DOI: 10.3886/icpsr37415.v1
title: Monitoring the Future: A Continuing Study of American Youth (8th- and 10th-Grade Surveys), 2018
title: Version 1

description: These surveys of 8th- and 10th-grade students are part of a series that explores changes in important values, behaviors, and lifestyle orientations of contemporary American youth. Students in each grade are randomly assigned to complete one of four questionnaires, each with a different subset of topical questions but containing a set of "core" questions on demographics and drug use. There are more than 450 variables across the questionnaires. Drugs covered by this survey include amphetamines (stimulants), barbiturates (tranquilizers), other prescription drugs, over-the-counter medications, tobacco, smokeless tobacco, vaping, alcohol, inhalants, steroids, marijuana, hashish, LSD, hallucinogens, cocaine, crack, ecstasy, methamphetamine, and injectable drugs such as heroin.
description: A total of 29,980 students completed a survey in 2018. There were 14,836 8th graders and 15,144 10th graders. The number of students completing each form were:

Form 1: 9,995
Form 2: 10,018
Form 3: 5,000
Form 4: 4,967

The split is approximately equal between forms completed by 8th graders and 10th graders.
description: The downloadable data file contains a total of 583 variables. The file provided by the Principal Investigators contained 553 variables (542 survey questions and 9 administrative variables). ICPSR created the other 30 variables of the final file to aid in analysis and utility. Not all of the 542 survey questions were asked on each form. There are 135 variables (25 percent) that are common amongst all 4 forms. Each variable label contains a notation of which forms asked that particular question. On average each form asked approximately 300 questions (55 percent).
All of the survey questions are categorical in nature. The majority of questions fall into one of seven types of response options.

Yes / No
Marked / Not Marked
Agree / Disagree scale (5 point)
Disapproval scale (3 point)
Risk scale (4 point)
Frequency of days (6 point)
Frequency of use (7 point)
description: The file contains a weight variable, V5. It originally varied by school but was modified to protect
respondent confidentiality. Users should use the weight variable for all analyses, the results of which will differ slightly from published data tables that used original data.
<strong>OF SPECIAL NOTE:</strong> As the MTF respondents are sampled using a multi-stage sampling design, it is often desirable to incorporate the complex sample design information into analyses. However, in order to protect respondent confidentiality, the variables that represent the complex sample design of the MTF, i.e., sampling stratum and cluster, are omitted from the public use files. For researchers who wish to incorporate the unaltered weight variable and complex sample design variables into their analyses, these variables are now accessible through restricted access from NAHDAP. Please see Monitoring the Future (MTF) Restricted-Use Cross-Sectional Datasets for details.
description: Response Rates: The student response rates for the 2018 8th- and
10th-grade surveys were 89 percent and 86 percent, respectively.
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. Of the 72 PSUs, 8 were selected with certainty, 10 were selected with a probability of .50, and the remainder were selected using a probability based on their 2010 Census household count. Generally speaking, in schools with more than 350 students in the grade, a sample of students or classes was drawn. In schools with fewer than 350 students in a grade, all students were asked to participate unless logistical challenges required a sample be taken. For the 8th-grade survey, schools with fewer than 20 8th graders were generally excluded from the sample. For the 10th-grade survey, schools with fewer than 25 10th graders were excluded, with very few exceptions. Each school was asked to participate for two years so that each year one-half of the sample would be replaced. Schools refusing participation were replaced with similar schools in terms of geographic location, size, and type of school (e.g., public, private/Catholic, private/non-Catholic). The participation rate among schools has been between 66 and 80 percent since the inception of the study.
description: Datasets: 
DS1: Monitoring the Future: A Continuing Study of American Youth (8th- and 10th-Grade Surveys), 2018
description: Enrolled 8th- and 10th-grade students in the contiguous
United States. Smallest Geographic Unit: Census Region
description: on-site questionnaireThis study was conducted by the Survey Research Center, Institute for Social Research at the University of Michigan.Subsequent to a significant change made in 2012, the data files from the two grades and four forms are merged to create a single file. The variables V3 and V501 designate the form number and grade, respectively. The end of each variable label lists the form(s) on which the question appeared. The missing value (-8) is used to distinguish those cases where the question corresponding to a given variable was not asked on a particular form.To protect the anonymity of respondents, all variables that could be used to identify individuals have been collapsed or recoded in the public use files. These modifications should not affect analytic uses of the public use files.Variables omitted from the Western region questionnaires are noted in the codebook.A user guide is provided with the study documentation. It contains a cross-time question index for the MTF 8th- and 10th-grade surveys. The document is sorted by subject area.Frequency and percentage distributions displayed in the 2018 codebook are unweighted.MTF does not release detailed geography codes in its public use files because of the disclosure risk it would cause. The MTF sample is drawn to generate representative samples of the four Census Bureau regions of the country (Northeast, Midwest, South, and West), but it does not generate representative samples of smaller geographic areas such as states, counties, or cities. For additional information about data that is withheld from the public use files please contact MTF directly at mtfinformation@umich.edu.With the approval of the MTF Principal Investigators ICPSR created a series of dichotomous recodes for 10 substances for the three standard time periods (lifetime, past 12 months, and past 30 days). The substances include tobacco, alcohol, marijuana, LSD, other psychedelics, amphetamines, sedatives/barbiturates, tranquilizers, inhalants, and other narcotics. These variables have been placed at the end of the data file. Each variable has the same name and label as the original, but with the addition of the letter "D" at the end of the variable name and the words "(dichotomous recode)" included at the end of the variable label.Using these new dichotomous recode variables ICPSR has created interactive maps to show the weighted response for each dichotomous variable by Census region. To create a map simply select the desired year/grade and question/variable. Then click on "Go". The resulting map will rank the regions by color. The Census region with the darkest shade will show the highest frequency of use. A frequency table is also provided.For further information about Monitoring the Future please visit their web site. The site provides links to more publications, press releases, and data findings.