1984 Population Census - IPUMS Subset
Ghana, 1984
Get Microdata
Reference ID
GHA_1984_PHC_v01_M_v7.5_A_IPUMS
Producer(s)
Ghana Statistical Service, IPUMS
Metadata
Created on
Jan 18, 2017
Last modified
Sep 03, 2025
Page views
7695
- Data files
- GHA1984_PHC-H-H.dat
- GHA1984_PHC-P-H.dat
Relationship to head of household (GH1984A_RELATE)
Data file: GHA1984_PHC-P-H.dat
Overview
Type:
Discrete
Decimal:
0
Start:
112
End:
113
Width:
2
Range:
-
Format:
Numeric
Questions and instructions
Literal question
<span class="em">Answer for each person</span>
<br />[Questions 1-6 were asked of all persons]</p>
<p>4. Relationship ____</p>
<div class="i1">What is your relationship to the head of the household?</div>
<br />[Questions 1-6 were asked of all persons]</p>
<p>4. Relationship ____</p>
<div class="i1">What is your relationship to the head of the household?</div>
Categories
| Value | Category |
|---|---|
| 00 | Group quarters member |
| 11 | Head |
| 12 | Husband, wife, spouse |
| 13 | Son, daughter, adopted son/daughter, spouse's son/daughter |
| 14 | Son's wife, daughter's husband |
| 15 | Son's son/daughter; son's wife's son/daughter, daughter husband's son or daughter's son/daughter, daughter; spouses son's son/daughter, spouse's daughter's son/daughter |
| 16 | Brother, sister, mother's son/daughter, father's son/daughter |
| 17 | Sister's son/daughter, sister's husband's son/daughter |
| 18 | Brother's son/daughter, brother's wife's son/daughter |
| 19 | Father, mother |
| 20 | Father's wife, mother's husband |
| 21 | Mother's sister/brother, father's sister/brother |
| 22 | Father's sister's son/daughter, father's brother's son/daughter; mother's brother's son/daughter, mother's sister's son/daughter |
| 23 | Other relatives of head |
| 24 | Other relatives of head's spouse |
| 25 | Non-relatives (guest, lodger, steward, servant, maid-servant, friend, etc. |
| 90 | Temporary head |
| 99 | Unknown |
Warning: these figures indicate the number of cases found in the data file. They cannot be interpreted as summary statistics of the population of interest.
Interviewer instructions
<span class="em">10a. Who is the head of the household?</span></p>
<p>The head of a household is generally the person who is responsible for the upkeep and maintenance of the household. He or she is not necessarily the oldest person in the household. However, your main guide as to who is the head is whoever will be pointed out to you as the head when you ask.</p>
<p><span class="pg">pg. 43</span></p>
<p>If the head of the household was away on census night, you should ask for the person who took charge of the household when the usual head was away. This person thus becomes the "temporary head of household" and all other relationships should refer to this person and not to the usual head who was absent.</p>
<p>Enter the name of this person on the first line of List A and write in the relationship column temporary head and relate all other relationships to this person. For instance, if a usual head of household was away and the wife becomes the temporary head, all the relationships should refer to this wife. Thus the head (who will be recorded on the first line in List C) becomes the "husband" and his sister's son becomes "husband's sister's son" and not "sisters' Son".</p>
<p><span class="em">10b. How to fill out the "relationship to head of household" column</span></p>
<p>What we want in the relationship column is the relationship of every member of the household, including guests and visitors to the head or temporary head of household. Most relationships are established either by blood (descent) or by marriage (affinal). This means that your brother and sister's son are your blood relatives whilst your wife, wife's mother or wife's sister are your relatives by marriage.</p>
<p>The relationship should always be written as if it were defined by the head himself. For example, if the head replies in the following manner:</p>
<div class="i1">(a) A is my son-write son<br />(b) B is my brother-write brother<br />(c) C is my wife-write wife<br />(d) Dis my father-write father</div><p>On the other hand, if you ask a member of the household about his or her relationship to the head of the household you have to invert the relationship before you enter it. If, for example, a person tells you that:</p>
<div class="i1">(a) The head is my father-you will write son or daughter (whichever is the correct one)<br />(b) The head is my mother's brother-you will write sister's daughter.<br />(c) The head is my son-you will write father or mother.</div><p>Always remember to avoid such vague terms as nephew, cousin, uncle, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, mother-in-law, etc. which do not denote exact relationships. Nephew may mean brother's son or sister's son and these should, therefore, be distinguished.</p>
<p><span class="pg">pg. 44</span></p>
<p>Make sure that the blood relationships specified are true biological relationships. A son must mean the head's own true son and not his brother's, etc. However, half-brothers, i.e. persons having one mother but different fathers, or one father but different mothers should be recorded as brothers. Similarly half-sisters should be recorded as sisters.</p>
<p>Any other relationships should be fully specified, e.g. adopted son, adopted daughter, etc. Other household members who are not related to the head of the household such as lodgers and unrelated servants should be recorded as such, e.g. servant, guest, friend, etc.</p>
<p>As a guide to the, type of relationships to be specified a list has been compiled for you at the bottom of the front page of the household questionnaire (Form H).</p>
<p>Note that the relationship column should be left blank for all persons in institutions and the floating population.
<p>The head of a household is generally the person who is responsible for the upkeep and maintenance of the household. He or she is not necessarily the oldest person in the household. However, your main guide as to who is the head is whoever will be pointed out to you as the head when you ask.</p>
<p><span class="pg">pg. 43</span></p>
<p>If the head of the household was away on census night, you should ask for the person who took charge of the household when the usual head was away. This person thus becomes the "temporary head of household" and all other relationships should refer to this person and not to the usual head who was absent.</p>
<p>Enter the name of this person on the first line of List A and write in the relationship column temporary head and relate all other relationships to this person. For instance, if a usual head of household was away and the wife becomes the temporary head, all the relationships should refer to this wife. Thus the head (who will be recorded on the first line in List C) becomes the "husband" and his sister's son becomes "husband's sister's son" and not "sisters' Son".</p>
<p><span class="em">10b. How to fill out the "relationship to head of household" column</span></p>
<p>What we want in the relationship column is the relationship of every member of the household, including guests and visitors to the head or temporary head of household. Most relationships are established either by blood (descent) or by marriage (affinal). This means that your brother and sister's son are your blood relatives whilst your wife, wife's mother or wife's sister are your relatives by marriage.</p>
<p>The relationship should always be written as if it were defined by the head himself. For example, if the head replies in the following manner:</p>
<div class="i1">(a) A is my son-write son<br />(b) B is my brother-write brother<br />(c) C is my wife-write wife<br />(d) Dis my father-write father</div><p>On the other hand, if you ask a member of the household about his or her relationship to the head of the household you have to invert the relationship before you enter it. If, for example, a person tells you that:</p>
<div class="i1">(a) The head is my father-you will write son or daughter (whichever is the correct one)<br />(b) The head is my mother's brother-you will write sister's daughter.<br />(c) The head is my son-you will write father or mother.</div><p>Always remember to avoid such vague terms as nephew, cousin, uncle, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, mother-in-law, etc. which do not denote exact relationships. Nephew may mean brother's son or sister's son and these should, therefore, be distinguished.</p>
<p><span class="pg">pg. 44</span></p>
<p>Make sure that the blood relationships specified are true biological relationships. A son must mean the head's own true son and not his brother's, etc. However, half-brothers, i.e. persons having one mother but different fathers, or one father but different mothers should be recorded as brothers. Similarly half-sisters should be recorded as sisters.</p>
<p>Any other relationships should be fully specified, e.g. adopted son, adopted daughter, etc. Other household members who are not related to the head of the household such as lodgers and unrelated servants should be recorded as such, e.g. servant, guest, friend, etc.</p>
<p>As a guide to the, type of relationships to be specified a list has been compiled for you at the bottom of the front page of the household questionnaire (Form H).</p>
<p>Note that the relationship column should be left blank for all persons in institutions and the floating population.
Description
Definition
This variable indicates the relationship of the respondent to the household head.
Universe
Ghana 1984: All persons
concept
Concept
| var_concept.title | Vocabulary |
|---|---|
| Demographic Variables -- PERSON | IPUMS |