I’m confused as to the AHTUS Adult care code (0640). For early years, the code seems to actually mean ‘adult care’, but then for 2003 forward, does it also include child care, as per the description?
That seems weird, since there’s another child care code.
I thought the AHTUS data were somewhat harmonized–is that not the case for this particular code?
Thanks in advance for any help!
2003+: Time in adult care broadly includes the following main categories: caring for household adults, helping household adults, caring for and helping non household children, activities related to non-household children’s education/health, caring for non-household adults, and helping non-household adults. Listed are the category examples:
Data for AHTUS are harmonized as extensively as possible, however, in some cases that may be challenging as the database contains data from national time-diary samples collected over six decades. As such, notes about changes over samples, such as the one you highlight, are given.
It does appear that from 2003+ the adult care code (0640) includes childcare activities. However, note that these are exclusively activities related to non-household children. In comparison, those activities listed under ACT_CHCARE (Child Care) are exclusively for household children.
I hope this helps.
thank you.
I think i know the answer to this but just want to confirm-- is there any way i could use the older data from AHTUS regarding hours spent daily in adult care, and compare to the adult care hours from the ATUS for more recent years?
You could attempt to construct comparable data between the AHTUS and more recent years in the ATUS by mimicking the harmonization that has already been done. Harmonization syntax files can be found here. Just note, that this would include downloading the files directly from BLS since that is the version of the data Oxford used to do their work.
Since that would be an extensive undertaking, perhaps it is possible for you to make use of this crosswalk in some way using the data as it is currently available.
Thanks very much for the suggestion. So when I look at the activity coding rules for the 1975 AHTUS, i see adult care examples include: medical care to HHadults, non-med care to HH adults, help/care for non-hh adults, help/care for neighbors and friends, and help/care for unspecified adults
So it’s hard to tell for sure, but this seems mostly comparable to the ATUS 030400+030500+040400+040500 codes (though I can’t quite tell where travel was coded in the 1975 AHTUS).
Is this kind of what you were saying might be a way for me to make something comparable for trend? I wasn’t clear how the crosswalk fits in, since the crosswalk only seems to go to 2003.
Thanks for your help and patience!
Gretchen
Correct, that is the type of comparison that mimicking the harmonization process would allow you to do.
The crosswalk does only go back to 2003, but may give you an idea of how to make these comparisons over time, just as you seem to have already done.
ok thanks. i truly appreciate the help!