Data Sources & References

Data Sources & References

Data Provenance, Variable Specifications, and Full Parameter Tables

1. Primary Data Source

The empirical analysis in this project uses data from the General Social Survey (GSS), conducted by NORC at the University of Chicago.

General Social Survey (NORC at the University of Chicago)

  • APA Reference Citation: > Davern, M., Bautista, R., Freese, J., Herd, P., & Morgan, S. L. (2024). General Social Survey 1972–2024 (Release 3) [Data set]. NORC at the University of Chicago. https://gssdataexplorer.norc.org

  • Methodology & Scope: The General Social Survey (GSS) monitors societal trends and demographic transformations across the adult, non-institutionalized U.S. population using nationally representative probability sampling.

2. Variable Codebook & Definitions

Below are the official GSS codebook definitions for all 15 variables analyzed in this study:

Variable Name GSS Label Description & Coding Scheme
educ Respondent Educational Attainment Highest grade completed (0–20 years). Recoded into: High School or Less, Some College, Bachelor Degree, Graduate Degree.
paeduc Father’s Educational Attainment Highest grade completed by father (0–20 years).
maeduc Mother’s Educational Attainment Highest grade completed by mother (0–20 years).
incom16 Relative Family Income at Age 16 Income at age 16 relative to U.S. families: 1 = Far Below Average to 5 = Far Above Average.
family16 Family Structure at Age 16 Living arrangement at age 16: Both Own Parents, Single Parent, Stepparent, Other Relative.
res16 Residence Type at Age 16 Type of place lived in at age 16: Farm, Country Non-Farm, Town <50k, 50k to 250k, Big-City Suburb, City >250k.
sex Respondent’s Sex Sex assigned at interview: Female, Male.
race Respondent’s Race Race of respondent: White, Black, Other.
born Respondent Born in U.S. Born in the United States: Yes, No.
parborn Parents Born in U.S. Parents born in U.S.: Both U.S., One U.S., Neither U.S.
sibs Number of Siblings Total number of brothers and sisters (0 to 6+).
childs Number of Children Total number of children (0 to 8+).
age Respondent’s Age Age at interview (18 to 89 years).
year Survey Administration Year Survey administration year (1972 to 2024).
agekdbrn Age at First Child’s Birth Age when first child was born. Excluded from final model due to missingness across early survey rounds.

3. Appendix: Complete Model Parameter Tables

Below are the complete parameter estimation tables for both fitted statistical models.

3.1 Full Multinomial Logistic Model Parameters & Odds Ratios

Complete table of estimated parameters, Odds Ratios (\(\text{OR} = \exp(\beta)\)), and 95% Confidence Intervals relative to baseline High School or Less.

Table 3.1: Full Multinomial Logistic Model Parameters & Odds Ratios across All Outcome Tiers
Outcome Tier Predictor Variable Odds Ratio (OR) p-value 95% CI Lower 95% CI Upper
Some College Parental Education (Per Year) 1.169 < 0.001 1.160 1.179
Some College Childhood Relative Income (Tier 1-5) 1.098 < 0.001 1.068 1.129
Some College Sibling Count 0.921 < 0.001 0.909 0.933
Some College Number of Children 0.933 < 0.001 0.919 0.948
Some College Respondent Age (Years) 1.000 0.7877 0.999 1.002
Some College Survey Administration Year 1.014 < 0.001 1.014 1.014
Some College Sex: Male (vs Female) 0.958 0.0749 0.914 1.004
Some College Race: Other (vs Black) 0.970 < 0.001 0.953 0.987
Some College Race: White (vs Black) 0.761 < 0.001 0.727 0.795
Some College Residence: Big-City Suburb 1.223 < 0.001 1.173 1.276
Some College Residence: Large City >250k 1.092 < 0.001 1.044 1.141
Some College Residence: Rural Non-Farm 0.711 < 0.001 0.676 0.748
Some College Residence: Farm 0.705 < 0.001 0.669 0.743
Some College Residence: Town <50k 0.914 < 0.001 0.876 0.953
Some College Family Structure: Other Relative 0.797 < 0.001 0.785 0.809
Some College Family Structure: Single Parent 0.802 < 0.001 0.761 0.845
Some College Family Structure: Stepparent 0.916 0.0116 0.856 0.981
Some College Respondent U.S. Born 1.174 < 0.001 1.140 1.209
Some College Parents Nativity: Neither U.S. 1.352 < 0.001 1.306 1.400
Some College Parents Nativity: One U.S. 1.237 < 0.001 1.229 1.245
Bachelor Degree Parental Education (Per Year) 1.333 < 0.001 1.318 1.347
Bachelor Degree Childhood Relative Income (Tier 1-5) 1.172 < 0.001 1.132 1.214
Bachelor Degree Sibling Count 0.854 < 0.001 0.840 0.868
Bachelor Degree Number of Children 0.846 < 0.001 0.829 0.864
Bachelor Degree Respondent Age (Years) 1.017 < 0.001 1.015 1.019
Bachelor Degree Survey Administration Year 1.019 < 0.001 1.019 1.019
Bachelor Degree Sex: Male (vs Female) 1.016 0.5972 0.959 1.075
Bachelor Degree Race: Other (vs Black) 1.478 < 0.001 1.444 1.512
Bachelor Degree Race: White (vs Black) 1.063 0.0092 1.015 1.113
Bachelor Degree Residence: Big-City Suburb 1.420 < 0.001 1.362 1.481
Bachelor Degree Residence: Large City >250k 1.139 < 0.001 1.088 1.193
Bachelor Degree Residence: Rural Non-Farm 0.615 < 0.001 0.594 0.637
Bachelor Degree Residence: Farm 0.685 < 0.001 0.670 0.700
Bachelor Degree Residence: Town <50k 0.904 < 0.001 0.859 0.952
Bachelor Degree Family Structure: Other Relative 0.368 < 0.001 0.367 0.369
Bachelor Degree Family Structure: Single Parent 0.562 < 0.001 0.530 0.596
Bachelor Degree Family Structure: Stepparent 0.578 < 0.001 0.565 0.592
Bachelor Degree Respondent U.S. Born 1.005 0.7536 0.976 1.034
Bachelor Degree Parents Nativity: Neither U.S. 1.770 < 0.001 1.713 1.828
Bachelor Degree Parents Nativity: One U.S. 1.225 < 0.001 1.217 1.233
Graduate Degree Parental Education (Per Year) 1.405 < 0.001 1.388 1.421
Graduate Degree Childhood Relative Income (Tier 1-5) 1.090 < 0.001 1.051 1.131
Graduate Degree Sibling Count 0.829 < 0.001 0.814 0.843
Graduate Degree Number of Children 0.825 < 0.001 0.807 0.843
Graduate Degree Respondent Age (Years) 1.028 < 0.001 1.026 1.030
Graduate Degree Survey Administration Year 1.018 < 0.001 1.018 1.018
Graduate Degree Sex: Male (vs Female) 1.130 < 0.001 1.064 1.202
Graduate Degree Race: Other (vs Black) 1.329 < 0.001 1.303 1.356
Graduate Degree Race: White (vs Black) 1.127 < 0.001 1.085 1.171
Graduate Degree Residence: Big-City Suburb 1.368 < 0.001 1.313 1.426
Graduate Degree Residence: Large City >250k 1.148 < 0.001 1.098 1.199
Graduate Degree Residence: Rural Non-Farm 0.690 < 0.001 0.668 0.712
Graduate Degree Residence: Farm 0.725 < 0.001 0.712 0.738
Graduate Degree Residence: Town <50k 0.862 < 0.001 0.817 0.911
Graduate Degree Family Structure: Other Relative 0.402 < 0.001 0.401 0.404
Graduate Degree Family Structure: Single Parent 0.481 < 0.001 0.459 0.504
Graduate Degree Family Structure: Stepparent 0.590 < 0.001 0.581 0.598
Graduate Degree Respondent U.S. Born 0.770 < 0.001 0.748 0.794
Graduate Degree Parents Nativity: Neither U.S. 1.878 < 0.001 1.817 1.941
Graduate Degree Parents Nativity: One U.S. 1.224 < 0.001 1.218 1.230

3.2 Full OLS Baseline Model Parameters

Complete table of estimated parameters from the OLS linear regression model for completed schooling years (\(Y_{\text{years}}\)).

Table 3.2: Full OLS Model Parameters & 95% Confidence Intervals for Completed Schooling Years
Predictor Estimate (β) Std. Error t statistic p-value 95% CI Lower 95% CI Upper
Parental Education (Per Year) 0.326 0.004 84.478 < 0.001 0.318 0.333
Childhood Relative Income (Tier 1-5) 0.129 0.014 9.169 < 0.001 0.101 0.157
Sibling Count -0.182 0.007 -27.775 < 0.001 -0.195 -0.170
Number of Children -0.178 0.008 -23.523 < 0.001 -0.192 -0.163
Respondent Age (Years) 0.015 0.001 18.637 < 0.001 0.013 0.016
Survey Administration Year 0.020 0.001 24.148 < 0.001 0.019 0.022
Sex: Male 0.024 0.023 1.042 0.2976 -0.021 0.069
Race: Other 0.030 0.059 0.514 0.6069 -0.085 0.145
Race: White 0.042 0.036 1.172 0.2411 -0.028 0.112
Residence Origin: Big-City Suburb 0.246 0.042 5.817 < 0.001 0.163 0.329
Residence Origin: Large City >250k 0.162 0.041 3.956 < 0.001 0.082 0.242
Residence Origin: Rural Non-Farm -0.419 0.045 -9.235 < 0.001 -0.508 -0.330
Residence Origin: Farm -0.614 0.046 -13.412 < 0.001 -0.704 -0.525
Residence Origin: Town <50k -0.117 0.035 -3.361 < 0.001 -0.185 -0.049
Family Structure: Other Relative -0.888 0.056 -15.921 < 0.001 -0.997 -0.778
Family Structure: Single Parent -0.607 0.033 -18.183 < 0.001 -0.672 -0.541
Family Structure: Stepparent -0.506 0.045 -11.290 < 0.001 -0.594 -0.419
Respondent U.S. Born 0.342 0.060 5.743 < 0.001 0.225 0.459
Parents Nativity: Neither U.S. 0.508 0.055 9.304 < 0.001 0.401 0.615
Parents Nativity: One U.S. 0.222 0.050 4.454 < 0.001 0.124 0.320