Family Dynamics, Fertility and Contraception, and Investments in Children across Generations

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Project Summary/Abstract The Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID) is a longitudinal, nationally representative survey of US fami- lies that began in 1968. With data collected on the same families and their descendants for 42 waves over 53 years, plus two major immigrant refresher samples in 1997–1999 and 2017–2019, PSID can justifiably be con- sidered a cornerstone for empirical social and behavioral research. PSID provides long-term measurement, over the life course and across generations, of economic, social, demographic, and health processes, which has inspired researchers to investigate the dynamics of these processes and their interrelationships. The enor- mous range of research opportunities provided by PSID has led to it becoming one of the most widely used social science data sets in the world. PSID’s innovative design, broad content, and long duration have been central to understanding many key research and policy issues and to advancing life course and intergenera- tional science. NICHD has co-funded the biennial Core PSID for each of the last 10 waves, from 2003 to 2021. This project will build upon this investment through the following specific aims: First, to collect data on three modules—family dynamics, fertility and newborns, and education—as part of the 2023 round of the Core PSID survey. Second, to design and collect enhanced information on fertility intentions and new data on contracep- tive use. Third, to clean, document, and distributed these data free of charge through the PSID Online Data Center, provide continuing outreach and support to new and established data users, and encourage new re- search using PSID through a small grant competition. This project will make several major contributions. It will extend the longest-running household panel survey in the world, supporting research on family dynamics, in- vestments in children, and well-being over the life course, across generations, and over time. Data from PSID in 2023 will allow researchers to study the effects of Covid-19 on outcomes in the aftermath of the pandemic and will also support future research on how the life course trajectories for different cohorts were altered by exposure to the Covid pandemic and its social and economic consequences. The rich data to be collected on educational progression and attainment will support detailed analyses of the determinants of schooling deci- sions within the family context as well as the effects of these decisions on life course outcomes. Expanded in- formation from the newborn module will allow research on birth outcomes and on the consequence of birth out- comes and very-early life experiences on life course trajectories. Data collected in this project on the dynamic processes of family formation and dissolution, fertility intentions and contraception, childbearing and adoption, and living arrangements will allow researchers to understand the evolving complexity and circumstances of families in the US. Finally, outreach to and support of data users, along with a small grant competition to en- courage innovative new research, will maximize past and current investments in PSID.