Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Birth Cohort (ECLS-B)

Measures of Well-being for Children.

In the parent interview, children’s race/ethnicity is defined by a series of variables. Parents were asked whether their child was of Spanish, Hispanic, or Latino origin. The parents were then shown a card with race response options and asked to choose from a number of options.

The restricted-use ECLS-B data files identify the following race categories:

• White
• Black
• American Indian
• Asian Indian
• Chinese
• Filipino
• Japanese
• Korean
• Vietnamese
• Other Asian
• Native Hawaiian
• Guamanian
• Chamorro
• Samoan
• Other Pacific Islander

The data set allows for children to be identified as more than one race.

In the second data collection wave, parents of children who were identified as AI/AN in the first data collection wave were asked to confirm that they/their children were AI/AN. If confirmed, interviewers asked “[Are you/Is [the child]] formally enrolled in that (tribe/Alaska Regional Corporation)?” and “[Do you/Does [the child]] currently live on tribal lands or a reservation?”

Total AI/AN population = 750*
AI/AN and Hispanic = 150*
AI/AN, non-Hispanic = 300*
AI/AN, non-Hispanic, more than one race = 300*

When appropriately weighted to be nationally representative, this sample of AI/AN children represents approximately 2 percent of all children born in the United States in 2001.

For the second year (children approximately 2 years old) collected in 2003:
Total AI/AN population = 700*

*Please note: These counts have been rounded according to NCES rounding rules, as the ECLS-B data are currently only available in a restricted format.

Although “Native Hawaiian” and “Other Pacific Islander” are provided as separate racial categories in the data files, reports present data for these groups rolled up into a single category: “Other Asian/Pacific Islander.”

Wave 2: Children were about 2-year-olds (collected in 2003)

Wave 3: Children were preschool-aged (e.g., age 4) (collected in 2005)

Wave 4: Children will be in kindergarten (to be collected 2006-2007)

Wave 5: Includes children who were not yet enrolled in kindergarten during the Wave 4 field period (to be collected in fall 2007)

1. Child assessment: Children participated in a variety of activities to assess their early mental, physical, and socioemotional development. A trained staff member measured the child’s mental and physical skills through an untimed one-on-one assessment in the child’s home. Assessment tools included the Bayley Short Form-Research Edition (BSF-R) (a variation of the Bayley Scales of Infant Development-Second Edition that was developed specifically for use in the ECLS-B), the Nursing Child Assessment Teaching Scale (NCATS), and physical measurements.
2. Parent interview: Parents/guardians were asked to provide key information about their children and themselves. The parent interview included two instruments: the parent interview instrument and the parent self-administered questionnaire (PSAQ). The first was conducted in person by trained field interviewers using computer-assisted personal interviewing (CAPI) as part of the home visit. The PSAQ was a paper and pencil instrument, presented during the parent CAPI instrument for the respondent to complete and return in a provided envelope, and contained 23 questions on topics some people might prefer to answer privately.
3. Father questionnaires: The ECLS–B also collected data from fathers through two separate father questionnaires: the resident father questionnaire and the nonresident father questionnaire. The nonresident father questionnaire was only administered in cases where the child did not live in the same household as his or her biological father and a minimum contact frequency was met. Both father questionnaires were self-administered with telephone follow-up.

Sampling was based on occurrence of the birth as listed on the birth certificate. Sampled children subsequently identified by the state registrars as having died or who had been adopted after the issuance of the birth certificate were excluded from the sample. Also, infants whose birth mothers were younger than 15 years at the time of the child’s birth were excluded.

Questions about NCES restricted-use licenses can be addressed to:
Cynthia L. Barton
Data Security Assistant
Phone: (202) 502-7307
E-mail: Cynthia.Barton@ed.gov