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Description

RELATEI describes an individual's relationship to the head of household. This variable is compatible with the IPUMS International variable RELATE, though not all codes available in the IPUMSI data are represented in the NAPP data.

Compared to RELATE, RELATEI preserves less detail on some rare classes of step, adopted, in-law, and multiple-generational relationships.

Specifically, the codes for grandparents and aunts/uncles in RELATEI do not differentiate step-, adopted, or in-law grandparents. Similarly, the code for aunt/uncle does not differentiate beyond the first generation of aunt/uncle. Additional detail on these relationships is available in RELATE and in the 1881 and 1851 Great Britain samples: GB81A413, GB81B431, and GB51A412.

There are five general categories for the first digit of RELATEI. The first four are for the head or relatives of the head, and the fifth is for non-relatives of the head. The general categories are largely comparable across samples. There are some discrepancies, however, and the specific subcategories within each general code vary considerably.

Comparability

The general code (two digits) is comparable across all countries. Detail codes in the third and fourth digits preserve detail not available in all countries. Differences between countries in the detail codes are discussed below.

Canada
The 1881 Canadian census did not enumerate relationship to the head of household. The 1891 census, instead, collects detailed information on household relationships for both blood relations and non-relations, as well as for persons living in group quarters (institutional inmates and non-inmates). The universe statement is comparable across samples.

Future releases of NAPP censuses will include an imputed relationship to head of household variable for Canadian households. This variable will be equivalent to IMPREL for the 1850-1870 censuses in the IPUMS.

Great Britain
British relationships have been recoded from a separate variable GB81A413, GB81B431, and GB51A412.

Norway
Warning: Users should note that household relationships and the markings of new households are independent fields on the 1900 Norwegian census. The first person in a Norwegian household does not necessarily have a code for household head (RELATEI code 1000). Users who wish to construct household level statistics should select the first person in each household by using PERNUM and selecting the person with PERNUM = 1.

Households are defined as people eating together, and these household breaks are maintained in the data. However, not all people who are in position 1 in a household were recorded as household heads. In particular, people who ate separately but resided in the same structure are likely to have been recorded as living in separate households, while not being designated as a household head.

Is this the same for the 1801 Norway census?

United States
RELATE is not available for 1850-1870, but IMPREL produces similar results. As a convenience, the extract system is set up so that users may include RELATE and RELATEI in extracts of the 1850-1870 samples. In those years, RELATE and RELATEI contains the information that is documented in the IMPREL variable description. 

RELATEI retains less detail on some historical relationships than RELATE.

Researchers should be aware that the LDS transcription of the United States census of 1880 did not preserve non-familial relationships between household members. Thus, information about specific categories of non- relatives is not consistently available in the complete-count 1880 census.

The general relationship codes (the first two digits of the code) are representative of the population, and may be used to generate accurate population statistics.

The detailed relationship codes (all four digits) are representative of the population for familial relationships.

Universe

Availability

• Canada: 1891, 1901
• Great Britain: 1851, 1881, 1881
• Iceland: 1801, 1901
• Norway: 1801, 1865, 1875, 1900
• Sweden: 1900
• United States: 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880, 1880, 1900, 1910