”
or “no,” rather than with answers for each category as was done
during cognitive testing since this item is being used only to screen
whether the child should be included on the RHC. It is not being
used to identify the “other adults” with whom the child has lived, rather
it is used to determine whether the child has lived with anyone in addition
to his/her biological parents.
“Have any of the following people ever lived in the same household
with (child) for three months or more?”
SHOW FLASHCARD
1. A grandmother
2. A grandfather
3. A stepmother
4. A stepfather
5. A girlfriend/boyfriend of a biological parent
6. Some other adult relative such as an aunt or uncle
7. Some other adult non-relative
<1> Yes
<2> No
“Has (child) ever lived for three months or more in an institution, boarding
school, group home, or hospital?”
<1> Yes
<2> No
Cognitive testing indicated that many respondents thought that SCR1C
was asking if the child ever went to live with the “other adult.”
The revised wording of the first question above asks whether the “other
adult” ever shared a household with child, which will hopefully reduce
respondent misunderstanding. The latter question on living
in an institution or boarding school is included since it is possible
a parent might consider the child as always living with the biological
mother and biological father even if the child attended boarding school.
Issues to resolve:
Dr. Belli’s report questioned whether adult siblings should be included
in the category “some other adult relative such as an aunt or uncle.”
If our recommendation to use SCR1A, SCR1B and SCR1C as screening items
is followed and only persons who have lived with both biological parents
are asked SCR1C, then I suggest not including adult siblings as “some
other adult relative” at this point in the interview since the adult siblings
are not likely responsible for the child’s basic needs. If the child
is not living with both biological parents, then the adult sibling could
be responsible for the child’s basic needs and should be considered as
“some other adult relative.” We would collect this information later
in the interview when filling out the RHC.
Dr. Belli noted that two of his respondents reported “housemates” as
“other adult.” How should housemates be treated?
9. Tested wording (SCR1D)
[Up until he/she was 18,] Did (child) (live with/live in) more than
one (stepmother/stepfather/nonmarital partner of a parent/foster care
arrangement)?
Recommendation:
Ask question later when filling out the RHC.
10. Tested wording (SCR1E)
[Up until he/she was 18,] How many different (stepmothers/stepfathers/nonmarital
partners of a parent/foster care arrangements) did (child) (live with/live
in)?
Recommendation:
Ask question later when filling out the RHC.
11. Tested wording (ROSTER1)
[The next question will help me determine whether your children
have always lived together in the same household. By this
I mean whether they lived in the same household without a separation of
three months or more from each other.]
Have (name of younger child) and (name of older child) always lived in
the same household without a separation of three months or more?
Recommendation:
Keep wording as is.
Issues to resolve:
We need clarification regarding the check item preceding this question
(CKMF). That check item determines which children are grouped together
within the household and are potentially eligible to be placed on the
same residential history calendar. The check item looks at the mother’s
and father’s line numbers for each eligible child. Children who
share the same biological parents and step parents (if applicable) are
grouped together. If they have always lived together (based on the
answer to ROSTER1), they are placed on the same RHC. This procedure
works well if both biological parents are in the household. If,
however, there is only one biological parent in the household -- the mother,
for example -- we do not know if the children share the same biological
father and there is no question regarding this in the instrument.
Therefore, it is not possible to group these children in the current instrument
as was the case for respondent #3 in Attachment C who was a single mother
with three biological daughters by the same father. The same is
true if there are no biological parents in the household as was the case
for respondent #7 in Attachment C who is the grandmother raising her two
grandsons who have always lived together and respondent #5 who is a grandparent
and adoptive mother of four of her grandchildren. The children in
respondent #3 and #7's homes had always lived together and could have
been grouped on the same RHC, but due to the constraints of the check
item, were included on separate calendars which lengthened the interview
and increased respondent burden unnecessarily. Respondent #5's four
adoptive children could have been grouped on two calendars instead of
four. Consideration should be given to revising the rules for grouping
children so that children who have always lived together can be placed
on the same RHC regardless of whether both biological parents are in the
household.
12. Tested wording (INTROCAL)
This form is something we call the Residential History Calendar.
I’ll use it to help record the times your child(ren) lived either away
from you or with you and other adults. The purpose of filling out
this calendar is to help us understand if there are a little or a lot
of changes in the situations children live in. You can see that
there are boxes to show each year of your child(ren)’s life. The
lines down the side show the people or situations your child(ren) lived
in during those periods. I’d like you to help me fill out this calendar
so that I make sure we don’t miss any changes in your child(ren)’s living
situations.
Recommendation:
The introduction needs to be modified to reflect that respondents are
not always the biological parents of the children and to emphasize that
the interest is to gain the periods of time when children were living
apart from biological parents for three moths or more, or with other adults
for three months or more. Suggested wording is shown below:
“This form is something we call the Residential History Calendar.
I’ll use it to record times your child(ren) lived away from a biological
parent for three months or more and times when your child(ren) lived with
other adults for three months or more. The purpose of filling out
this calendar is to help us understand if there are a little or a lot
of changes in the situations children live in. You can see that
there are boxes on the top to show each year of your child(ren)’s life.
The lines down the side show the people or situations your child(ren)
lived in during those periods. I’d like you to help me fill out
this calendar so that I make sure we don’t miss any changes in your child(ren)’s
living situations.”
Train FRs that they may need to modify the reference to “your children”
in the above paragraph if the children are not the respondent’s own children
(e.g. foster children, grandchildren, guardian of children).
13. Tested wording (MOM1)
We are interested in all periods lasting three months or more in
which (name of first child on roster) lived apart from (his/her) biological
mother. When did this occur?
Recommendations:
Train FRs regarding the objectives of the RHC and how to collect
periods of time when the child lived away from a biological parent and
times when the child lived with “other adults” using flexible interviewing
techniques. Include suggested question wording for MOM1, DAD1, and
SCR1C/OTHAD1 on the computer screen. Ask questions about periods
of separations from the biological mother and biological father, which
“other adults” with whom the child lived, and periods of living with “other
adults” for the oldest child on each RHC. Allow FRs and respondents
to fill out the RHC with the relevant information in the order that best
suits the situation. Retain the tested question wording for MOM1
and DAD1.
Evidence from the cognitive interviews indicates that respondents often
provide beginning dates for separations but not end dates. Train
FRs to probe for end dates of periods of separation. Also, train
FRs what to enter on the RHC if the respondent is unable to provide the
month and year of the beginning or ending date of an event (e.g. “first
quarter of 1984,” or “sometime during 1984").
On the top rows of the RHC, the FR will mark the child’s age at annual
intervals under the appropriate year. Train FR’s that the child
is age 1, for example, from the time he/she turns 1 until the following
year when he/she turns 2 and to be sure to probe for the appropriate year
when entering data for an event that happened when the child was age 1
to make sure that the month of the event does not end up in the wrong
year.
14. Tested wording (MOM3)
What caused the [first/next] separation -- that is, the separation
between [month/year] and [month/year]?
SHOW FLASHCARD
MARK AS MANY REASONS AS APPLY
READ RESPONSE CATEGORIES IF TELEPHONE INTERVIEW
1. Child on vacation with other relatives or friends
2. Child in summer camp
3. Child in boarding school
4. Child living with other biological parent
5. Child went to live with adoptive parent(s)
6. Marital conflict between parents
7. Parent/guardian on vacation or business trip
8. Physical health problem of child
9. Mental health problem of child
10. Substance abuse problem of child
11. Behavior problem of child
12. Physical health problem of parent
13. Mental health problem of parent
14. Substance abuse problem of parent
15. Parent jailed/incarcerated
16. Financial hardship
17. Child removed by government agency (court, child protective
services)
18. Other reason (specify)_____________________________________
Recommendations:
Ask this question after the entire RHC has been filled out including time
periods separated from biological parents and time periods living with
“other adults.”
Specify in the question that we are asking about separations from the
biological mother. Modify the question wording if there is only one separation
to read: “What caused the separation between (child) and [you/ (his/her)
biological mother] from (month/year) to (month/year)?” If more than
one separation, read: “What caused the (first/second/etc.) separation
between (child) and [you / (his/her) biological mother] from (month/year)
to (month/year)?”
Retain the use of the flashcard for this item, but simplify it to include
those categories of most interest to analysts. There are too many
response options to be read over the phone. If the number of response
options is not reduced, do not require FRs to read the categories over
the phone. Allow them to be read at the FR’s discretion if the respondent
has difficulty understanding the intent of the question. Change
response option 4 to “child and other biological parent began living together”
to avoid the interpretation that the child is currently living with the
other biological parent. Change response option 6 to “conflict
between parents” so that it will apply to unmarried biological parents
who do not co-reside.
Issues to resolve:
This question is a “mark all that apply.” If the reason a child
and a biological parent were separated changed over time, should only
the initial reason(s) be listed or all reasons over the entire time of
the separation?
15. Tested wording (DAD1)
We are (also) interested in all periods lasting three months or more in
which (name of oldest child on roster) lived apart from (his/her) biological
father. When did this occur?
Recommendations:
See recommendation for item 13 above.
16. Tested wording (DAD3)
What caused the [first/next] separation -- that is, the separation between
[month/year] and [month/year]?
Recommendation:
See recommendation for item 14 above.
17. Tested wording (OTHAD1)
When did (Child) live for three months or more in the same household as
(adult1)?
Recommendation:
If the recommendation to use SCR1A, SCR1B and SCR1C as screening questions
is followed, we will need to determine with which “other adults” the child
has lived, followed by questions regarding when the child lived with the
“other adults.” The “other adults” should be listed on a flashcard
and the FR should make it clear to the respondent that we are interested
in all other adults the child lived with regardless of whether a biological
parent was present. Cognitive interviews indicated that some respondents
thought the questions on “other adults” were asking about persons other
than themselves with whom the child has lived. FRs should be aware that
the “other adult” may, in fact, be the respondent and/or other persons
who are living or have lived in the household.
Based on results from the cognitive interviews, we also recommend separating
the category “grandparent” into “grandmother” and “grandfather.”
We also recommend revising the wording “nonmarital partner of a biological
parent” to “a boyfriend/girlfriend of a biological parent” since some
respondents did not understand the former term. Suggested question wording
is shown below:
“Now we would like to know whether (child) shared a household. with any
of the following people listed on this flashcard for a period of three
months or more. This includes both times that (child) lived with
these people by (himself/herself) and times that (he/she) lived with these
people and a biological parent.”
SHOW FLASHCARD
1. An adoptive mother
2. An adoptive father
3. A stepmother
4. A stepfather
5. A grandmother
6. A grandfather
7. A boyfriend/girlfriend of a biological parent
8. Some other adult relative such as an aunt or uncle
9. Some other adult non-relative
10. Foster care arrangement
11. An institution, boarding school, group home, or hospital
Instruct FRs to list all “other adults” with whom the child has lived
on the RHC writing the “roles” under the section labeled “living
with someone else.” Train FRs to probe regarding more than one stepmother,
stepfather, boyfriend/girlfriend of a biological parent, and foster care
arrangement using a separate line on the calendar for each person/arrangement.
Train FRs on the objective of the question; that is, we are interested
in “other adults” the child has lived with for a period of three months
or more regardless of whether a biological parent was present. Moreover,
these “other adults” may, in fact, be the respondent himself/herself or
other current or previous household members. Make FRs aware that
some respondents think we are asking about persons other than themselves
with whom the child lived and to probe respondents appropriately or provide
additional feedback as necessary if the question is misunderstood.
Once all “other adults” the child has lived with have been identified,
ask the following question for each “other adult” listed on the calendar:
“When did (child) and (adult 1) live in the same household for a period
of three months or more?”
After collecting all the information about periods spent living with
other adults on the RHC, the FR would input the data from the calendar
into the automated instrument. This includes the periods spent living
away from the biological mother and father and the periods spent living
with other adults. Follow-up questions regarding reasons for separation
from the biological mother and father would be included in the automated
instrument and completed as the interviewer inputs the data on periods
of separation. The same procedure would be done for the follow-up
questions on living with other adults.
Issues to resolve:
POP division needs to decide how to handle persons who fill multiple roles.
In the current instrument, each role the person fills is recorded as a
separate line on the RHC and there is no way to determine the number of
different persons with whom a child has lived since we don’t know if any
one person filled more than one role. In his report, Dr. Belli suggests
having the FR keep track of who served more than one role on the RHC.
When entering this information into the computerized instrument, he suggests
entering the total number of lines filled out on the RHC under “living
with someone else,” how many persons served multiple roles, and for each
multiple-roled person, which lines were entered. FRs need instruction
on how to collect time spent living with multiple-roled persons since
evidence from cognitive interviews indicates that some respondents report
time spent living with the multiple-roled person in terms of the person
rather than the role, some report using the role, and other report using
both methods in the same interview.
POP division also needs to decide how the follow-up questions for “other
adults” (OTHAD3, OTHAD4, and OTHAD5) will be completed for multiple-roled
persons. Do these need to be asked for each role the person filled
or can they be asked only once per person?
18. Tested wording (OTHAD3)
Was (adult1) responsible for most of the basic needs of (name) from
(month/year) to (month/year)?
Recommendation:
Respondents had the same basic understanding of “basic needs,” but they
differed regarding what it meant to be “responsible for most of the basic
needs.” If the intent of the question is to determine financial
responsibility for the child, include the word “financially” before the
word “responsible” in the question. FRs need instruction on how
to complete the item if the person was responsible for most of the basic
needs of the child for part of the time period in question but not for
all of it.
19. Tested wording (OTHAD4)
Did (name) move in with (adult1), did (adult1) move in with (name), or
did they move together to a new place in (month/year).
Recommendation:
Add two response options, one for children who are born into a household
in which another adult already resides, and a second for no move.
This latter category applies when a person’s role changes within the household,
but no move occurs. The question also needs to emphasize that we
are interested in the initial “move” associated with the child and other
adult living together. Suggested wording is shown below:
“When (child) and (adult 1) started living together in (month/year),
did (child) move in with (adult 1), did (adult 1) move in with (child),
or did they move together to a new place?”
<1> Child moved/Child born into household
<2> Adult moved
<3> Moved together to a new place
<4> No move occurred (adult’s role changed)
This question should automatically be plugged for the categories “foster
care arrangement” and “institution, boarding school, group home, or hospital”
since the child would logically be the one doing the moving.
20. Tested wording (OTHAD5)
Why did (name) and (adult 1) begin living together in (month/year)?
1. Child went to live with biological parent
2. Child’s illness
3. Child in boarding school
4. Child placed in foster care
5. Child jailed
6. Child cared for by friend/relative
7. Child got married
8. Child out on own/got a job
9. Parental illness
10. Parental financial hardship
11. Parental work
12. Parent jailed/institutionalized
13. Parent moved elsewhere
14. Mother and father separated/divorced
15. Parent remarried/began living with a nonmarital partner
16. Parent died
17. Government agency/court order
18. Other (specify)_____________________
Recommendation:
Add an option for a child who is born into a household in which another
adult already resides. Present the response options for this question
in a flashcard to make it consistent with the questions on reasons for
separation from the biological mother/father. Thought should be
given to reducing the number of response options so that respondents can
easily read them. If these items are included on a flashcard
and the number of response options is not reduced, do not require FRs
to read the response options on the phone. Allow them to be
read at the FR’s discretion if the respondent has difficulty understanding
the intent of the question.
Issues to resolve:
Children sometimes live with “other adults” because that is where one
or more of their biological parents is living. Responses to this
question during the cognitive interviews included “because that’s where
I was living” and “because that’s where his mom was living.” How
does POP want to handle this type of situation? Should FRs probe
to find out why the parent is living with the “other adult” in these situations
(e.g. parental financial hardship or parent had no where else to stay)?
Additionally, the response options listed in this question are similar
to those contained in the question on reasons for separation from the
biological mother/father. They were developed with the perception
that the child went to live with the “other adult” and do not adequately
account for situations in which the “other adult” came to live with the
child (e.g. the child’s grandmother moved in because she needs care).
The question wording for this item needs to be modified for “foster care
arrangement” and “an institution, boarding school, group home, or hospital”
as follows: “Why did (child) begin living in (a foster care arrangement/an
institution, boarding school, group home, or hospital) in (month/year)?”
Modifications to the Residential History Calendar (RHC)
Based on comments from respondents, we recommend making the following
modifications to the RHC:
1. Delete the bold lines between the years.
2. Take out the small numbers in the boxes for the “living with
someone else” section. Make better use of shading to differentiate
the rows in this section of the questionnaire.
3. Make the calendar larger if possible.
4. Put the child’s birth date under the appropriate year where the
age would go. Fill the remaining boxes with the child’s age as appropriate.
Allow FRs to enter the child’s grade at their discretion and suggest writing
in only selected grades, such as first grade and possibly the child’s
current grade. (Respondents tended to rely more on the child’s age
when answering the residential history questions, but some respondents
did find the grade helpful.)
5. Use pencil to fill out the calendar so changes can be made easily.
Questions on Moves During the Child’s Lifetime
1. Tested wording (MOVE1)
Before (he/she) began school, that is, before age 5, how many time did
(child) move. By move, I mean move to a new address either with
or without you for a period of three months or more. [Since
birth, how many times has (chid) moved. By move, I mean to move
to a new address, either with or without you for a period of three months
or more.]
Recommendation:
CSMR’s testing indicated that asking these questions on moves by
aggregated ages results in some double counting. Without using a
calendar to collect such information, there is no easy way to rectify
this. Train FRs to listen for double counted moves and to probe
respondents as needed for clarification.
The phrase “with or without you” will have different meaning depending
on who the respondent is. Change “you” to “a biological parent”
if that is the intention of the phrase.
There is some indication that the reference to “before (he/she) began
school” is not helpful in this question, although this was not supported
in the Belli interviews. I suggest using the following wording:
“How many times did (child) move before age 5. By “move,” I mean
to move to a new address either with or without a biological parent for
a period of three months or more.”
2. Tested wording (MOVE2)
How many times did (child) move during elementary school, that is, between
ages 5 and (11/current age)? [How many times did (child) move since (he/she)
turned 5?]
Recommendation:
Retain question as is.
3. Tested wording (MOVE3)
How many times did (child) move during middle or junior high school, that
is, between ages 12 and 13/14? [How many time did (child) move since (he/she)
turned 12?]
Recommendation:
Retain question as is.
4. Tested wording (MOVE4)
And finally, how many times did (child) move during high school, that
is, between ages 15 and current age/18? [And finally, how many times
did (child) move since (he/she) turned 15?]
Recommendation:
Retain question as is.
ATTACHMENT E
Draft Questionnaire Based on Recommendations
Below is a draft questionnaire based on the recommendations put forth
in Attachment D. This draft is included to provide the flow of the
recommended instrument. It does not address all issues raised in
Attachment D since that requires additional input from POP division.
1. (Ask question 1 for each person age 15 or over in household–or
for each eligible adult as defined by POP division.)
Do you have any other adopted or biological children who were born since
January 1, 1974 and are living somewhere else?
<1> Yes
<2> No
For other household members age 15 or over: How about (name)?
<1> Yes
<2> No
2. (Ask questions 2 and 3 for each person with children outside
household.)
READ IF NECESSARY
How many other biological children (do you/does name) have?
3. What is [the first] child’s name?
ASK IF NECESSARY: What is [his/her] sex?
What is (his/her) date of birth?
4. (Ask screening questions 4-7 for each eligible child.
Once a child is determined to be eligible for the residential history
calendar (RHC), stop asking the screening questions for this child and
go on to the next child.)
From the time (he/she) was born until (now/age 18), was there ever a period
of three months or more when (child) did not live with (his/her) biological
mother?
<1> Yes (Child eligible for RHC. Ask question 4 for next
child.)
<2> No (Ask question 5)
5. From the time (he/she) was born until (now/age 18), was there
ever a period of three months or more when (child) did not live with (his/her)
biological father?
<1> Yes (Child eligible for RHC. Ask question 4 for next
child.)
<2> No (Ask question 6)
6. Have any of the following people ever lived in the same household
with (child) for three months or more?
SHOW FLASHCARD
1. A grandmother
2. A grandfather
3. A stepmother
4. A stepfather
5. A boyfriend/girlfriend of a biological parent
6. Some other adult relative such as an aunt or uncle
7. Some other adult non-relative
<1> Yes (Child eligible for RHC. Ask question 4
for next child)
<2> No (Ask question 7)
7. Has (child) ever lived for three months or more in an institution,
boarding school, group home, or hospital?
<1> Yes (Child eligible for RHC. Ask question 4 for next
child.)
<2> No (Child not eligible for RHC. Ask question 4 for
next child.)
8. (Ask question 8 for all eligible children. POP needs to determine
guidelines for “grouping” children.)
[The next question will help me determine whether your children have always
lived together in the same household. By this I mean whether
they lived in the same household without a separation of three months
or more from each other.]
Have (name of younger child) and (name of older child) always lived in
the same household without a separation of three months or more?
<1> Yes (Place younger child on older child’s roster)
<2> No (If there is an older child in this child group on a
separate roster, ask whether this child has always lived with that older
child. If no older child in this group, place this child on a separate
roster.)
9. This form is something we call the Residential History Calendar.
I’ll use it to record times your child(ren) lived away from a biological
parent for three months or more and times when your child(ren) lived with
other adults for three months or more. The purpose of filling out
this calendar is to help us understand if there are a little or a lot
of changes in the situations children live in. You can see that
there are boxes on the top to show each year of your child(ren)’s life.
The lines down the side show the people or situations your child(ren)
lived in during those periods. I’d like you to help me fill out
this calendar so that I make sure we don’t miss any changes in your child(ren)’s
living situations.
10. (FR and respondent fill out calendar using flexible interviewing.
Suggested question wording for collecting information appear below.
There is no data entry for these items.)
Living apart from biological mother:
We are interested in all periods lasting three months or more in which
(name of first child on roster) lived apart from (his/her) biological
mother. When did this occur?
Living apart from biological father:
We are interested in all periods lasting three months or more in which
(name of oldest child on roster) lived apart from (his/her) biological
father. When did this occur?
Living with someone else:
Now we would like to know whether (child) shared a household with any
of the following people listed on this flashcard for a period of three
months or more. This includes both times that (child) lived with
these people by (himself/herself) and times that (he/she) lived with these
people and a biological parent.
SHOW FLASHCARD AND FILL IN PERSONS CHILD LIVED WITH UNDER “LIVING WITH
SOMEONE ELSE” ON RHC
1. An adoptive mother
2. An adoptive father
3. A stepmother
4. A stepfather
5. A grandmother
6. A grandfather
7. A boyfriend/girlfriend of a biological parent
8. Some other adult relative such as an aunt or uncle
9. Some other adult non-relative
10. Foster care arrangement
11. An institution, boarding school, group home, or hospital
(Train FRs to probe whether the child lived with more than one stepmother,
stepfather, boyfriend/girlfriend of a biological parent, and foster care
arrangement. POP division will need to determine how to deal with
persons who serve multiple roles and train FRs for this as well.)
(Ask for each person/role listed under “living with someone else”
on RHC.)
When did (child) and (adult 1) live in the same household for a period
of three months or more?
11. (Once RHC has been completely filled out, begin entering data
in the automated instrument and asking follow-up questions regarding periods
of separation. This can be done interactively with the respondent
reading back information on the RHC while the FR enters it into the computer.)
ENTER NUMBER OF SEPARATIONS FROM BIOLOGICAL MOTHER
==>__
ENTER THE MONTH AND YEAR FOR THE BEGINNING AND ENDING DATES OF EACH SEPARATION
FROM THE BIOLOGICAL MOTHER
From Month/Year To Month/Year
First separation:
Second separation:
.
.
.
Nth separation:
12. (Ask the following question for each period of separation from
the biological mother. Leave the first fill blank if there is only
one separation. Simplify flashcard if possible.)
What caused the ( /first/second/third) separation between
(child) and [you/ (his/her) biological mother] from (month/year) to (month/year)?”
SHOW FLASHCARD
1. Child on vacation with other relatives or friends
2. Child in summer camp
3. Child in boarding school
4. Child and other biological parent began to live together
5. Child went to live with adoptive parent(s)
6. Conflict between parents
7. Parent/guardian on vacation or business trip
8. Physical health problem of child
9. Mental health problem of child
10. Substance abuse problem of child
11. Behavior problem of child
12. Physical health problem of parent
13. Mental health problem of parent
14. Substance abuse problem of parent
15. Parent jailed/incarcerated
16. Financial hardship
17. Child removed by government agency (court, child protective
services)
18. Other reason (specify)_____________________________________
13. ENTER NUMBER OF SEPARATIONS FROM BIOLOGICAL FATHER
==>__
ENTER THE MONTH AND YEAR FOR THE BEGINNING AND ENDING DATES OF EACH SEPARATION
FROM THE BIOLOGICAL FATHER
From Month/Year To Month/Year
First separation:
Second separation:
.
.
.
Nth separation:
14. (Ask the following question for each period of separation from
the biological father. Leave the first fill blank if there is only
one separation. Simplify flashcard if possible.)
What caused the ( /first/second/third) separation between
(child) and [you/ (his/her) biological father] from (month/year) to (month/year)?”
SHOW FLASHCARD
1. Child on vacation with other relatives or friends
2. Child in summer camp
3. Child in boarding school
4. Child and other biological parent began to live together
5. Child went to live with adoptive parent(s)
6. Conflict between parents
7. Parent/guardian on vacation or business trip
8. Physical health problem of child
9. Mental health problem of child
10. Substance abuse problem of child
11. Behavior problem of child
12. Physical health problem of parent
13. Mental health problem of parent
14. Substance abuse problem of parent
15. Parent jailed/incarcerated
16. Financial hardship
17. Child removed by government agency (court, child protective
services)
18. Other reason (specify)_____________________________________
15. (The same type of procedure would be used to fill out information
on “other adults.” POP division will need to decide how to handle
data for persons who serve multiple roles. The data entry screens
below do not account for this, but can be modified to accommodate this.)
ENTER TOTAL NUMBER OF LINES FILLED OUT ON RHC UNDER “LIVING WITH SOMEONE
ELSE”
==>__
ENTER ROLES FROM RHC
1. An adoptive mother
2. An adoptive father
3. A stepmother
4. A stepfather
5. A grandmother
6. A grandfather
7. A boyfriend/girlfriend of a biological parent
8. Some other adult relative such as an aunt or uncle
9. Some other adult non-relative
10. Foster care arrangement
11. An institution, boarding school, group home, or hospital
Line 1: ____
Line 2: ____
.
.
.
Line 15: ____
ENTER NUMBER OF DIFFERENT TIMES CHILD LIVED WITH (FILL ROLE FROM LINE
1) FROM RHC:
==>__
ENTER THE MONTH AND YEAR FOR THE BEGINNING AND ENDING DATES OF LIVING
WITH (FILL ROLE FROM LINE 1):
From Month/Year To Month/Year
First period together:
Second period together:
.
Nth period together:
16. Was (fill role) responsible for most of the basic needs of (name)
from (month/year) to (month/year)?
<1> Yes
<2> No
17. When (child) and (fill role) started living together in (month/year),
did (child) move in with (fill role), did (fill role) move in with (child),
or did they move together to a new place?
<1> Child moved/Child born into household
<2> Adult moved
<3> Moved together to a new place
<4> No move occurred (adult’s role changed)
18. Why did (name) and (fill role) begin living together in (month/year)?
[Why did (child) begin living in (a foster care arrangement/an institution,
boarding school, group home, or hospital) in (month/year)?]
SHOW FLASHCARD
1. Child born into household
2. Child went to live with biological parent
3. Child’s illness
4. Child in boarding school
5. Child placed in foster care
6. Child jailed
7. Child cared for by friend/relative
8. Child got married
9. Child out on own/got a job
10. Parental illness
11. Parental financial hardship
12. Parental work
13. Parent jailed/institutionalized
14. Parent moved elsewhere
15. Mother and father separated/divorced
16. Parent remarried/began living with a nonmarital partner
17. Parent died
18. Government agency/court order
19. Other (specify)_____________________
(Cycle back and ask series for the next line number under “living with
someone else.” Complete the RHC and associated data entry for all
eligible children before asking questions on moves shown below. )
(Reduce the number of response options on the flashcard if possible.)
Questions on Moves During Child’s Lifetime
(Ask series for each eligible child.)
1. How many times did (child) move before age 5. By “move,”
I mean to move to a new address either with or without a biological parent
for a period of three months or more. [Since birth,
how many times has (chid) moved. By move, I mean to move to a new
address, either with or without you for a period of three months or more.]
==>_____
2. How many times did (child) move during elementary school, that
is, between ages 5 and (11/current age)? [How many times did (child) move
since (he/she) turned 5?]
3. How many times did (child) move during middle or junior high
school, that is, between ages 12 and 13/14? [How many time did (child)
move since (he/she) turned 12?]
4. And finally, how many times did (child) move during high school,
that is, between ages 15 and current age/18? [And finally, how many
times did (child) move since (he/she) turned 15?]
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