Tekijät

• Pulkkinen, Lea (University of Jyväskylä. Department of Psychology)

Asiasanat

alcoholism, child day care, children, expectation, families, health, housing, identity, occupational life, offences, parents, partnerships (personal), personal identity, smoking, social support, upbringing, vocational education, young adults

Sisällön kuvaus

The data are part of the Jyväskylä Longitudinal Study of Personality and Social Development (JYLS), in which the same individuals have been followed over 30 years. At this research stage, data were collected through interviews probing 12 different themes. The recorded interviews were numerically classified according to the themes only afterwards, when it was possible to observe the whole range of responses. After that, each interviewer coded all the responses for one theme. The responses were then converted into variables describing the variation in the responses within each theme. The original open-ended answers are available in the dataset "FSD2200 Jyväskylä Longitudinal Study of Personality and Social Development (JYLS): Interviews of 27-Year-Olds 1986: Text Data". The research stage also included a life situation questionnaire and two personality tests.

First, the respondents were asked questions about housing and mobility. Those who were married or cohabiting were asked about their spouse's age, where they had met, and how long their relationship had already lasted. They also indicated whether their parents accepted them as a couple. The couple's and spouse's hobbies were queried, as well as how well they knew each other's friends. They were asked to describe their relationship and to tell how well they thought it corresponded with their idea of a perfect marriage or relationship. Earlier marriages and relationships were also charted.

The respondents were also asked about their children, child day care arrangements in their family, and their own childhood experiences on child day care. Views were probed on the essential things in organising children's lives, upbringing, and the respondents' usual activities with their children. Some questions probed corporal punishment.

Further questions covered childhood memories and the respondents' parents. They were asked to describe their home and lives when they were 14 years old. Crimes committed by the respondents and their friends were charted, as well as the effect other people had had on their lives.

The respondents were asked who gave them material and mental support and how many good friends they had. In addition, they were asked who they helped and how. The respondents told about their relationship with relatives, neighbours, and colleagues and estimated their overall satisfaction with social life. Further questions investigated participation in associations and religious activities and intentions to vote.

Some questions pertained to vocational education. The respondents were asked whether they had considered other fields as alternatives and whether they intended to study more. The respondents in employment were queried about their employer, duration of employment contract, and the number of places of work. The respondents who were unemployed were asked about the duration and reason of unemployment, and how they had felt about it. The data contain information on the occupation and socioeconomic status of the respondents, their spouses and parents.

The respondents' attitudes to various things were charted. They were asked how they usually make their decisions, which things make them angry, and who they most often fight with. They also estimated themselves and their spouses in terms of various characteristics (e.g. mental balance and ability to concentrate). Watching violent TV shows was also examined.

Several questions were related to smoking. The respondents' parents' attitudes to smoking were charted, as well as the respondents' own attitudes to their children's possible smoking. They were asked whether they had smoked near their children or whether they themselves had experiences of passive smoking. Alcohol use was queried by asking which drinks the respondents preferred, and how much money they spent on alcohol on a weekly basis. Their attitudes to their spouses' alcohol use were charted. Troubles and feelings caused by drinking were also queried, as well as reasons for drinking. The female respondents were asked whether they had drunk alcohol during pregnancy or lactation.

The respondents were asked to estimate their own health. They told about their illnesses, disabilities, and use of medicines, as well as whether they were stressed and why. In addition, they were asked to indicate which things increase their satisfaction with life.

Finally, the respondents' goals and identities in various areas of life were charted. They were asked to tell about the stages of development in their own lives as well as about responsibility and freedom. They were also asked about the things they appreciated in their spouse and what the spouses' weaknesses were. In addition, the respondents were asked whether they though about global problems and whether they thought global problems affected their lives. Attitudes to loneliness and the nature were charted, as well as the foundation in the respondents' lives and their sources of strength for facing the future.

The background variables included the 27-year-old's gender.