Definition
STEPPOPH indicates for the pre-1950 datasets whether a person's father, as identified by POPLOC, was most probably not the person's biological father. Non-zero values of STEPPOPH explain why it is probable that the person's father was a step- or adopted father. A value of 0 indicates no likely stepfather because (1) the father identified in POPLOC was probably the biological father or (2) there is no father of this person present in the household. Only persons under age 19 are linked to their fathers.
The codes for STEPPOPH are as follows:
0 = Biological father or no father of this person present in household.
1 = Age difference between father and child was less than 14 years.
2 = Link was established only because the father was married to mother.
3 = Explicitly identified relationship (stepchild).
5 = Explicitly identified relationship (adopted).
If more than one value applied to the case, the lowest value was assigned.
See POPRULEH for a description of the linking process.
Users should note that there are many stepfathers and adopted fathers in the population that cannot be identified with information available in the censuses. Therefore, STEPPOPH will always under-represent their actual number in the population.
