Time spent alone

Time spent alone includes activities in which respondents did not report that others (spouse or partner, child, other household adult, co-worker, or other person) were present. The variable used to create time use variables via AHTUS-X is ALONE_ALT; see documentation for differences in the construction of this variable across time. Note that if a respondent reported being alone and with someone else, the time during that activity does NOT count toward the total for time use variables created via the AHTUS-X extract system.

Users should also note differences across time in the activities that respondents were asked who they were with. In SAMPLE=1998, respondents were not asked who they were with when they were sleeping (MAIN=3). In ATUS samples (2003+), respondents were not asked who they were with during sleep (MAIN=3) or personal care (MAIN=6); from 2003-2009, ATUS respondents were not asked who they were with while they were working.