4
Data and Methods
This study will utilize data from the 1992 and 2000 waves of the National Education Longitudinal Study
(NELS). Following the initial wave of the NELS from 1988, the third wave (1992) resulted in a sample of 21,188
twelfth grade students. In the 1992 wave, a parent and teacher of each student was also surveyed, thus providing
information concerning the students’ family (e.g., quality of parent-child interaction) and academic performance
(e.g., grades in specific subject areas). Using a two-stage stratified probability design, students were randomly
drawn from 1,057 schools nationwide. Sample weights are utilized in order to compensate for nonresponding
students (e.g., dropouts, transfers) and to ensure the respresentativeness of the sample. This sample of students were
surveyed again in 2000, as the students were then in their mid-20s (with an average age of 26.3). Although many
students were not included in the 2000 wave due to high attrition rates, this study will utilize a combined sample of
9,000 young adults (N = 4,292 females and 4,708 males). It will include measures of families’ and individuals’
characteristics from the earlier wave, and use those measures in the analysis of young adults’ occupational status
attainment, as assessed in the 2000 wave.
The initial wave of this survey was intended to examine critical transitions experienced by students as they
left elementary school and progressed through high school, and then went on to college or along their respective
career paths. The NELS includes data from four separate data files, in which data is taken from students, their
parents, a school administrator, and their teachers. The Parent Component was designed to ascertain information
about family-oriented factors that potentially influence educational attainment and participation. It also collected
information on socioeconomic conditions and the character of the home learning environment. The Student
Component collected information on students’ school work, aspirations, social relationships, and basic achievement
scores in core subjects (i.e., math, reading, science, and history). Within this study, information is taken from only
the student and parental modules.
Occupational attainment was assessed via individuals’ responses to the question of what type of job they
currently held (at the time of the 2000 survey), or had held the longest since becoming employed full-time. In order
to assess occupational attainment more accurately, the resulting 42 job categories were collapsed into five
possibilities: 1) professions, 2) semi-professional jobs, 3) service/semi-skilled jobs, 4) homemakers, and 5) other.
Convention