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Study Timeline and Surveys

KLAMS Study Timeline

Generation 1

Waves 1-3: The first 3 waves interviewed 7th, 8th, & 9th graders in the Houston Independent School District using an in-school questionnaire. Almost identical surveys ask about deviance, self-feelings, family relationships, etc.

  • Wave 1 (1971) resulted in 7,627 interviews
  • Wave 2 (1972) resulted in 4,803 interviews
  • Wave 3 (1973) resulted in 3,851 interviews

Wave 4 (1982-1987): The 4th wave used interviewer administered surveys to collect data on all aspects of life, including how they felt about school, work, parents, spouses, and friends and how they felt about being single, being parents, etc. Wave 4 resulted in 6,054 interviews (including 934 new participants).

Wave 5 (1988-1990): The 5th wave used interviewer-administered surveys as well as self-administered surveys to collect data on AIDS fears and concerns. It resulted in 1,480 interviews.

Wave 6: A subsample of 5th wave participants gave a blood test (code sheets).

Wave 7 (1994-1998): The 7th wave used an interviewer-administered survey similar to Wave 4 as well as a self-administered survey. It resulted in 5,449 interviews.

Generation 2

The three waves of Generation 2 interview the children (including biological, adopted, step, and foster children) of the original respondents. The surveys replicate the first wave survey of parent generation and add other questions about all aspects of life.

Wave 1 (1994-2002): focuses on early teens and resulted in 7,519 interviews

Wave 2 (1997-1999): focuses on mid-teens and resulted in 2,224 interviews

Wave 3 (2003-2008): focuses on young adults and resulted in 1,629 interviews. The codebook is listed here.