DOI: 10.3886/icpsr36498.v6
title: Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health (PATH) Study [United States] Public-Use Files
title: PATH Study (PUF)
title: Version 6

description: The Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health (PATH) Study began originally surveying 45,971 adult and youth respondents. The PATH Study was launched in 2011 to inform Food and Drug Administration's regulatory activities under the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act (TCA). The PATH Study is a collaboration between the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), National Institutes of Health (NIH), and the Center for Tobacco Products (CTP), Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The study sampled over 150,000 mailing addresses across the United States to create a national sample of tobacco users and non-users. These 45,971 individuals constitute the first (baseline) wave of data collected by this longitudinal cohort study. Respondents are asked to complete an interview at each follow-up wave. Youth who turn 18 by the current wave of data collection are considered "aged-up adults" and are invited to complete the Adult Interview. Additionally, 7,207 "shadow youth" (youth ages 9 to 11 sampled at Wave 1) are considered "aged-up youth" upon turning 12 years old when they are asked to join the study after parental consent. Please refer to the Public-Use Files User Guide that provides further details about these children designated as "shadow youth". At each subsequent wave of data collection, the parents of sampled youth are invited to complete a short Parent Interview about his or her child(ren).Dataset 0001 (DS0001) contains the data from the Master Linkage file. This file contains 14 variables and 67,276 cases. The file provides a master list of every person's unique identification number and what type of respondent they were for each wave. Dataset 1001 (DS1001) contains the data from the Wave 1 Adult Questionnaire. This data file contains 1,732 variables and 32,320 cases. Each of the cases represents a single, completed interview. Dataset 1002 (DS1002) contains the data from the Youth (and Parent) Questionnaire. This file contains 1,228 variables and 13,651 cases.Dataset 2001 (DS2001) contains the data from the Wave 2 Adult Questionnaire. This data file contains 2,197 variables and 28,362 cases. Of these cases, 26,447 also completed a Wave 1 Adult Questionnaire. The other 1,915 cases are "aged-up adults" having previously completed a Wave 1 Youth Questionnaire. Dataset 2002 (DS2002) contains the data from the Wave 2 Youth (and Parent) Questionnaire. This data file contains 1,389 variables and 12,172 cases. Of these cases, 10,081 also completed a Wave 1 Youth Questionnaire. The other 2,091 cases are "aged-up youth" having previously been sampled as "shadow youth." Dataset 3001 (DS3001) contains the data from the Wave 3 Adult Questionnaire. This data file contains 2,139 variables and 28,148 cases. Of these cases, 26,241 are continuing adults having completed a prior Adult Questionnaire. The other 1,907 cases are "aged-up adults" having previously completed a Youth Questionnaire. Dataset 3002 (DS3002) contains the data from the Wave 3 Youth (and Parent) Questionnaire. This data file contains 1,309 variables and 11,814 cases. Of these cases, 9,769 are continuing youth having completed a prior Youth Interview. The other 2,045 cases are "aged-up youth" having previously been sampled as "shadow youth." Datasets (DS3101, DS3102, DS3201, and DS3202) are data files comprising the weight variables for Wave 3. The weight variables for Wave 1 and Wave 2 are included in the main data files. However, in Wave 3, the weight variables have been separated into individual data files for Adult and Youth Questionnaires. The "all-waves" weight files contain weights for those respondents who have completed an interview during all three waves of data collection. The "single-wave" weight files contain weights for all respondents in Wave 3 regardless of their participation in previous waves. Dataset 3503 (DS3503) contains data derived from responses to Wave 1-3 questionnaires indicating if participants had ever/never used various tobacco products as of the Wave 3 study period. This data file contains 25 variables for all 53,178 study participants as of Wave 3. This file is provided for reference only to simplify the definitions of tobacco use variables in the Adult and Youth data files for subsequent waves. Dataset 4001 contains the data from the Wave 4 Adult Questionnaire. This data file contains 2,182 variables and 33,822 cases. Of these cases, 25,857 are continuing adults having completed a prior Adult questionnaire, 1,900 are "aged-up adults" having previously completed a Youth questionnaire, and 6,065 are "replenishment sample adults" (also known as "new cohort adults" in the annotated instrument). Dataset 4002 contains the data from the Wave 4 Youth (and Parent) Questionnaire. This data file contains 1,389 variables and 14,798 cases. Of these cases, 9,365 are continuing youth having completed a prior Youth interview, 1,694 cases are "aged-up youth" having previously been sampled as "shadow youth," and 3,739 are "replenishment sample youth" (also known as "new cohort youth" in the annotated instrument). Datasets 4101, 4102, 4103, 4201, 4202, and 4203 (DS4101, DS4102, DS4103, DS4201, DS4202, and DS4203) are data files comprising the weight variables for Wave 4. In Wave 4, the weight variables have been separated into individual data files corresponding to the Wave 1 and Wave 4 Cohorts and different weight types. The "all-waves" weight files contain weights for those Wave 1 Cohort respondents who completed an interview for all waves in which they were old enough or verified their information for waves in which they were not old enough to be interviewed. The "single-wave" weight files contain weights for Wave 1 Cohort respondents at Wave 4 who completed an interview at Wave 1, regardless of their participation in previous waves. The "cross-sectional" weight files contain weights for all respondents in the Wave 4 Cohort. Dataset 4503 (DS4503) contains data derived from responses to Wave 1-4 questionnaires indicating if participants had ever/never used various tobacco products as of the Wave 4 data collection period. This data file contains 27 variables for all 67,276 study participants as of the Wave 4 data collection. This file is provided for reference only to simplify the definitions of tobacco use variables in the Adult and Youth data files for subsequent waves. Each case in an Adult data file represents a single, completed interview. Each case in a Youth data file represents one youth and his or her parent's responses about that youth. Parents who provided permission for their child to participate in a Youth Interview were asked to complete a brief interview about their child. Across all waves of data collection, an average of 0.6 percent of the parents did not complete an interview. Most questions are asked about the child. When multiple youth from the same household were selected to be in the study, the parent(s) completed separate interviews about each youth. If one parent completed two or more interviews, that parent only answered questions about himself/herself once. Those questions were then skipped in the subsequent interview(s) for the other child(ren) and the responses duplicated in that child(ren)'s data file(s).
description: The Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health (PATH) Study is a longitudinal cohort study on tobacco use behavior, attitudes and beliefs, and tobacco-related health outcomes among approximately 46,000 adults and youth in the United States. The study's primary objectives are to: Objective 1: Identify and explain between-person differences and within-person changes in tobacco-use patterns, including the rate and length of use by specific product type and brand, product/brand switching over time, uptake of new products, and dual- and poly-use of tobacco products (i.e., use of multiple products within the same time period and switching between multiple products).; Objective 2: Identify between-person differences and within-person changes in risk perceptions regarding harmful and potentially harmful constituents, new and emerging tobacco products, filters and other design features of tobacco products, packaging, and labeling; and identify other factors that may affect use, such as social influences and individual preferences.; Objective 3: Characterize the natural history of tobacco dependence, cessation, and relapse, including readiness and self-efficacy to quit, motivations for quitting, the number and length of quit attempts, and the length of abstinence related to various tobacco products.; Objective 4: Update the comprehensive baseline and subsequent waves of data on tobacco-use behaviors and related health conditions, including markers of exposure and tobacco-related disease processes identified from the collection and analysis of biospecimens, to assess between-person differences and within-person changes over time in health conditions potentially related to tobacco use, particularly with use of new and different tobacco products, including modified-risk tobacco products.; Objective 5: Assess associations between TCA-specific actions and tobacco-product use, risk perceptions and attitudes, use patterns, cessation outcomes, and tobacco-related intermediate endpoints (e.g., biomarkers of exposure and biomarkers related to disease). Analyses will attempt to account for other potential factors, such as demographics, local tobacco-control policies, and social, familial, and economic factors, that may influence the observed patterns.; Objective 6: Assess between-person differences and within-person changes over time in attitudes, behaviors, exposure to tobacco products, and related biomarkers among and within population sub-groups identified by such characteristics as race-ethnicity, gender, and/or age, or by risk factors, such as pregnancy or co-occurring substance use or mental health disorders.; Objective 7: To the extent to which sample sizes are sufficient, assess and compare samples of former and never users of tobacco products for between-person differences and within-person changes in relapse and uptake, risk perceptions, and indicators of tobacco exposure and disease processes.; Objective 8: Use data from the PATH Study's baseline and follow-up waves on tobacco-use behaviors, attitudes, and related health conditions, including potential markers of exposure and related disease processes identified from the analysis of biospecimens, to screen and subsample respondents for participation in formative and/or nested studies conducted during and after the PATH Study's waves of data and biospecimen collection.;
description: At Wave 1, The study sampled over 150,000 mailing addresses which, using a four-staged stratified sampling design, yielded a sample of 45,971 respondents (32,320 adults / 13,651 youth) who completed a Wave 1 interview. Tobacco users and non-users who were at least 9 years old living in a civilian, non-institutionalized setting were considered for participation during Wave 1. Youth who turn 18 by the next wave of data collection are considered "aged-up adults" and are invited to complete the Adult Interview. Additionally, 7,207 "shadow youth" (youth ages 9 to 11 sampled at Wave 1) are considered "aged-up youth" upon turning 12 years old when they are asked to join the study. At Wave 4, the Wave 1 Cohort was replenished with a probability sample of 14,098 adults, youth, and shadow youth ages 10 to 11 selected from the civilian, noninstitutionalized population at the time of Wave 4. This sample was recruited from close to 174,000 mailing addresses not selected for Wave 1, in the same sampled PSUs and segments using similar within-household sampling procedures. To meet the needs for the Wave 4 Cohort shadow sample, a randomly selected subset of the sampled addresses (115,500 or close to two-thirds of the addresses) were screened solely to identify shadow youth ages 10 to 11. The remaining addresses (close to 58,500) were screened for adults, youth, and shadow youth ages 10 to 11. These are referred to as the "SO" (shadow youth only) and "AYS" (adults, youth, and shadow youth) replenishment samples, respectively. This "replenishment sample" was combined for estimation and analysis purposes with Wave 4 adult and youth respondents from the Wave 1 Cohort who were in the civilian, noninstitutionalized population at the time of Wave 4. This combined set of Wave 4 participants, 52,731 participants in total, forms the Wave 4 Cohort. The Adult files contain a single record for every adult participant. The Youth/Parent files contain a single record of every youth who participated in a given wave. Parents who provided permission for their child to complete a Youth Interview were asked to complete a brief Parent Interview that contained questions about parental supervision, school performance, and tobacco use by youth. The Parent Interview is primarily an interview about the child(ren), not the parent. In all four waves, almost all youth had a parent or guardian complete the Parent Interview (over 99.5 percent). When multiple youth from the same household were selected to be in the study, the parent(s) completed separate interviews about each youth. If one parent completed multiple interviews, then questions asked about him or her were only asked once and skipped in the other interview(s). The parent's responses were then duplicated for the other child or children. A $2 incentive was mailed to all addresses sampled at Wave 1 and Wave 4 prior to screening. For all four waves, adult respondents were paid $35 for their participation. Youth were paid $25 to complete the Youth Interview, and their parents were given $10 for each Parent Interview.
description: In all four waves, adults and youth were asked about the following types of tobacco products: Cigarettes; E-cigarettes/Electronic nicotine products; Cigars (traditional, cigarillos, filtered); Pipe tobacco; Hookah; Smokeless tobacco (snus pouches and other forms of smokeless tobacco); Dissolvable tobacco; Bidis and kreteks (youth only); Although each section of tobacco products has some unique questions the majority of the questions, fit into one of the following categories: Ever use; Recency of use; Frequency of use; Amount of use; Brands used; Purchase details; Use of flavored products; Harm and addictiveness; Reasons for use; Additional topics, in at least one wave, include: Poly use; Nicotine dependence; Packaging and health warnings; Risk and harm perceptions; Secondhand smoke exposure; Marketing and advertising; Media use; Demographics; Health; Psychosocial and mental health; Substance use; Cessation; Peer and family influences; Most questions asked in the questionnaires are categorical. Other questions ask, for example, the age at which something occurred or the person's body measurements. Responses to these questions are numerical.
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: Checked for undocumented or out-of-range codes..
description: Response Rates: The response rates for the PATH Study are shown below. The Wave 1 interview rates are conditional on completion of the Wave 1 screener. The response rates for Waves 2, 3 and 4 are conditional on Wave 1 participation. Household screener: 54.0 percent (weighted); Wave 1 Adult Interview: 74.0 percent (weighted); Wave 1 Youth Interview: 78.4 percent (weighted); Wave 2 Adult Interview: 83.2 percent (weighted); Wave 2 Youth Interview: 87.3 percent (weighted); Wave 3 Adult Interview: 78.4 percent (weighted); Wave 3 Youth Interview: 83.3 percent (weighted); Wave 4 Adult Interview: 73.5 percent (weighted) ; Wave 4 Youth Interview: 79.5 percent (weighted) ; The response rates for the adults and youth in the Wave 4 replenishment sample are shown below. The Wave 4 interview rates for the adults and youth in this sample are conditional on completion of the Wave 4 screener. Wave 4 Household screener (for households in which youth and adults were recruited): 52.8 (weighted) ; Wave 4 Adult Interview: 68.0 percent (weighted); Wave 4 Youth Interview: 70.6 percent (weighted); Please consult the Public-Use Files User Guide for further information regarding the response rates of data collection.
description: Datasets: DS0: Study-Level Files DS1: Master Linkage File DS1001: Wave 1: Adult Questionnaire Data with Weights DS1002: Wave 1: Youth / Parent Questionnaire Data with Weights DS2001: Wave 2: Adult Questionnaire Data with Weights DS2002: Wave 2: Youth / Parent Questionnaire Data with Weights DS3001: Wave 3: Adult Questionnaire Data DS3002: Wave 3: Youth / Parent Questionnaire Data DS3101: Wave 3: Adult - All-Waves Weights DS3102: Wave 3: Adult - Single-Wave Weights DS3201: Wave 3: Youth / Parent - All-Waves Weights DS3202: Wave 3: Youth / Parent - Single-Wave Weights DS3503: Wave 3: All Participants - Ever/Never Reference Data DS4001: Wave 4: Adult Questionnaire Data DS4002: Wave 4: Youth / Parent Questionnaire Data DS4101: Wave 4: Adult - Wave 1 Cohort All-Waves Weights DS4102: Wave 4: Adult - Wave 1 Cohort Single-Wave Weights DS4103: Wave 4: Adult - Wave 4 Cohort Cross-Sectional Weights DS4201: Wave 4: Youth / Parent - Wave 1 Cohort All-Waves Weights DS4202: Wave 4: Youth / Parent - Wave 1 Cohort Single-Wave Weights DS4203: Wave 4: Youth / Parent - Wave 4 Cohort Cross-Sectional Weights DS4503: Wave 4: All Participants - Ever/Never Reference Data
description: Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health (PATH) Study Series
description: audio computer-assisted self interview (ACASI)
description: computer-assisted personal interview (CAPI)
description: Users and non-users of tobacco products in the civilian, non-institutionalized household population of the United States aged 9 and older at the time of Wave 1. Smallest Geographic Unit: Census Region
description: A four-stage stratified area probability sample design was used in the PATH Study, with a two-phase design for sampling adults at the final stage. At the first stage, a stratified sample of geographical primary sampling units (PSUs) was selected, in which a PSU is a county or group of counties. For the second stage, within each selected PSU, smaller geographical segments were formed and then a sample of these segments was drawn. At the third stage, the sampling frame consisted of the residential addresses located in these segments. The fourth stage selected adults and youth from the sampled households identified at these addresses, with varying sampling rates for adults by age, race, and tobacco use status. Adults were sampled in two phases - Phase 1 sampling used information provided in the household screener and Phase 2 sampling used information provided by the adult in the Phase 2 screener at the beginning of the Adult instrument. Please consult the Public-Use Files User Guide for additional details about the sampling.