DOI: 10.3886/icpsr37416.v1
title: Monitoring the Future: A Continuing Study of American Youth (12th-Grade Survey), 2018
title: Version 1

description: This survey of 12th-grade students is part of a series that
explores changes in important values, behaviors, and lifestyle
orientations of contemporary American youth. Students are randomly
assigned to complete one of six questionnaires, each with a different
subset of topical questions, but all containing a set of "core"
questions on demographics and drug use. There are about 1,400
variables across the questionnaires. Drugs covered by this survey
include tobacco, smokeless tobacco, alcohol, marijuana, hashish,
prescription medications, over-the-counter medications, LSD,
hallucinogens, amphetamines (stimulants), Ritalin (methylphenidate),
Quaaludes (methaqualone), sedatives/barbiturates, tranquilizers, cocaine, crack cocaine, GHB (gamma hydroxybutyrate), ecstasy, methamphetamine, and
heroin. 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: A total of 14,502 12th grade students completed a survey in 2018. The number of students completing each form were:

Core Data: 14,502
Form 1 Data: 2,437
Form 2 Data: 2,402
Form 3 Data: 2,416
Form 4 Data: 2,407
Form 5 Data: 2,416
Form 6 Data: 2,424
description: There are about 1,400 variables across the questionnaires.
On average, each form consisted of 364 questions. Some questions were repeated on multiple forms
and some were asked on all six forms. 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 ponit)
Frequency of use (7 point)


The Core Data file is a compilation of variables from the six questionnaire forms. Variables contained in the Core data file may not appear in all six forms. ICPSR created the final 30 variables of the Core data file to aid in analysis and utility.
description: The file contains a weight variable, ARCHIVE_WT. 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 overall student response rate for 2018 was 81
percent.
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 seniors, a sample of seniors or classes was drawn. In schools with less than 350 seniors, all seniors were asked to participate unless logistical challenges required a sample be taken. 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 85 percent since the inception of the study. The total sample of 12th graders was divided randomly into 6 subsamples, each to be administered a different form of the questionnaire. "Core" drug and demographic questions were included in all questionnaire forms.
description: Datasets: 
DS0: Study-Level Files
DS1: Core Data
DS2: Form 1 Data
DS3: Form 2 Data
DS4: Form 3 Data
DS5: Form 4 Data
DS6: Form 5 Data
DS7: Form 6 Data
description: High school seniors 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.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.For 2018, a single codebook containing frequency distributions for all seven datasets is produced. The codebook contains bookmarks to signify the start of each dataset. Otherwise the PDF document is organized in similar fashion to previous years with the front section detailing information about the study's history, purpose, sampling, design, content, and then appendices with a link to publications and information on response rates.Variables omitted from the Western region
questionnaires are noted in each codebook.A user guide is
provided with the study documentation. It contains a year-to-year cross-time question index for the MTF 12th-grade surveys, which is
sorted by subject area, item reference number, and questionnaire
form.Frequency and percentage distributions displayed in the 2018 codebook are unweighted, rather than weighted by variable "ARCHIVE_WT" (previously named "V5") as they had been in previous years. This change was made to simplify both the production of the codebook and their interpretation
by the analyst.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 Core data file (DS1). 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. This was only done for the core file.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.