Understanding Society

Or if your research is well underway, or about to be published, see our blogs page. Your work could join the other posts there, and reach a new audience. Contact details on the page

Or look on our events page if you want to learn more about using Understanding Society for your own research. We list all our training courses there

New briefing note: Growth with purpose - Understanding Society Understanding Society outlines policy ideas for productivity and fairness. New publication sets out evidence-based policy ideas for driving growth and productivity while also tackling the labour marke...

On one of the big economic questions, our new briefing sets out evidence-based policy ideas for driving growth and productivity while also tackling the labour market inequalities which keep many in low wage, low skill work

Or if you’re after something a bit meatier, there’s our latest Insights report. Can the link between background and destiny be weakened…?

Smoking and disability?

Entrepreneurs in uncertain times?

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

Barriers to Opportunity report published - Understanding Society The new Insights report sifts through the latest evidence on how children and young people are doing, and the factors influencing their life chances insights on early years funding, regional inequalit...

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-...

Insights report - Understanding Society Our annual Insights report summarises research using our data which is relevant to government policy on a range of issues

Raj Patel, our Associate Director, Policy and Partnerships, says the report “makes a compelling case that we are a facing a major generational challenge with long-term consequences.”

There are insights on early years funding, regional inequalities, inheritances, poverty and how much education and welfare can mitigate the effects of intergenerational poverty. Plus: can background shape not just our chances of achieving what we wish for, but also the *nature* of what we wish for?

Barriers to Opportunity report published - Understanding Society The new Insights report sifts through the latest evidence on how children and young people are doing, and the factors influencing their life chances insights on early years funding, regional inequalit...

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

Links between disability and smoking - Understanding Society Smoking rates have been falling for decades, but tobacco is still a major cause of illness and premature death – and different groups in society remain persistent smokers Functional impairment linked ...

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

A photo of a person writing on a notepad in front of an open laptop.

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...

Entrepreneurs in uncertain times - Understanding Society During the pandemic, government support made it easier for businesses to survive. What Covid can teach us about supporting new businesses

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

Understanding Society Biosocial Conference 2026: combining biological and social data - Understanding Society A call for abstracts is now open - present your research at our Biosocial Conference A call for abstracts is now open - present your research at our Biosocial Conference

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...

Image shows grandfather helping toddler grandson to put shoes on in a playroom setting. Headline reads 'Grandparents and childcare' with intro text: CPC-CG member Professor Athina Vlachantoni and CPC-CG Co-Director Professor Maria Evandrou recently wrote an article for The Conversation examining why white British families are more likely to depend on grandparents for childcare. Drawing on findings from the UK Household Longitudinal Study, Professors Vlachantoni and Evandrou from the University of Southampton discuss how employment patterns, cultural expectations, and health inequalities across ethnic communities shape family childcare arrangements, offering new perspectives on how intergenerational care connects to work, wellbeing and ageing in the UK. They explain: About two-thirds of people in the UK will become grandparents during their lifetime. Half of those grandparents will provide some form of care to their grandchildren. But who makes up that half depends on a number of factors. One of these is ethnicity.

🗞️ 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...

Understanding Society Biosocial Conference 2026: combining biological and social data - Understanding Society A call for abstracts is now open - present your research at our Biosocial Conference A call for abstracts is now open - present your research at our Biosocial Conference

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.

Women who use online banking are more likely hold the purse strings Women in the UK who use online banking tools are nearly five times as likely to manage their household finances and about twice as likely to have the final say in major financial decisions, compared w...

💷 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...

Entrepreneurs in uncertain times - Understanding Society During the pandemic, government support made it easier for businesses to survive. What Covid can teach us about supporting new businesses

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...

Join our Strategic Oversight Board - Understanding Society We’re looking for new members to join on our Strategic Oversight Board to help guide Understanding Society into the future.

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...

...and how Covid affected different European countries, giving an overview of a new book

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

Join our Strategic Oversight Board - Understanding Society We’re looking for new members to join on our Strategic Oversight Board to help guide Understanding Society into the future.

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...