Interviewer-assisted + self-administered in-home questionnaire. The Wave IV survey maintained longitudinal elements from earlier waves of data collection, including information on multiple indicators of physical and mental health status and health care, social, emotional, spiritual, and physical contexts, including contact and relationships with parents, sexual patterns and reproductive health, and risk taking, social, and antisocial behavior.
New data were collected in a number of domains. Survey questions were expanded on educational transitions, economic status and financial resources and strains, sleep patterns and sleep quality, eating habits and nutrition, illnesses and medications, physical activities, emotional content and quality of current or most recent romantic/cohabiting/marriage relationships, and maltreatment during childhood by caregivers. An inventory of the “Big 5" personality dimensions was added, as were indicators of interpersonal and occupational stressors, loneliness, and attitudes about parenting. Expanded questions on substance addiction and dependency and items on intersections and balance between work and family responsibilities were also added.
Wave IV also collected information on the dates and circumstances of key life events occurring in young adulthood, including a complete marriage and cohabitation history, full pregnancy and fertility histories from both men and women, an educational history of dates of degrees and school attendance, contact with the criminal justice system, military service, and various employment events, including the date of first and current jobs, with respective information on occupation, industry, wages, hours, and benefits.
Two memory tasks were also performed.
Interviewers measured the weight, height, waist circumference, systolic and diastolic blood pressure and pulse.
Dried blood spots obtained from a finger prick and saliva were collected.
Geographic data were collected in two forms: home addresses and latitude/longitude coordinates from GPS devices.