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College of Arts & Sciences

KLAMS Study Timeline

Generation 1

Waves 1-3:  The first 3 waves interviewed 7 th, 8 th, & 9 th  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 4 th  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 5 th  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 5 th  wave participants gave a blood test ( code sheets).

Wave 7 (1994-1998):  The 7 th  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.