Consultation on Life Events survey questions. We're looking for feedback on the proposed questions on family changes. There's more information on our website: www.understandingsociety.ac.uk/news/2026/07...

Consultation on Life Events survey questions - Understanding Society

We're seeking feedback on our suggested questions on family changes to be included in the Life Events survey.

understandingsociety.ac.uk

New podcast: what effect do food banks have on the mental health of the people who use them? With Muhammad Waqas Assistant Professor in Economics @uniofbradford.bsky.social and @helenbarnard.bsky.social Director of Policy, Research and Impact @trusselluk.bsky.social

Food banks and mental health - Understanding Society

Podcast: research asks what effect food banks have on the mental health of people who use them

understandingsociety.ac.uk

New case study: End Furniture Poverty charity report using our data says around six million people live without at least one essential furniture item “needed for a safe, dignified and healthy home”

Millions live in furniture poverty - Understanding Society

Charity says people live “without furniture and appliances needed for safe, healthy home” End Furniture Poverty used Understanding Society data and found around six million people live without at leas...

understandingsociety.ac.uk

Seminar: Family influences on children's mental health and wellbeing. Hear some of the latest research on how family environments shape children's socio-emotional development and mental health. Online, 30 Sept, 1.00 - 2.00. Book your place: www.understandingsociety.ac.uk/events/267593/

This is a fantastic resource; establishing it was an inspired move, keeping it on the road should be a priority.

Understanding Society@usociety.bsky.social · 2w ago

Our latest annual report is out today—all the highlights of 2025, including Wave 15 of our main survey, W17 of the Innovation Panel, increased research use, growing influence on government policy, and a very productive scientific conference…

Our latest annual report is out today—all the highlights of 2025, including Wave 15 of our main survey, W17 of the Innovation Panel, increased research use, growing influence on government policy, and a very productive scientific conference…

Understanding Society Annual Report 2025 - Understanding Society

Find out what Understanding Society did during 2025, plus read some of the research and policy impact from the year

understandingsociety.ac.uk

Seminar: Family influences on children's mental health and wellbeing. Hear some of the latest research on how family environments shape children's socio-emotional development and mental health. Online, 30 Sept, 1.00 - 2.00. Book your place: www.understandingsociety.ac.uk/events/267593/

New case study: End Furniture Poverty charity report using our data says around six million people live without at least one essential furniture item “needed for a safe, dignified and healthy home”

Millions live in furniture poverty - Understanding Society

Charity says people live “without furniture and appliances needed for safe, healthy home” End Furniture Poverty used Understanding Society data and found around six million people live without at leas...

understandingsociety.ac.uk

New podcast: what effect do food banks have on the mental health of the people who use them? With Muhammad Waqas Assistant Professor in Economics @uniofbradford.bsky.social and @helenbarnard.bsky.social Director of Policy, Research and Impact @trusselluk.bsky.social

Food banks and mental health - Understanding Society

Podcast: research asks what effect food banks have on the mental health of people who use them

understandingsociety.ac.uk

New blog: Derrick Xu at @unisouthampton.bsky.social @sotonecon.bsky.social used our data to look at the highly local effects of extreme weather on people’s pro-environmental behaviour

Only in my backyard - Understanding Society

People two percentage points more likely to donate to environmental charities after flood in their postcode The very local effects of flooding on environmental behaviour

understandingsociety.ac.uk

7 July, 2.00-4.00, a workshop from the Survey Futures project on nonresponse follow-ups to web surveys. Are they still needed? And what are the implications for data quality? The workshop is free to attend, but you need to register: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/survey-fut...

Survey Futures Workshop: Nonresponse follow-ups to web surveys

Are nonresponse follow-ups to web surveys of the UK general population still needed? Implications for data quality

eventbrite.co.uk

New impact: Department for Culture, Media & Sport has published new research into the “factors that shape how boys and young men experience loneliness” using our data

Boys and young men less likely to report loneliness - Understanding Society

Government uses Understanding Society to investigate isolation and social connection New research into factors that shape how boys and young men experience loneliness

understandingsociety.ac.uk

Findings from our recent publication in the Journal of Economic Psychology highlighted by @unitrier.bsky.social! @asoetevent.bsky.social, Gerard van den Berg and I study #wordingeffects in surveyed worries about #climatechange using a survey experiment in the @usociety.bsky.social Innovation Panel.

Wie fragen wir nach Sorgen um den Klimawandel?

Eine Studie unter Beteiligung der Universität Trier zeigt, dass schon kleinste Änderungen in der Formulierung großen Einfluss auf Befragungen zum Klimawandel haben.

uni-trier.de

In a new episode of our podcast out today, Chris talks to Zoey Verdun, a researcher at @imperialcollegeldn.bsky.social, and Claire Levy from @drwf.bsky.social about whether we change our lifestyles when we face a health issue such as diabetes or a heart problem

Health warnings and lifestyles - Understanding Society

Do we change our lifestyles when we face a health issue such as diabetes or a heart problem?

understandingsociety.ac.uk

Fraser Nelson has written on his Substack about using Understanding Society to explore whether “the places struggling most with worklessness, poor health and welfare dependency are those most transformed by migration”

Britain’s sickness crisis isn’t about immigration

I tested a common theory: that the places struggling most with worklessness, poor health and welfare dependency are those most transformed by migration.

frasernelson.substack.com

Want to learn to analyse exciting longitudinal data like @usociety.bsky.social, cohort studies, @sharedata.bsky.social ? Join our course @essexsummerschool.bsky.social to learn how to work with data efficiently and apply new methods! @closer-uk.bsky.social @clscohorts.bsky.social @ncrm.ac.uk

New blog: a ‘long read’ from Understanding Society’s Research Impact and Project Manager Chris Coates on social capital: how we define and measure it, and what research tells us about how encouraging it can help us all

Long read: Can social capital fix a ‘broken’ Britain? - Understanding Society

Can policy that focuses on social capital help to build a happier, more cohesive society? What we know about social capital from recent Understanding Society research

understandingsociety.ac.uk

Rising natural gas and electricity prices: longitudinal evidence on physical health and socioeconomic vulnerability - using @usociety.bsky.social data www.iser.essex.ac.uk/research/pub... By Seung Eun Cha, Sangwhee Lee, Benjamin D. Douglas, Carol D. Ryff.

A new report from the Mental Health Foundation using data from Understanding Society - The state of mental health inequality in the UK. The analysis shows diverging trends across the UK and growing mental health inequality over time. reports.mentalhealth.org.uk/foundation-r...

The Foundation Reports - The full report for 2026

The Foundation Reports - The state of mental health inequality in the UK (2026)

reports.mentalhealth.org.uk

New blog: Nia Morrish, Anne Spencer, and Antonieta Medina-Lara @exeter.ac.uk say “Loneliness is not just a social issue. It’s a significant public health and economic concern”

Loneliness and the cost to the NHS - Understanding Society

Loneliness linked to worse health and around £850 a year healthcare costs per person Using data from over 23,000 people in Understanding Society, researchers analysed how loneliness relates to healthc...

understandingsociety.ac.uk

New blog: Nia Morrish, Anne Spencer, and Antonieta Medina-Lara @exeter.ac.uk say “Loneliness is not just a social issue. It’s a significant public health and economic concern”

Loneliness and the cost to the NHS - Understanding Society

Loneliness linked to worse health and around £850 a year healthcare costs per person Using data from over 23,000 people in Understanding Society, researchers analysed how loneliness relates to healthc...

understandingsociety.ac.uk

What impact is AI having on surveys? @annettejackle.bsky.social has been on Radio 4's More or Less talking about fraudulent survey responses and AI. Listen from 15:30 for the segment on YouGov polling for the Bible Society... www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...

BBC Radio 4 - More or Less, Are refugees more likely to commit crime?

Asylum seekers and crime, nuclear fish, the Quiet Revival and Sir David Attenborough.

bbc.co.uk

New blog: Raj Patel identifies five ways to tackle the stagnant productivity and low growth which – along with persistent inequality – have plagued the UK economy for nearly 20 years

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

Traditionally, reducing labour market insecurities has been pursued as a separate goal. But five policy areas could boost both productivity and equality Traditionally, reducing labour market insecurit...

understandingsociety.ac.uk

Registration now open – @usociety.bsky.social Biosocial Conference 2026: combining biological and social data. A one-day event bringing together researchers working with biological and social data. London, Broadway House, 15 October 2026. www.understandingsociety.ac.uk/news/2026/05...

New case study: @resolutionfoundation.org used our data as one of its sources to assess whether the government’s tax plans benefitted poorer households

Autumn Budget 2025 supports ‘most vulnerable’ - Understanding Society

Living standards think tank used our data to assess government economic policy Resolution Foundation uses Understanding Society data to see if tax plans are progressive

understandingsociety.ac.uk

Barriers to opportunity for children and young people/ Long read: what research using @usociety.bsky.social tells us about children and young people’s futures. www.understandingsociety.ac.uk/blog/2026/04...

Registration now open – @usociety.bsky.social Biosocial Conference 2026: combining biological and social data www.understandingsociety.ac.uk/news/2026/05... The conference will take place in London at Broadway House on 15 October 2026.

New Working Paper from @profpeterlynn.bsky.social: Web-first or CAPI-first? How best to combine modes to recruit a probability-based general population survey sample. Web-first design resulted in higher response rates and a more representative sample. www.understandingsociety.ac.uk/research/pub...

New Working Paper on cognitive testing questions asked to families. Carried out by @ipsosintheuk.bsky.social, this report explores how to balance consistency of questions over time and reflect the increasing complexity of family relationships. www.understandingsociety.ac.uk/research/pub...

New blog: what did we learn at the launch event for our Insights report on barriers to children’s and young people’s opportunities in life? Presentations, new findings and discussions in our new long read...

Barriers to opportunity for children and young people - Understanding Society

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. Understanding Society’s Insights repo...

understandingsociety.ac.uk