0 = No spouse of this person present in household.

Description

ASPOUSE is a variable that indicates whether the person's spouse lived in the same household and, if so, gives the line number (LINENO) of the spouse. ASPOUSE makes it easy for researchers to link the characteristics of spouses.

Beginning in 2007, CPS respondents have also been asked to identify cohabiting partners, mothers, and fathers. Respondents also identified cohabiting partners (PECOHAB), mothers (PELNMOM), and fathers (PELNDAD). These variables record the self-reported relationships between household members; these variables are not used to construct the IPUMS family interrelationship variables. Additionally, individual-level responses to the fertility supplement are also not used to construct the IPUMS family interrelationship variables, though trends in these data are used to guide the rules for our algorithm.

ASPOUSE is similar to the IPUMS-CPS constructed variable SPLOC which identifies probable spouses on the basis of marital status, relationship to household head, age, and additional demographic characteristics. SPLOC is available in all years and in most instances, SPLOC and ASPOUSE will identify the same spouse. Disagreements may occur in ambiguous situations or as a result of reporting errors. Note that SPLOC references the spouse's person number (PERNUM), while ASPOUSE provides the line number (LINENO).

An Introduction to the Family Interrelationship Variables can be found on IPUMS-USA. On this page you'll find specific examples of how pointer variables, like ASPOUSE, can be used efficiently. The Census Bureau working paper "Improvements to Demographic Household Data in the Current Population Survey: 2007" may also be useful.

Comparability

ASPOUSE is consistent in all years for which it is available.

Comparability with IPUMS-USA

Universe

Flags

Unharmonized Variables

• UH_SPOUSE_A1
• UH_SPOUSE_A2
• UH_SPOUSE_B1
• UH_SPOUSE_B2