New blog: research finds changing climate has “substantial economic impacts” on us – by Georgios Marios Chrysanthou at the University of Dundee, and Panagiotis Tzouvanas at the University of Portsmouth

New blog: research finds changing climate has “substantial economic impacts” on us – by Georgios Marios Chrysanthou at the University of Dundee, and Panagiotis Tzouvanas at the University of Portsmouth

New @healthequals.bsky.social analysis of UK data spanning 15 years shows a generational shift as the proportion of young people not in employment, education or training (NEET) with a likely mental health condition doubles.

For unpaid #carers, earning more does not always lead to economic security. Motivated by the recent #Carer's #Allowance scandal, I have a new working paper @usociety.bsky.social on how much insecurity carers experience, for how long, who's most exposed and why: osf.io/preprints/so... 1/2

Our latest blog: Chris Coates looks at Daisy Fancourt’s use of our data in her new book, Art Cure – The Science of How the Arts Transform our Health, and finds evidence for lower levels of inflammatory markers in the blood, and for slower biological ageing

New working paper: @gianfrancoaddario.bsky.social @natcen.bsky.social on ethnic and immigrant participants dropping out of the Study – findings suggest different combinations of factors can be linked to an increase or decrease in the likelihood of attrition, depending on the ethnic group

Almost Friday lunchtime. Looking for something to read? How about a blog? The traditional U-shape in wellbeing…?

Every year, we produce a major report on the significant issues of the day, and what research using our data can tell us. This year, following the government’s announcement of its opportunity mission, we examine the evidence on children’s development and young people’s life chances

New from @healthfoundation.bsky.social analysis of unpaid care in the UK. Using data from UKHLS to see who cares, for how long, and the impact it has. "Caring is often rewarding but without the right support, it can come at a personal and financial cost." www.health.org.uk/reports-and-...

Every year, we produce a major report on the significant issues of the day, and what research using our data can tell us. This year, following the government’s announcement of its opportunity mission, we examine the evidence on children’s development and young people’s life chances

Our latest blog: Yusuff Adebisi @glasgow.ac.uk and Najim Alshahrani at the University of Jeddah examine links between disability and smoking, and say governments should address factors which drive higher smoking rates in disabled populations, such as poverty

Want to know more about key topics in Understanding Society? Our lunch time webinars give an overview of questions asked and demonstrate how to quickly find specific questions and variables: 5 March (linked data) 12 March (income, wealth and housing) www.understandingsociety.ac.uk/help/trainin...

Our latest blog: Nick Litsardopoulos @employmentstudies.bsky.social explores how financial support and digital technology worked together to affect entrepreneurship

If you want to present your work at our Biosocial Conference (15 Oct, London) you've got until 20 March to submit your abstract. www.understandingsociety.ac.uk/news/2025/12...

🗞️ CPC-CG's Athina Vlachantoni & Maria Evandrou examine why white British #families are more likely to depend on #grandparents for #childcare, drawing on findings from @usociety.bsky.social data. Full article in section 5 of the latest Changing Populations: sway.cloud.microsoft/WzAYgcw05ELX...

If you want to present your work at our Biosocial Conference (15 Oct, London) you've got until 20 March to submit your abstract. www.understandingsociety.ac.uk/news/2025/12...

📑 CPC-CG members @valediiasio.bsky.social, @corradogiulietti.bsky.social & @jackiewahba.bsky.social discuss their analysis of @usociety.bsky.social data examining the uneven social consequences of #Brexit in the UK and how it affected the mental health of ethnic minority youth ⤵️ @bspsuk.bsky.social

New #OpenAccess Bringing economic & family sociology into the digital era, @yanghu.co.uk & @yueqiansoc.bsky.social analyze longitudinal data from @usociety.bsky.social to reveal how the use of online banking shape couples' money management and financial decisions doi.org/10.1093/esr/jcag002

@childrenssociety.bsky.social uses data from Understanding Society to track children's wellbeing over time. Their latest report brings together the evidence from their Good Childhood research programme.

💷 Digital tools may not just make life easier (sometimes) – they are also quietly reconfiguring power, inequality, and intimacy in everyday family life. (Powered by @usociety.bsky.social data) 📰 Read the @ucl.ac.uk | @ioe.bsky.social press release here: www.ucl.ac.uk/news/2026/fe...

Our latest blog: Nick Litsardopoulos @employmentstudies.bsky.social explores how financial support and digital technology worked together to affect entrepreneurship

New Working Paper! Does asking participants to do extra tasks affect whether they take part in later annual interviews and subsequent additional data collection? Read the paper to find out! www.understandingsociety.ac.uk/research/pub...

Could you help us develop the future of Understanding Society? We're looking for new members to join our Strategic Oversight Board, the group that reviews and advises on the direction and operational delivery of the Study. www.understandingsociety.ac.uk/news/2026/01...

As it’s Friday lunchtime, why not check out our new blogs from this month? The U-shape of wellbeing – “among the most striking, persistent patterns in social science” – has disappeared in recent years...

Short introductions to @usociety.bsky.social topics - www.understandingsociety.ac.uk/help/trainin... Linked data – 5 March Income, wealth and housing – 12 March Health and Biomarker data - 15 April Employment – 14 May Family, households and children – 21 May Linked data – 1 October

New paper on #UK #children's diverse #family pathways using #sequenceanalysis on @usociety.bsky.social data shows: * More than 25% of children do not grow up with biological parents * Children of more educated, Asian, and migrant mothers tend to grow up with married parents tinyurl.com/47x4r57z

Could you help us develop the future of Understanding Society? We're looking for new members to join our Strategic Oversight Board, the group that reviews and advises on the direction and operational delivery of the Study. www.understandingsociety.ac.uk/news/2026/01...

JRF uses our data in this report to examine, persistent poverty (including among religious minorities), and some of the psychological effects of poverty, among other subjects

BLOG from @usociety.bsky.social The disappearance of the hump shape in ill-being by age - Lifetime happiness trend changes as youth mental health suffers www.understandingsociety.ac.uk/blog/2026/01... By @xiaoweixu.bsky.social @alexbryson.bsky.social @dannyblanchy.bsky.social

Check out this new publication using data from the GIP and our Mannheim Corona Study!

Our latest blog: our associate director Alita Nandi on her new book with researchers from France, Italy, and Germany which looks at how the pandemic changed lives, and the different impacts seen in four European countries

📣 The next Scottish UKHLS (@usociety.bsky.social) User Group Meeting will be on the 24th of April 1500-1630 Online @uoe-sps.bsky.social To receive the meeting invite sign up to the mailing list here: edin.ac/48nQsc2

Insights 2026: Children and young people’s futures www.understandingsociety.ac.uk/events/insig... Join @usociety.bsky.social for the launch of the 2026 Insights report at a one-day policy conference on building social infrastructure to support development and reduce inequalities.

The government wants to “Break Down Barriers to Opportunity”, so how can we build a social infrastructure that supports children’s development and reduces inequalities? Some of the answers are in this year’s Insights report, which we launch in London on 26 February

The U-shape of wellbeing – high when we’re young, then falling, and rising after middle age – was “among the most striking, persistent patterns in social science ... But this is no longer true” – new blog by @dannyblanchy.bsky.social @alexbryson.bsky.social @xiaoweixu.bsky.social @theifs.bsky.social

✨ Join us on 11 February in Manchester for Perspectives on Engagement and Impact: a UK Data Service event for Early Career Researchers. 📅 11 February 2026 ⏰ 09:30-15:30 📍 The Engine Room, People’s History Museum, Manchester 🧷 ukdataservice.ac.uk/events/persp...

A new story on our website this week showing how @ukri.org funding generates impact: @learnworkuk.bsky.social has used Understanding Society data in its report, ‘No train no gain – Can the UK boost job mobility and pay growth over the next decade?’

New on our website today: @learnworkuk.bsky.social has used Understanding Society data in its report, ‘No train no gain – Can the UK boost job mobility and pay growth over the next decade?’

On the 15 and 16 January we have our first training course of the year! Getting started with household panel surveys is our 1 day intro to study design, content, data, weighting, plus basic data management. 15 Jan: online 16 Jan: in-person at Essex uni www.understandingsociety.ac.uk/help/trainin...

The Understanding Society office is closed for the Christmas period between 24 December and 5 January. Season's greetings to all our followers!

New research (using Understanding Society) from Eleni Karagiannaki @lse-sticerd-case.bsky.social finds that wealth differences between ethnic groups in the UK have widened significantly since 2012/14. www.lse.ac.uk/news/uk-ethn...

Delighted to hear this, not least because this research used Understanding Society as one of its data sources! But also... (mini-🧵)

Our friends at @ukdsimpact.bsky.social and @closer-uk.bsky.social are hosting a free event in Manchester for early career researchers on perspectives on engagement and impact. Taking place on 11 Feb, the event is designed to build skills, networks and confidence in creating impact.

Understanding Society Wave 15 is out today! The latest wave of data can be accessed via the @ukdataservice.bsky.social. New content includes questions on pregnancies, guardians, and environmental identity. www.understandingsociety.ac.uk/news/2025/12...

Understanding Society Biosocial Conference 2026 - the call for abstracts is now open! Share your work on topics that combine biological and social data. Deadline for abstracts: 20 March In-person conference: 15 October Submit your abstract: www.understandingsociety.ac.uk/news/2025/12...

New on our website today: how @heejungchung.bsky.social and a team at @giwlkings.bsky.social used Understanding Society data in the new Gender Equality Index UK

A characteristically fascinating piece of work from Giulio here - and a lovely reminder of how valuable is the ESRC @usociety.bsky.social dataset we're lucky to have in the UK

"Another productive and inspiring meeting with the Department for Work & Pensions team today, sharing our findings from our @ukri.org ESRC-funded project on minority ethnic differentials in #pensions," says CPC-CG member Athina Vlachantoni (@unisouthampton.bsky.social @usociety.bsky.social)

New case study published today: Welsh Government used Understanding Society to look at parenting before law banning physical punishment

UK social science delivers real-life impact at local, national & global scales. E.g. @usociety.bsky.social is one of the largest long-term panel studies in the world, drawing on data from approx. 40,000 UK households, & is used to inform solutions to a range of issues.➡️ acss.org.uk/publications...