Cycle 6 NSFG Data Now Available

The National Center for Health Statistics announces the release of the Public Use Data file of Cycle 6 of the National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG), conducted in 2002. These data provide the latest information on factors affecting birth and pregnancy rates and women’s reproductive health in the United States. For the very first time, Cycle 6 included men aged 15-44 and covered topics similar to those for females, related to reproductive health and fatherhood.

The data and documentation for the NSFG Cycle 6 Public Use  Files are available on CD-ROM.  Copies of the CD-ROM can be obtained from NCHS at nsfg@cdc.gov or by calling (301) 458-4222.

There are two ways to obtain the public use data files for the 2002 NSFG.

First, researchers may request one copy of the data on a CD-ROM from NCHS by sending their name and mailing address to the NSFG staff at nsfg@cdc.gov.

Second, the public use data files may be downloaded from this website.  There are 3 separate ASCII files comprising the NSFG Cycle 6 public use data, and the file characteristics are shown below.

                                                                                        While many users will download these data files easily, users without a high speed internet connection may find the downloading slow.

The NSFG staff requests that users who download the data please contact us at nsfg@cdc.gov.  There are other data files from the 2002 NSFG that may be used by researchers. These are described under Other Cycle 6 Data Files.

The NSFG staff appreciates information on your research interests with regard to the survey; it helps us understand what questions and topics in the survey are of most interest to the research community, and it gives us a chance to offer feedback to potential users.

If you cannot contact us by e-mail, or do not wish to do so, you may call 301-458-4222 or write to us at:

NSFG Team
NCHS, Room 7318
3311 Toledo Road
Hyattsville, MD 20782

Cycle 6 is the latest in a series of surveys conducted to collect information on these topics for women, such as sexual activity (including sexual activity among teenagers); marriage, divorce, and cohabitation; pregnancy and childbirth (including low birthweight, breastfeeding, and maternity leave); infertility, sterilization, contraceptive use (including condom use for disease prevention); and the use of medical services for family planning and infertility.

For men, Cycle 6 covers topics related to reproductive health, family formation and fertility, similar to those covered by the women's survey, including contraceptive use; biological and adopted children; marriage, cohabitation, and other sexual relationships; infertility; expectations for future children; and use of health care. In addition, men were asked about their activities with children and support of children they do not live with.

Published reports from Cycle 6, and access to file documentation can be found at http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nsfg.htm

Cycle 6 of the NSFG was jointly planned and funded by the following agencies of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS)

Office of Population Affairs (OPA)

National Institute for Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)

HIV Prevention Program,Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

Office of Women’s Health, CDC

Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation, ACF

Office of Child Support Enforcement, ACF

Division of Reproductive Health, CDC

Children's Bureau, ACF

Office of the assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (OASPE)