Repeat-spell survival analysis

[Bo Zhao]

Dear Statalisters,

I want to conduct a repeat-spell survival analysis with a dataset like the example below, but have not done so before. Any suggestions and help would thus be greatly appreciated. In particular,

1. Do I need to do anything to restructure the data in Stata first?
2. What models and corresponding Stata commands do people usually use to conduct repeat-spell survival analysis? Are there any limitations I should be aware of?
3. Are there any reading materials about repeat-spell survival analysis that you can direct me to?

Data format (note: the events below are the same-type event.)

ID event_date covariant_X
1 3/2/1980 0
2 5/4/1990 0
2 7/5/1992 1
3 1/2/1984 0
3 3/4/1986 0
3 8/9/1994 1
4 11/12/2000 0
4 12/13/2000 1
4 2/3/2001 0
4 6/7/2004 0

Thanks a lot.

Bo Zhao

[Steve Samuels]

Welcome to Statalist, Bo! Be sure to read the list FAQ, especially FAQ 12. About spell data, which the Stata documentation calls multiple failure data: 1) the Remarks and Examples section of the Manual entry for stset (there's a subsection on multiple failures); 2) this Stata FAQ by Mario Cleves.:

[Bo Zhao]

Thank you very much, Steve! Just to clarify, when you say FAQ 12, do you mean http://www.stata.com/support/faqs/statistics/#survival?

[Steve Samuels]

No, I mean: http://www.statalist.org/forums/help