Social Capital in ESDS Data Jo Wathan ESDS, Government

In this hour… ESDS social capital resources How is social capital measured in government surveys What data are available? Research potential & how have the data been used in research

ESDS Government: Social capital resources Social capital theme guide & web pages Joint workshop with ONS Research conference (with ESDS longitudinal) Social capital sections in the Scottish data guide (& forthcoming NI guide) Social capital teaching dataset based on GHS 2000 Social Capital Module – coming soon

How is social capital measured in the social surveys? Contentious, multifaceted, multifarious Focus on the ONS harmonised question set More data contains measures which could be used as indicators of social capital, rather than full sets

Little fluffy cloud Loosely defined nebulous concept Putnam (2001) identified at least 6 inventions of social capital. Inc.: –Hanifan(1916): support and social intercourse –Jacobs (1960s): neighbourliness –Bourdieu & Schlicht (1980s): social and economic resources embodied in social networks Concept is –Both individual and collective –Directly experienced but with indirect results –Covers a range of different aspects of social interaction and participation

Most large scale surveys suitable for secondary analysis are collected for policy purposes… Should always ask why data was collected Policy interest in social capital associated with social exclusion & 3 rd way policy agenda Potential influence of policy issues on the manner in which concepts and operationalised Social exclusion unit has adopted the OECD definition of social exclusion – so has ONS

The OECD definition Networks together with shared norms, values and understandings that facilitate cooperation within or among groups OECD, 2001

ONS view of social capital contd... Bonding (Inclusive) - pulls tight, communities together, dense ties, sociological superglue – Putnam good for getting by – de Souza Briggs Bridging (Exclusive) – weaker ties across groups, sociological WD-40 - Putnam better for getting ahead – de Souza Briggs Linking – linkages across levels of hierarchy

5 main aspects in ONS approach Civic participation (voting, taking action) Social networks/support (contact with friends/relatives) Social participation (involvement with groups/voluntary activities) Reciprocity & trust (giving/receiving favours, trust in other people) Views about the local area (satisfaction / problems with the area)

ONS harmonised question set (HQS) Closest thing we have to a standard measure within surveys of this type at the moment? Run in GHS 04, will be run in HOCS 07, SEH, HSE (older people module 05), FACS 05 as well as local surveys (e.g. Liverpool and Camden LAs) Result of considerable methodological work Available in a range of formats for use in a range of survey types

(AreaLive) How long have you lived in this area? (SatLive) How satisfied are you with this area as a place to live? (Nbackg) To what extent do you agree or disagree that this neighbourhood is a place where people from different backgrounds get on well together? (NTrust) Would you say that Most of the people in your neighbourhood can be trusted... (SLost) Suppose you lost your (purse/wallet) containing your address details, and it was found inthe street by someone living in this neighbourhood. How likely is it that it would be returned to you with nothing missing? (Drunk) How much of a problem are people being drunk or rowdy in public places? (AntiNgh) How much of a problem are troublesome neighbours? (SolvLP) In the last 12 months have you taken any of the following actions in an attempt to solve –a problem affecting people in your local area? –SHOWCARD –1. Contacted a local radio station, television station or newspaper –2. Contacted the appropriate organisation to deal with the problem, such as the council –3. Contacted a local councillor or MP –4. Attended a public meeting or neighbourhood forum to discuss local issues –5. Attended a tenants or local residents group –6. Attended a protest meeting or joined an action group... HQS - examples

Not the only approach though…. Surveys prior to 2004 may have social capital components using other question combinations However most surveys only pick up elements of social capital –Experience of crime –Contact with friends/family –Participation in political/voluntary organisation

Social capital: major sources SurveyWhenE,W,S,NSample sizeOther topicsSupport General Household Survey * Soc cap mod 2004, 2000 GB onlyc. 10k households (only 1 int. per hhd for module) Wide-ranging Inc. Health, consumer durables ESDS Government Continuous Household Survey Soc cap mod 2003/4 2005/6 NIc.2.7k households Wide-ranging akin to GHS ESDS Government British Household Panel Study Panel different elements each wave UK, with NIHPS NI boost Original n: 5.5k hhds, + 2k hhds NI Micro change: household, employment, education etc. ESDS Longitudinal Home Office Citizenship Survey * Every 2 years from 01 England & Wales only 2003: core c. 10k + boosts of young & eth minorities Employment racial prejudice, charitable giving ESDS general – UK Data Archive Omnibus Survey Oct 03 Nov 03 Feb 04 GBSums to 3712 with yo Varies by month - classificatory ESDS Government

Other Social Capital Data SurveyE, W, S, NSample sizeSoc Cap topicsSupport British Crime Survey England & Wales 02: c 36k inds in main + eth minority boost Fear of crime Anti-socl behvr Soc cap module since 01 ESDS Government – special conditions British Social Attitudes Survey, GBc. 3k respondents in 02 Political participation Social trust ESDS Government Northern Ireland Life & Times NIc. 2k in social networks 88- Crime/fear of crime ESDS Government Survey of English Housing Englandc. 20k in 01/02Local area satisfaction ESDS Government Time Use Survey UKc. 6.5k in 00/1Volunteering, caring, social activities ESDS Government More data sources in social capital guide

Focus on Northern Ireland Sample sizes for UK-wide surveys are generally not large enough unless boosted. –Largest sample sizes are on datasets which do not have minimal use for social capital analyses on their own –Time Use Survey only has 307 cases in NI in 00 NI boosts and variants –BHPS variant is known as the NIHPS, separate analyses undertaken by ARK since 2001 –NILT, is successor to Northern Ireland Social Attitudes Survey. NILT is supported by the Northern Ireland Social and Political Archive

Research potential Microdata means you can use the data flexibly to apply explore definitions/operationalisation And apply multivariate techniques Largish sample sizes means you can identify and work with subpopulations Merge years of data if n is not large enough –Large samples, but still subject to sampling error Heirarchical data allows you look within families/households

Hierarchical data: conceptually Household 1 North West Social rented Person 1 HoH Female 28 GCSE P/T Work No LTILL Person 2 Son of HoH Male 12 N/A No LTILL Household 2 Wales Owner occupier Person 1 HoH Male 33 Degree F/T Employee No LTILL Person 2 Spouse of HOH Female 31 Degree P/T Employee No LTILL Person 3 Parent of HoH Female 72 No quals Econ Inactive LTILL

Neighbouring in later life Perren et.al (2004) Sociology 38:5 965ff Looking at impact of gender and household composition on social relations with neighbours GHS 2000 Draws on household composition information Core GHS asked of all members of the household Social capital module only asked of 1 person in the household Concludes that older people who are materially disadvantaged, also less likely to receive fewer favours (1) Women living with others is the reference category (odds = 1.0). Controls for: tenure, car, health, age, time at address Source: General Household Survey, 2000 (authors analysis)

Young People and Social Capital Deviren & Babb (2005) Questions appropriate to all adults may not pick up on young peoples activity Alternative question set on Omnibus Survey Finds that young people have wider, more active social circles – but have lower levels of civic engagement than their elders

Health Survey for England – 3 years of data merged to give large enough n Social support based on 7 questions responses combined into a single scale to distinguish: no lack, some lack and severe lack of social support Socio-economic indicators are the most associated with physical ill-health indicators Lack of social support most associated with psychiatric morbidity (ie. Poor GHQ scores) Health Inequalities in the older population: the role of personal capital, social resources and socio-economic circumstances Grundy & Sloggett (2003) Soc Sci & Med 56, 935ff

Summary Nebulous concept ONS moving towards harmonised question set that will be the standard in many datasets Wide range of data available Many datasets have component indicators if not Soc Cap Modules Data suited to flexible, multivariate analyses on populations or subpopulations Some data suited to hierarchical analyses ESDS Social Capital theme pages