National Health Statistics Reports, Number 104, June 22, 2017

Demographic variables used 

in this report 

The data on sexual activity and 

contraceptive use presented in this 

report are shown with respect to several 

key demographic characteristics of the 

respondent: age, race and Hispanic 

origin, family living arrangement at 

age 14, parental living arrangement at 

interview, mother’s age at her first child’s 

birth, and mother’s education. 

All tables showing data by race and 

Hispanic origin classify respondents 

according to the most recent (1997) 

guidelines for federal surveys from the 

Office of Management and Budget (20), 

except 

Table 1

, which shows race and 

Hispanic origin classified according to 

the 1977 guidelines (21). This reporting 

standard was used in prior reports on 

this topic and is the only classification 

that allows comparison to the 1988 and 

1995 NSAM data. Statistics based on the 

two classification standards differ only 

minimally; the questions on the NSFG 

and NSAM have always been from self-

reports and have allowed the choice of 

more than one category. (In reference 

11, see text tables and Appendix Tables I 

through XIV.)

 Three measures of the teenager’s 

family of origin are included because 

they have well-documented influences 

on sexual activity and use of 

contraception among teenagers, partly 

through their strong correlation with 

family socioeconomic status: mother’s 

educational attainment; the age when 

the mother had her first child; and 

family structure (parental presence or 

absence in the teenager’s household). 

Regarding family structure, the focus is 

primarily on those with two biological 

or adoptive parents compared with other 

arrangements. Two such measures are 

included and the choice between them 

is based on the nature of the outcome or 

indicator being shown: 

a) Family structure at age 14 

addresses the living arrangement during 

the beginning of the teen years, before 

many have had sexual intercourse, and 

is used in tables presenting an event 

occurring at an undetermined time in the 

teenager’s past (for example, “ever had 

sexual intercourse”). 

b) Parental living arrangements at 

the time of the interview, based on a 

roster of household members, was used 

when the outcome of interest was closer 

to the time of the interview (see 

Table 2

 

for an example).