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The UK Household Longitudinal Study

Capturing life in the UK in the 21st century Understanding Society is the largest longitudinal household panel study of its kind and provides vital evidence on life changes and stability

Essential information for survey participants

Every time you are interviewed, you are contributing to a unique study about life in the UK

Your participants area
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icons of health data

Registration now open – Biosocial Conference 2026: combining biological and social data

Understanding Society is pleased to announce that registration is now open for its Biosocial Conference 2026.

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Image of the front cover of Insights - Barriers to Opportunity

Barriers to opportunity for children and young people

Understanding Society’s Insights report for this year sets out what research using our data tells us about children’s development and young people’s life chances.

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Researcher explaining work at a public engagement event.

Call for new fellows open

We're now accepting applications for the Understanding Society fellowship programme

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Family on beach

Diversity or disadvantage? Families and employment of immigrants’ children in the UK

Children of immigrants from culturally similar countries have similar partnership, fertility, and employment trajectories to natives

Topics

Latest research

How earning capacity moderates the age-self-employment relationship

  1. Benjamin Bolger
  2. Frank Crowley
  3. Justin Doran
  4. Nóirín McCarthy
  5. Bernadette Power

Physical activity and biological age measured by DNA methylation clocks: a systematic review and meta-analysis

  1. Jiatong Shan
  2. Jian Hua Tay
  3. Weilan Wang
  4. Riise Tan
  5. Rujina Joshi
  6. Andrea B. Maier
  7. Lei Feng

Beyond the headlines: the intangible costs of terrorism

  1. Harry Pickard
  2. Vincenzo Bove
  3. Georgios Efthyvoulou

Gig work dependence and psychological distress in chronic illness

  1. Zaiyue Wang
  2. Lambert Zixin Li
  3. Senhu Wang
See all research

Understanding Society in the media

Research using data from the Study is frequently featured in the media.

Media mentions

Latest media articles

Which policies can both boost growth and help people on low incomes?

Pushover fathers tell kids ‘wait until Mum gets home’

Is Britain bowling alone?

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