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Young people

Home life, school work, friends, family, plans for the future. Children under 10 are included in their parent's survey. Young people aged 10-15 have their own survey about their life experiences, health and wellbeing

Understanding Society covers everyone in a household, so we ask questions about children and young people,as well as the adults. All young people aged 10 - 15 complete their own questionnaire and adults are asked about the children in their care. Exploring what young people think and do helps us understand life choices and the challenges of growing up in the UK in the 21st century.

Professor Ingrid Schoon

Champion for Youth

Youth data website

Check out our youth data website which reveals what life is like for 10-15-year olds now and what’s changed over time

Screenshot of the youth website homepage

What information does Understanding Society collect from young people?

The young people’s part of Understanding Society is a self-completion questionnaire which is completed confidentially once a young person’s parent or carer has give permission for them to be part of the survey. The questionnaire asks them about their family relationships and home life, about how they see themselves as a person and how they feel about different aspects of their life. We ask about their school life, homework, any paid jobs that they have and their plans for the future. Also included are questions on their health and wellbeing.

You can find the youth questionnaires for each wave here.

When a young person becomes aged 16 they move onto the adult survey.

What about younger children?

Parents or carers answer questions in the adult survey on the younger children in their care. Questions cover a range of parenting and child development areas.

For pregnancy and the first year after birth parents are asked about:

  • Type of conception, outcome of pregnancy. For live births, the type of delivery, whether smoked or drank in different pregnancy trimesters.
  • Due date, whether baby born early or late.
  • GAINS scale basic development question about feeding and sleeping.

Parents or carers of children are asked:

  • For children aged three whether the child has a long term health condition, a series of questions about learning physical and cognitive skills, behaviour and psychological wellbeing.
  • For children aged five or eight how happy they are at school, risk aversion behaviours, strengths and difficulties.
  • For children aged three, five or eight parental reading with the child, regular meal and bed times.

All parents of children under the age of 16 are asked about mother’s return to work plans, child care arrangements, how parents and children interact at home, parenting styles, non-resident parent relationships and child maintenance.

To find out about the specific questions asked in the Study use the index terms where you can search for children and young people variables including children, child care, family life and fertility. The questionnaire modules show the areas covered in each wave of the Study and allow you to see the actual questions asked in the survey.

Working Paper: Enhancing data around early life in Understanding Society: scientific opportunities and considerations

Professor Michaela Benzeval outlines the areas where Understanding Society is improving data on families.

Download

Understanding Society’s data on young people

Why young people are so important to the Study.

Relationships between children and their non-resident parents during Covid-19

Caroline Bryson on whether the relationships between children and their non-resident parent were affected during the early stages of the coronavirus pandemic.

Impact: ONS uses Understanding Society to help tackle bullying in schools

The Bullying Index show prevalence of bullying in schools and the impact on children’s wellbeing.

Our Impact

The Children’s Society report uses Understanding Society for its annual Good Childhood Report, which monitors the happiness of 10-15-year-olds.

A report from NatCen using our data has shown that mental health difficulties in childhood can significantly affect people’s education, relationships and future prospects.

Find out more about the impact Understanding Society has on policy, and about how you can work with us to provide evidence for decision-makers.

Find out more Work with us

Contact User Support Forum if you need help using the data or have a question for the Study team


Support forum

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