Podcast

Families and benefit cuts

What are the effects on stress, for parents and teenagers?

an adult holding a child's hand as they walk down a pavement outside a job centre plus

In this episode, host Chris Coates asks how families are affected by benefit cuts and fluctuating incomes – with guests Gabriele Mari, assistant professor in the School of Social and Behavioural Sciences at Erasmus University Rotterdam, and Sara Ogilvie, Director of Policy, Rights and Advocacy at the Child Poverty Action Group.

Read a transcript

What else is Understanding Society doing?

Photo of family walking their dog in the countryside

Children’s worries include good grades and rising prices

Children’s average happiness is lower across six aspects of life in 2022/23 compared to 2009/10

30 Oct 2025

Calendar Year 2023 data now available

The latest release of our Calendar Year datasets can now be accessed via the UK Data Service.

22 Oct 2025

Professor Annette Jäckle debates survey methods on BBC Radio 4

The Deputy Director of Understanding Society, Professor Annette Jäckle, has featured on a BBC Radio 4 programme to unpick the reality behind a recent headline about young people.

15 Oct 2025

Young people’s aspirations rise with parents’ income

Our capacity to plan for the future shapes our lives, and is affected by family wealth.

14 Oct 2025

Email newsletter

ESRC Institute for Social and Economic Research University of Essex

The Economic and Social Research Council is the primary funder of the study
The Study is led by a team at the Institute for Social and Economic Research (ISER) at the University of Essex.