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Unhappy families? New evidence on life satisfaction in Britain
June 18, 2004How satisfied are we with the lives we lead? As part of Social Science week, ESRC's new publication Seven Ages of Man and Woman reports research evidence from a variety of sources rich in detail on the changing lives of Britons of all ages:
"¢ Among thirty-somethings recorded in the 1970 Birth Cohort Study, women seem slightly more contented than men, and in both cases, the most satisfied are those living with a partner, either with or without children.
"¢ Only half as many men living alone appear really positive, but the most unhappy men are those living with their parents - four out of ten claim to be dissatisfied with their lives. This seems to reflect their inability to 'get on' owing to their lack of qualifications, marketable skills and economic independence.
"¢ Among women, dissatisfaction is greatest among lone mothers. But this is concentrated among those who are out of the labour market or in poorly paid part-time work. This suggests that, in terms of life satisfaction, the double burden of full-time employment and child-care is outweighed by the economic and social benefits.
"¢ Among parents of babies in the Millennium Cohort Study, nearly half of mothers and almost all fathers go out to work. Over a quarter of working mothers and more than half of working fathers think that they do not spend enough time with their babies.
"¢ About a quarter of mothers in this study who think they have nowhere near enough time with their babies say that being in work was the most difficult thing about there first nine months with them.
"¢ According to the Melton Mowbray Ageing Project, some older people may be lonely and dissatisfied, but most are not and they continue to lead socially active and productive lives. Sadly, almost a fifth of all those aged 75 and over sometimes feel that life is not worth living, but four-fifths do not.
"¢ Another indicator of emotional wellbeing points to more stressful lives among young adults. Reported symptoms of depression and anxiety have doubled from one in 14 for the cohort born in 1958 to one in seven for a comparable cohort born in 1970.
"¢ But any suggestion that family life is the key to contentment is belied somewhat by findings on how relationships are actually viewed. There is a startling increase in reported unhappy relationships among those born in 1970: one in five men and nearly one in four women claim they are unhappy with their partner, compared with just one in 30 among those born in 1958.
"¢ One clue as to the reasons for this shift may lie in the balance of gender roles in the workplace and at home. The huge increase in women's participation in the labour force has not been matched by men's contribution in the home. A trend towards more egalitarian domestic roles among the 1958 cohort in the early 1990s appears to have stalled, even slightly reversed, among the 1970 cohort.
"¢ Contrary to popular perception, graduate men in higher social class occupations are the least likely to be heavily involved in domestic work and child-care.
"¢ Signs of strain in family relationships are echoed in a declining attachment to the community. Membership of community organisations by the 1970 cohort is only half what it had been for the 1958 cohort in the early 1990s, down from 14% to 8% for men and 25% to 12% for women.
"¢ Conversely, twice as many men and women born in 1970 claim to have no interest in politics, and this is reflected in their abstention from voting.
"¢ By far the most negative indicator of social alienation is conflict with authority and the law - a much more common experience among the 1970 cohort, for both men and, at a much lower level, women.
"¢ But there are also marked differences within the cohort: the greatest disengagement from the community is found among the least qualified, those in low-skilled jobs or without work, and mothers bringing up children single-handed.
Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC)
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