DOI: 10.3886/icpsr37882
title: Monitoring the Future: A Continuing Study of American Youth, 2019 [Restricted-Use]
title: MTF 2019 (8th, 10th and 12th Grades) [Restricted-Use]
title: Archival Version

description: This data collection is part of the Monitoring the Future series that explores changes in important values, behaviors, and lifestyle orientations of contemporary American youth in eighth, tenth, and twelfth grades. The restricted data sets in this collection include variables that were altered or omitted from the public use data sets to maintain respondent confidentiality. Examples of variables included in their original form are: unaltered sampling weight variable, variables for strata and cluster to account for the complex sample design of the MTF, and previously-omitted data on some variables for the Western region of the US. For each year from 1976 through 2017, two data sets containing data for all three grades are available: one dataset including school-level state, county, and Zip Code variables, and one dataset without these geographic school-level variables. Beginning with 2018, data sets were created separately for 8th/10th and 12th grades, resulting in four data sets. This split on grade was done to mirror the data availability of the public use files and facilitate the merging of the public and restricted use data. Please note: Use of the geographic identifiers such as state, county, or zip code is limited and researchers interested in these variables are encouraged to read FAQs: Monitoring the Future Restricted-Use Geographic Variables. Also included as part of each annual collection is a zip archive of the Monitoring the Future public-use data and documentation for each respective year. The basic research design used by the Monitoring the Future study involves annual data collections from eighth, tenth, and twelfth graders throughout the coterminous United States during the spring of each year. The 8th/10th grade surveys consist of four different questionnaire forms (only two forms from 1991-1996) and the 12th grade surveys consist of six questionnaire forms (only five forms from 1976-1988). Identical forms are used for both eighth and tenth grades, and for the most part, questionnaire content is drawn from the twelfth-grade questionnaires. Thus, key demographic variables and measures of drug use and related attitudes and beliefs are generally identical for all three grades. However, many fewer questions about lifestyles and values are included in the 8th/10th grade surveys. Drugs covered by these surveys include tobacco, smokeless tobacco, alcohol, marijuana, hashish, prescription medications, over-the-counter medications, inhalants, steroids, LSD, hallucinogens, amphetamines (stimulants), Ritalin (methylphenidate), sedatives/barbiturates tranquilizers, cocaine, crack cocaine, ecstasy, methamphetamine, heroin, and GHB (gamma hydroxy butyrate). Other topics include: attitudes toward religion, changing roles for women, educational aspirations, self-esteem, exposure to drug education, and violence and crime (both in and out of school).
description: ICPSR data undergo a confidentiality review and are altered when necessary to limit the risk of disclosure. ICPSR also routinely creates ready-to-go data files along with setups in the major statistical software formats as well as standard codebooks to accompany the data. In addition to these procedures, ICPSR performed the following processing steps for this data collection: Standardized missing values.; Checked for undocumented or out-of-range codes..
description: Response Rates: The response rate for each grade in 2019 was: 8th grade - 89 percent; 10th grade - 86 percent; 12th grade - 80 percent; For additional detail on response rates please see Appendix B in the 2019 public-use codebooks for the 8th/10th grade and 12th grade data files.
description: Datasets: DS0: Study-Level Files DS1: Restricted-Use Variables Without State, County, and Zip Code (8th- and 10th-Grade Surveys) (VDE Only) DS2: Restricted-Use Variables Without State, County, and Zip Code (12th Grade Survey) (VDE Only) DS3: Restricted-Use Variables Including State, County, and Zip Code (8th- and 10th-Grade Surveys) (VDE Only) DS4: Restricted-Use Variables Including State, County, and Zip Code (12th Grade Survey) (VDE Only) DS5: Copy of Public-Use Files
description: Monitoring the Future (MTF) Restricted-Use Cross-Sectional Datasets
description: on-site questionnaire
description: Eighth, tenth and twelfth grade students in the contiguous United States. Smallest Geographic Unit: Zip code
description: A multistage area probability sample design was used involving three selection stages: (1) geographic areas or primary sampling units (PSUs), (2) schools (or linked groups of schools) within PSUs, and (3) students within sampled schools. The variables of interest to researchers to account for the complex sample design of the MTF study are available in the restricted use data files. For more information and examples of how to use the complex sample design information in analyses, please see "Appendix B: Complex Sample Design and Weighting Information" in the codebook.