THE CDS-2014 WEIGHTS
CDS-2014 weights allow researchers to generalize their statistical results using these data to the national population of children corresponding to CDS-2014 selection criteria, while accounting for uneven selection probabilities and differential non-response. The CDS-2014 PCG weights similarly allow researchers to generalize their results to the national population of children’s caregivers. We recommend that researchers use the provided CDS-2014 weights with all analyses.
The main CDS-2014 child weight includes a base component derived from the 2013 Core PSID weight that accounts for differential sample selection probabilities and attrition in Core PSID. The CDS-2014 child weight also incorporates differential probabilities of selection for sample children as well as differential patterns of non-response. CDS-2014 child weights are provided to account for the PSID sampling design, the CDS-2014 selection process, and patterns of non- response. The CDS-2014 PCG weights were derived directly from the child weights. This chapter describes the construction of the CDS-2014 weights.
For CDS-2014, a main child weight was constructed for each child in the survey who completed one or both of the following two modules: (1) the Primary Caregiver (PCG) Child Interview and (2) the Child Interview. All children in CDS-2014 were eligible for a PCG-Child Interview. A Child Interview was only administered to children aged 8–17 years. All children aged 12–17 years were asked to complete a Child interview. However, among children aged 8–11 years, only those in families selected at random for the in-home supplement were eligible for the Child Interview. (Approximately half of all families and children were selected for the in-home supplement.)
The main child weight for CDS-2014 is the variable X14CHWGT, which has one value for each of the 4,333 children in the sample. A second child weight is also available for CDS-2014, X14IHWGT, which is to be used when analyzing the in-home subsample of CDS-2014 cases. Both weights are to be used with child-level data in CDS-2014 and both weights are designed to be used for analyses with the child as the unit of observation. The PCG weight for CDS-2014 is the variable H14PCGWGT, which has one value for each of the 2,517 PCGs in the sample— which includes PCGs who completed the PCG Household Interview but for whom no corresponding child-level data are available.
The CDS-2014 Main Child Weight is to be used for all analyses based on the PCG-Child Interview because this interview component includes one observation for each child in the sample. This weight should not be used for analysis based on data from the in-home modules, which have observations only for a subset of the CDS-2014 sample.
The CDS-2014 Child In-Home Weight should be used for analysis based on the survey components that were only conducted during the face-to-face visits, including the time diaries and the Woodcock-Johnson assessments of reading and math.
For analysts using the Child Interview data, special care must be taken to choose the correct weight, because Child Interviews for one segment of the sample (children aged 8–11 years) were only conducted as part of the in-home component. Table 5.1 describes the appropriate weight to use based on the ages of children with Child Interview data being analyzed. Note that for analyses based on all children aged 8–17 who completed the Child Interview, the analyst must create a new variable with values equal to X14IHWGT for children aged 8–11 years and X14CHWGT for children aged 12–17 years. We provide further guidance on how researchers can conduct weighted analyses of other CDS- 2014 components at the end of this chapter.