Social Capital in ESDS Data

1. Social Capital in ESDS Data Jo Wathan ESDS, Government

2. 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

3. 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

4. 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

5. 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

6. Most large scale surveys suitable for secondary analysis are collected for policy purposes… • Should alwaysaskwhy data was collected • Policy interest in social capital associated with social exclusion & 3rd 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

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

8. ONS view of social capitalcont’d... • Bonding (Inclusive) - pulls tight, communities together, dense ties, ‘sociological superglue’ – Putnamgood 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

9. 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)

10. 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

11. HQS - examples • (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... http://www.statistics.gov.uk/socialcapital/downloads/harmonisation_steve_5.pdf

12. 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

13. Social capital: major sources

14. Other Social Capital Data More data sources in social capital guide

15. 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 www.ark.ac.uk

16. 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

17. Hierarchical data: conceptually

18. Neighbouring in later lifePerren 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)

19. Young People and Social CapitalDeviren & Babb (2005)http://www.statistics.gov.uk/articles/nojournal/Social_capital_young_people.pdf • 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

20. Health Inequalities in the older population: the role of personal capital, social resources and socio-economic circumstancesGrundy & Sloggett (2003) Soc Sci & Med 56, 935ff • Health Survey for England 1993-95 – 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)

21. 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 pageswww.esds.ac.uk/government/themes/socialcapital/