DOI: 10.3886/icpsr04538.v17
title: Chitwan Valley Family Study: Changing Social Contexts and Family Formation, Nepal, 1995-2017
title: Version 17

description: The Chitwan Valley Family Study (CVFS) is a comprehensive family panel study of individuals, households, and communities in the Chitwan Valley of Nepal. The study was initially designed to investigate the influence of changing community and household contexts on population outcomes such as marital and childbearing processes. Over time, the goals of the study expanded to investigate family dynamics, intergenerational influences, child health, migration, labor force participation, attitudes and beliefs, mental health, agricultural production, environmental change, and many other topics. The data include full life histories for more than 10,000 individuals, tracking and interviews with all migrants, continuous measurement of community change, over 25 years of demographic event registry, and many other data collections. For additional information regarding the Chitwan Valley Family Study, please visit the Chitwan Valley Family Study Website. <strong>** IMPORTANT NOTE FOR STATA USERS **</strong> The Stata files for datasets 7, 15, 16, 18, 32, 34, 35, and 38 were produced in Stata 13. Users of earlier versions of Stata will not be able to read them. There are a few options for users of Stata 12 or earlier to work around the compatibility issue: - Upgrade to Stata 13 - Find a computer with Stata 13 and use the 'saveold' command to create a Version 12 file - Use the latest version of a file conversion utility, such as Stat/Transfer (older versions cannot read Stata 13 files)
description: The study was designed to investigate the influence of changing social contexts on family formation behaviors, marriage, childbearing, and contraceptive use. The research investigates the extent to which changes in the community produce changes in family formation behavior, and whether the family organization of individual life courses produces these changes in behavior.
description: The study used a combination of ethnographic and survey research methods to gather 171 neighborhood histories, 142 school histories, 118 health service histories, 20 bus route histories, household farming practices, family planning histories, and household composition in Western Chitwan, Nepal.
description: Personal histories were gathered from the 5,271 individuals ages 15-59 years living in these neighborhoods using a semi-structured Life History Calendar and a highly structured survey questionnaire. The sample neighborhoods for this study were chosen to represent the five major ethnic groups inhabiting the area: high caste Hindus, hill Tibeto-Burmese (such as Gurung, Tamang, and Magar), indigenous terai Tibeto-Burmese (such as Tharu, Darai, and Kumal), Newar, and other caste Hindus. Neighborhood history calendars measured the neighborhood's distance, in terms of minutes walking, to a variety of organizations and services. Schools were defined as places of instruction for children of any age or grade. Health clinics were defined as any places of care and healing, such as doctors' offices, hospitals, and health posts. Employers were any places that employed 10 or more people for pay. Cinemas were movie theaters or halls where movies were shown. Bus stops were any places where people could obtain a ride for pay on a vehicle.
description: Neighborhoods were chosen as the sampling units. The sample is stratified into three distance strata. Stratum 1 includes only areas near the urban center, city of Narayanghat. Stratum 3 includes only areas far from Narayanghat and Stratum 2 includes the areas at the middle, between Stratum 1 and Stratum 3. The sample is two stage. Stage 1 is a sample of settlements selected using 1991 census data as a sampling frame. The settlement ranged from 15 to 1,000 households. Measure of size was the number of female residents in the settlement. Stage 1 sampling yielded a systematic sample of 10 settlements in each stratum, for a total of 30 settlements. Stage 2 was the actual sample of Toles, or neighborhoods. Stage 2 sampling units are neighborhoods which are defined as clusters of approximately 5 to 15 households in close proximity to one another.
description: Datasets: DS0: Study-Level Files DS1: Baseline Agriculture Data, Public-Use DS2: Baseline Agriculture Data, Restricted-Use DS3: Individual-Level Household Census Data, Public-Use DS4: Individual-Level Household Census Data, Restricted-Use DS5: Child-Level Data DS6: Family Planning Data, Public-Use DS7: Family Planning Data, Restricted-Use DS8: Healthpost History Data, Restricted-Use DS9: Household Registry Data, Public-Use DS10: Household Registry Data, Restricted-Use DS11: Individual Interview Data, Public-Use DS12: Individual Interview Data, Restricted-Use DS13: Individual Life History Calendar Data, Public-Use DS14: Neighborhood History Data, Restricted-Use DS15: Household Relationship Grid, Public-Use DS16: Household Relationship Grid, Restricted-Use DS17: School History Data, Restricted-Use DS18: Time 2 Agriculture and Consumption Data, Restricted-Use DS19: Time 3 Agriculture and Consumption Data, Restricted-Use DS20: Time 1-3 Land Use Data, Restricted-Use DS21: Time 3 Household Registry Away Data Months 1-36, Restricted-Use DS22: Time 2 Neighborhood History Data, Restricted-Use DS23: Time 2 School History Data, Restricted-Use DS24: Time 2 Health Post History Data, Restricted-Use DS25: Household Registry Data at 126 Months, Public-Use DS26: Household Registry Data at 126 Months, Restricted-Use DS27: Time 2 Individual Interview Data, Restricted-Use DS28: Time 2 Individual Life History Calendar Data, Restricted Use DS29: 1996 and 2008 Panel Data Combination, Restricted-Use DS30: Time 1, 2, and 3 Flora Survey Data, Restricted-Use DS31: Neighborhood Distances File, Restricted-Use DS32: Community Forest Calendar Data, Restricted-Use DS33: Household Registry Data at 240 Months, Restricted-Use DS34: Time 2 Agriculture and Consumption Data, Public-Use DS35: Time 3 Agriculture and Consumption Data, Public-Use DS36: Time 1, 2, and 3 Neighborhood History Data, Restricted-Use DS37: Individual Interview Data and Household Registry Data at 240 Months, Restricted-Use DS38: Time 2 Individual Interview Data (Full Sample), Public-Use DS39: Time 2 Individual Interview Data (Full Sample), Restricted-Use DS40: Time 2 Individual Interview Data (Full Sample) and Household Registry Data at 240 Months, Restricted-Use DS41: Individual Interview Data and Time 2 Individual Interview Data (Full Sample), Restricted-Use
description: Residents of the western Chitwan Valley in south central Nepal and their spouses, 15-59 years of age. Smallest Geographic Unit: District
description: mixed modeThis data collection combines new data with two previously released datasets: CHITWAN VALLEY [NEPAL] FAMILY STUDY, 1996-1997 (ICPSR 3059) and HOUSEHOLD AGRICULTURE AND CONSUMPTION SURVEY, 1996 [CHITWAN VALLEY, NEPAL] (ICPSR 3392). These two datasets are no longer available individually.Dataset 29, 1996 and 2008 Panel Data Combination, Restricted-Use is a combination of variables from datasets 27 and 12.Datasets 30 and 31 share additional GIS shapefiles. See the Guide to the Western Chitwan ArcGIS Map Document for more information on these shapefiles and how to use them with the datasets.Some Principal Investigators and PI affiliations have changed from a previous release of this study. Please note that some documentation covers reflect the outdated information. For correct PIs and affiliations, please refer to the study home page.For additional information regarding the Chitwan Valley Family Study, please visit the Chitwan Valley Family Study Website.