Individual Data

In theory, the individual questionnaire is administered to every person living in the household. In practice, however, some individuals, such as very young children and elderly people, did not receive an individual interview. Individual-level information is the primary source of information pertaining to a person's health, employment status, demographic characteristics, and anthropometry. It can also be used to supplement household-level income and expenditure information.

To safeguard the confidentiality of RLMS respondents, individual-level data sets omit text variables (designated char on questionnaires). Please note that almost all text variables exist in Russian only. English translations exist for only a few of these variables. Please contact us to check on the availability of English translations of specific variables of interest.

A sexual history component was added to the individual interview at Rounds 10 and 12. The sexual history data includes information about sexual behavior as well as attitudes toward sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV and AIDS. Please note that all text variables in the sexual behavior data are in Russian only. Please see the questionnaires themselves for more details.

The grid below presents the files that exist from the individual questionnaires.

NOTE: The migration variables, except for I*PARSPK, are in the Adult data set. In Rounds 1994 through 2002, the variable I*PARSPK is in the Child data set. (The variable I*PARSPK was not asked after 2002.)