The primary purpose of this study is to develop composite variables for several sets of items included in the Second and Third Follow-Up Questionnaires of the National Longitudinal Study of the High School Class of 1972 (NLS). The need for this study is derived from the following considerations: (1) reduction of data dimensions, and (2) provision of reliable measures of some psychological traits and social behaviors. Data from the National Longitudinal Study are continually being used by researchers in the social sciences and education. In order that researchers may more parsimoniously analyze certain response groups, and in order that future NLS instrumentation may be improved, the construction of composite variables (linear combinations of specified related questionnaire responses) was undertaken in this research. Fourteen composite variables were generated as a result of this activity, and their composition and statistical characteristics are the subject of this report. The composites derived stem from the seven general areas from the NLS: satisfaction with education and training, satisfaction with work, voluntary participation or "activism", consumerism, perceived quality of life, political participation, and factors in choosing a graduate school. With a few exceptions, the composite variables produced reliability and discriminant validity favorable to their use in social science and educational research.