Research Guides: Veterans: Other Major Surveys

ICPSR

The Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR), a major social science research data repository, contains many studies regarding veterans.

Here are some examples:

National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health)
Collected data for the purpose of providing information on the general health and well-being of adolescents in the United States, including, with respect to such adolescents, information on: (1) the behaviors that promote health and the behaviors that are detrimental to health; and (2) the influence on health of factors particular to the communities in which adolescents reside. Wave IV consists of data from the most recent of 4 in-home interviews which have followed a nationally representative sample of adolescents since they were in grades 7-12 during the 1994-1995 school year. The Wave IV interviews were completed in 2008, when the sample was aged 24-32. The study combines longitudinal survey data on respondents' social, economic, psychological, and physical well-being with data on the family, neighborhood, community, school, friendships, peer groups, and romantic relationships. Documentation can also be found on the AddHealth site and the Codebook Explorer. Wave IV contained a section dealing with military experience. Questions included branch, service inside and/or outside USA, specific period served, highest rank achieved, time in active duty, time in combat zone, and if killed anyone or saw anyone killed.
Risk Factors for Male-Perpetrated Domestic Violence in Vietnam Veteran Families in the United States, 1988
The goal was to gain a better understanding of risk factors associated with male-perpetrated domestic violence, partner's mental distress, and child behavior problems
Survey of Aging Veterans, 1983
Designed to provide the Veterans Administration with information needed to plan for the demands of United States veterans for medical and pension benefits over the next decade and beyond. The survey yielded data on the current social, economic, and health status of noninstitutionalized veterans aged 65 and older, their patterns of utilization of Veterans Administration facilities and benefits, and future expectations regarding use of Veterans Administration programs and services. The survey also profiled the social, economic, and health status of the veteran cohorts aged 55 to 64 who will become eligible for Veterans Administration benefits over the next decade. Variables in this data collection include age, marital status, veteran status, employment, medical conditions, functional status, activity level, health and life insurance coverage, financial status, use of health care services, use of Veterans Administration benefits and services, future expectations regarding such things as personal health, finances, and need for support services, and experience with and attitudes toward Veterans Administration programs and benefits.

Army Study to Assess Risk and Resilience in Servicemembers (STARRS). Extensive study of mental health risk and resilience among military personnel. Army STARRS has 5 study components: (1) Historical Administrative Data Study, (2) New Soldier Study (NSS), (3) All Army Study (AAS), (4) Soldier Health Outcomes Study, and (5) Special Studies. At this time, only the AAS and NSS are available from ICPSR under a restricted-use data agreement via the Virtual Data Enclave (VDE). The AAS component of Army STARRS assesses soldiers' psychological and physical health, events encountered during training, combat, and non-combat operations, and life and work experiences across all phases of Army service. The AAS data includes data on soldiers' psychological resilience, mental health, and risk for self-harm. The NSS data are drawn from new soldiers who have just entered the Army. The data contain information on soldier health, personal characteristics, and prior experiences.

Military Health and Well-Being Project, United States, 2020. United States military veterans were recruited from various online survey sites from May 2020 through June 2020. The purpose was to collect information regarding psychosocial antecedents of health and wellness, including military identity, self-stigma, daily stress, combat exposure, purpose and value, substance use, traumatic brain injury, moral injury, suicide risk, social integration and contribution, and 6 of 8 Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) dimensions of wellness (social, emotional, spiritual, intellectual, physical, and environmental components for this study). Participant demographics were also collected, including age, race, gender, marital status, region of residence, duration of military service, employment status, current occupation, income, and housing status. Respondents must have been 18 years of age, veterans of the United States military post-Vietnam era, and residing in the United States.

Surveys of officer and enlisted personnel and military spouses, 1985
The 2 surveys that constitute this study -- the 1985 Survey of Officer and Enlisted Personnel (1985 Member Survey) and the 1985 Survey of Military Spouses (1985 Spouse Survey) -- were conducted in order to study various issues relating to military personnel. Areas of investigation included (1) the response of personnel to changes in military compensation and benefits enacted in previous years, (2) factors affecting readiness and retention of active duty personnel, (3) projected behavior of military personnel in response to possible changes in personnel management, (4) differences in career orientations, attitudes, and experiences among members of different subgroups, e.g., minorities, men, and women, (5) the demographic, household, familial, and other characteristics of military personnel, couples, and families, including special groups such as dual-career couples and single-parent families, (6) the impact of military policies on aspects of military and family life such as residential arrangements, continuing education, and spouse employment, (7) family well-being, including economic issues facing military families, and (8) demand for, use, and perceived adequacy of programs providing family services. Data collected by the Member Survey include branch of service, pay grade, military occupation, length of stay at current location, problems encountered at current location and in moving to the location, expected pay grade upon leaving the military, probable behavior under different personnel management options, civilian work experience and earnings, and the degree of satisfaction or dissatisfaction with various aspects of military life such as pay and allowances, personal freedom, acquaintances and friendships, work group and co-workers, assignment stability, environment for families, frequency of moves, retirement benefits, promotion opportunities, job training and in-service education, job security, medical care, and dental care. Attitudes gauged by the Spouse Survey include satisfaction/dissatisfaction with military housing, rights of civilian spouses, levels of demands made on civilian spouses, availability of job opportunities for civilian spouses, and childcare centers at military bases. Additional information gathered by the surveys includes sex, age, race, Hispanic origin, income and debt, marital status, educational attainment, number and ages of dependents, whether or not dependents were handicapped, and main language spoken at home.
Youth Attitude Tracking Study (YATS) (1991-1994)
Investigated youth attitudes towards military enlistment and their perceptions of the military and recruitment marketing activities. Also elicited opinions on government and public affairs issues: whether the United States ought to have much more military power than any other nation in the world, whether women should be required to register for the draft, and whether the United States should go to war to defend its own economic interests, protect the rights of United States citizens, or protect the rights of other countries. The survey explored the respondents' plans for the future, including plans for college and interest in participating in either the Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC) or military training after college. In addition, the survey explored the respondents' media habits. Other information collected by the survey includes age, sex, race, Hispanic origin, marital status, current school enrollment status, highest grade completed, type of school and diploma, grades usually received in high school, participation in the junior ROTC in high school, whether the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery test (ASVAB) was taken, current employment status, and parents' education.

National Longitudinal Surveys

"The National Longitudinal Surveys (NLS) are a set of surveys designed to gather information at multiple points in time on the labor market activities and other significant life events of several groups of men and women. For more than 4 decades, NLS data have served as an important tool for economists, sociologists, and other researchers."

Select a cohort to access Topical Guides to the Data, tables of topics across all survey rounds (commonly referred to as "Asterisk Tables"), and documentation including questionnaires and codebooks.

Current cohorts:

National Longitudinal Survey of Youth | 1997 (NLSY97)

The NLSY97 Cohort is a longitudinal project that follows the lives of a sample of American youth born between 1980-84; 8,984 respondents were ages 12-17 when first interviewed in 1997. This ongoing cohort has been surveyed 16 times to date and is now interviewed biennially. Data are now available from Round 1 (1997-98) to Round 16 (2013-14). To find military service questions, use the NLS Investigator and Choose Variable Search --> Browse --> Employment --> Employer Specific Characteristics --> Military Information.
National Longitudinal Survey of Youth | 1979 (NLSY79)

The NLSY79 Cohort is a longitudinal project that follows the lives of a sample of American youth born between 1957-64. The cohort originally included 12,686 respondents ages 14-22 when first interviewed in 1979; after two subsamples were dropped, 9,964 respondents remain in the eligible samples. Data are now available from Round 1 (1979 survey year) to Round 25 (2012 survey year). To find military service questions, use the NLS Investigator and Choose Browse Index--> Employment --> Employment History --> Military Spells.
National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 Children and Young Adults (NLSCYA)

The NLSY79 Child and Young Adult cohort is a longitudinal project that follows the biological children of the women in the NLSY79. As of 2012, more than 10,000 children have been interviewed in at least one survey round. To date, a total of 11,512 children have been identified as born to interviewed NLSY79 mothers. Data are now available from 1986 to 2012, representing 14 survey rounds for the child sample and 10 for young adults in that time span. To find military service questions, use the NLS Investigator and Choose Variable Search --> Area of Interest --> YA Military.
National Longitudinal Survey of Mature and Young Women (NLSW)

The National Longitudinal Survey of Mature and Young Women, a two-cohort survey, is part of the NLS Original Cohort project. The Mature Women’s cohort includes 5,083 women who were ages 30-44 when first interviewed in 1967, while the Young Women’s cohort includes 5,159 women who were ages 14-24 when first interviewed in 1968. Data for both cohorts are available through 2003, when active surveying was discontinued. Military service questions are not asked.
National Longitudinal Survey of Older and Young Men (NLSM)

The National Longitudinal Survey of Older and Young Men, a two-cohort survey, is part of the NLS Original Cohort project. The Older Men’s cohort includes 5,020 men ages 45-59 in 1966, with data available through the 1990 survey year, the final year the Older Men were interviewed. The Young Men’s cohort includes 5,225 men who were ages 14-24 when first interviewed in 1966, with data available through 1981, when active surveying was discontinued. To find military service questions, use the NLS Investigator and Choose your cohort --> Variable Search --> Area of Interest --> Military.

NLS Investigator
"NLS public-use data for each cohort are available at no cost via the Investigator, an online search and extraction site that enables you to review NLS variables and create your own data sets."

The Investigator User's Guide describes how to use this website.

A tutorial teaches how to search for variables in the Investigator.

Princeton's Data & Statistical Services also offers an NLS Investigator tutorial.

National Vietnam Veterans' Readjustment Study (NVVRS)

National Vietnam Veterans' Readjustment Study (NVVRS) contains data from an assessment of the etiology, evolution, and extent of readjustment problems experienced by veterans of the Vietnam War. Variables include age, service period, duty status, casualties suffered, education, health conditions and disability status, hospitalization, use of Veterans Administration medical facilities and programs, medical history, insurance coverage, employment and training, income and investments, and assets and debts. Obtained from the National Archives.

Public Opinion Surveys

Roper iPoll Survey Database This link opens in a new window
Largest collection of public opinion poll data, 1935-present. Contains more than 825,000 searchable questions and over 25,000 datasets from both U.S. and international polling organizations. Topics include social issues, politics, pop culture, international affairs, science, the environment, and much more. When available, results charts, demographic crosstabs, time-series trends, and full datasets are provided for immediate download. Registration is required but free using your Princeton email. Many of iPoll's international surveys are not searchable at the question level, but downloadable as full datasets. See also Roper's Featured Projects, including their Health Poll Database and Researching Black American opinion.

Suggested iPoll keywords:

"armed forces"

"military service"

reserves

veteran

Suggested Datasets keywords:

"armed forces"

"military service"

veteran