A cross-cohort description of young people's housing experience in Britain over 30 years: An application of Sequence Analysis

Methods. Sequence Analysis supported by Event History Analysis. Key Findings. Despite only 12 years separating both cohorts, the younger 1970 cohort exhibited very different patterns of housing including a slower progression out of the parental home and into stable tenure, and an increased reliance on privately rented housing. Returns to the parental home occurred across the twenties and into the thirties in both cohorts, although occurred more frequently and were more concentrated among certain groups in the 1970 cohort compared to the 1958 cohort. Although fewer cohort members in the 1970 cohort experienced social housing, and did so at a later age, social housing was also associated with greater tenure immobility in this younger cohort. Conclusions. The housing experiences of the younger cohort became associated with more unstable tenure (privately rented housing) for the majority. Leaving the parental home was observed to be a process, as opposed to a one-off event, and several returns to the parental home were documented, more so for the 1970 cohort. These findings are not unrelated, and in the current environment of rising house prices, collapses in the (youth) labour market and rising costs of higher education, are likely to increase in prevalence across subsequent cohorts.Housing, Young People, Sequence Analysis, Housing Tenure

Trust in government, trust in others during and compliance with social distancing: findings from the CLS COVID-19 web survey across four National Longitudinal Studies

This paper focuses on the changes in self-reported trust in government, others and compliance with social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic for a subgroup of 9137 individuals who provided evaluations on three consecutive waves of a web survey (May 2020, September 2020 and February 2021). Sample members belong to four national longitudinal studies, covering ‘baby boomers’ (sixty-something’s), ‘Generation X’ (fifty-something’s), ‘Millennials’ (thirty-somethings) and ‘Generation Z’ (twenty-somethings). During the early days of the first lockdown (May 2020) members of the two older generations reported the highest levels of trust in government in contrast to their younger counterparts. This disparity between the generations held over time and whilst the tendency amongst all age groups was towards lower levels of trust a notable minority of respondents hardly changed their evaluations at all and, some cases reported higher levels of trust. At the outset of the pandemic older women tended to be more trusting of and in the younger age groups non-White (BAME) respondents reported lower levels of trust in contrast to White respondents. Longitudinal analysis consists of is a series of conditional regression models which include the influence of socio-demographic characteristics, living arrangements, work status, social contact and expressions of loneliness across each generation. Notably, women remain more trusting of government than men in the oldest cohort and having a degree is associated with a negative influence on trust for the oldest and youngest. Loneliness diminishes trust in government for the youngest cohorts whereas vaccine reluctance only appears to matter for the oldest. For ‘trust in others’, there is little to differentiate between cohort members apart from the negative association of loneliness amongst the young. Findings for compliance with social distancing suggest that women are consistently compliant even, when reporting vaccine reluctance. The final wave included two measures to assess ‘government performance’; how the government handled the pandemic and whether or not the government was doing all it can to reduce the spread of COVID-19. In the case of the former those with a degree are consistently skeptical. Additionally, in the youngest cohort, women are typically negative in their assessment together with those who experience loneliness. For the latter measure, women together with BAME respondents are consistently positive in their evaluation whereas, vaccine reluctance tended to be associated with negative assessments

A methodological investigation of non sampling error: Interviewer variability and non response.

Two principal sources of error in data collected from structured interviews with respondents are the methods of observation itself, and the impact of failure to obtain responses from selected individuals. Methodological strategies are developed to investigate practical ways of handling these errors for data appraisal. In part one, the differential impact of each of a group of interviewers on the responses obtained in two separate epidemiological studies is examined. Interviewer effect is measured and its impact on the interpretation of individual responses, scale scores and modelling is shown. The analysis demonstrates that it is possible to achieve four objectives with slight modification of survey design. First, estimates of precision for the survey results can be improved by including the component due to interviewer variability. Secondly, items with high sensitivity to interviewer effect can be identified. Thirdly, the pattern of distortion for different types of items can be discovered. Replicate analyses appear to indicate that deviations between interviewers are not always consistent over time. Fourthly, by means of 'variance component modelling' the presence of interviewers on the interpretation of linear models can be evaluated. These models are used to show how interviewer characteristics may be used to account for variation in the responses. Part two establishes an evaluative framework for the systematic review of interviewer call back strategies in terms of nonresponse bias and the costs of data collection. Use of an 'efficiency index', based on a product of 'mean square error' and cost for items in a survey of occupational mobility provides a retrospective evaluation. The empirical evidence had important practical consequences for fieldwork. The possibility of alternative call-back norms and the relative efficacy of appointment versus non-appointment calls is shown. The methodology develops from a review of adjustment procedures for nonresponse bias and models for survey costing. Logically, the methodologies for the three empirical investigations could be combined into an appraisal for a single survey. Only lack of resources inhibited such an outcome

Is the sexual behaviour of young people in sub-Saharan Africa influenced by their peers? A systematic review.

Adolescents in sub-Saharan Africa are highly vulnerable to HIV, other sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and unintended pregnancies. Evidence for the effectiveness of individual behaviour change interventions in reducing incidence of HIV and other biological outcomes is limited, and the need to address the social conditions in which young people become sexually active is clear. Adolescents' peers are a key aspect of this social environment and could have important influences on sexual behaviour. There has not yet been a systematic review on the topic in sub-Saharan Africa. We searched 4 databases to find studies set in sub-Saharan Africa that included an adjusted analysis of the association between at least one peer exposure and a sexual behaviour outcome among a sample where at least 50% of the study participants were aged between 13 and 20 years. We classified peer exposures using a framework to distinguish different mechanisms by which influence might occur. We found 30 studies and retained 11 that met quality criteria. There were 3 cohort studies, 1 time to event and 7 cross-sectional. The 11 studies investigated 37 different peer exposure-outcome associations. No studies used a biological outcome and all asked about peers in general rather than about specific relationships. Studies were heterogeneous in their use of theoretical frameworks and means of operationalizing peer influence concepts. All studies found evidence for an association between peers and sexual behaviour for at least one peer exposure/outcome/sub-group association. Of all 37 outcome/exposure/sub-group associations tested, there was evidence for 19 (51%). There were no clear patterns by type of peer exposure, outcome or adolescent sub-group. There is a lack conclusive evidence about the role of peers in adolescent sexual behaviour in Sub-Saharan. We argue that longitudinal designs, use of biological outcomes and approaches from social network analysis are priorities for future studies

Does private schooling make you right-wing? An investigation using the 1970 British Cohort Study

This paper addresses the question of whether attending a private school (both at primary and secondary stages) affects voting behaviour and political attitudes in adulthood. The analysis is based upon the British Cohort Study, a nationally representative cohort of children born in one week in April 1970 at age 42 years. A path analysis was adopted to test the impact of attending a private school on the tendency to vote Conservative in four consecutive General Elections, and on the expression of left-right attitudes in mid-life for a sample of 6917 study members. A constellation of antecedents were included in the modelling covering social origins at birth, cultural and material capital and academic achievement prior and post-secondary school entry together with an individual’s early social class destination. Our findings suggest that once these aspects of the life course are included in the model that there is evidence for a direct relationship between attending private school and the expression of right wing attitudes for both men and women

The path from social origins to top jobs: social reproduction via education

This paper provides a comprehensive account of the way in which cognitive and educational attainment mediate the link between social origins and elite social class destinations in mid-life. Using the 1970 British Cohort Study (BCS70), we assess the roles of a range of pathways through which educational advantage may lead to occupational attainment: cognitive development; private and selective secondary schools; school level qualifications; and higher education, including institution and field of study. Whereas past research has shown a residual direct effect of social origins on class destinations, we find that, once a sufficiently detailed picture of educational attainment is taken into account, education fully explains the link between social origins and top social class destinations. In contrast, the gap between men and women in achieving top social class positions is in no part accounted for by education

Are Right-Wing Attitudes and Voting Associated with Having Attended Private School? An Investigation Using the 1970 British Cohort Study

This article addresses the question of whether attending a private school affects voting behaviour and political attitudes in adulthood in Britain. The analysis is based upon the British Cohort Study, a nationally representative cohort of children born in one week in April 1970. The ‘effect’ of attending a private school on the tendency to vote Conservative in four consecutive General Elections, and on the expression of conservative attitudes in mid-life is assessed using path analysis. The model includes multiple indicators for a range of antecedents: social origins at birth, cultural and material capital, academic achievements and early social class destination. Once these antecedents are included in the model, for both men and women a direct positive relationship remains between attending private school and voting Conservative and holding right-leaning attitudes. The main significance of these findings follows from the high proportion of private school alumni in influential positions in public life

Friendships Among Young South African Women, Sexual Behaviours and Connections to Sexual Partners (HPTN 068).

Friends could be influential on young women's sexual health via influences on sexual behaviours and as connections to sexual partners, but are understudied in sub-Saharan Africa. We cross-sectionally surveyed 2326 13-20 year-old young women eligible for grades 8-11 in rural South Africa about their sexual behaviour and up to three sexual partners. Participants each described five specific but unidentified friends and the relationships between them in an 'egocentric' network analysis design. We used logistic regression to investigate associations between friendship characteristics and participants' reports of ever having had sex (n = 2326) and recent condom use (n = 457). We used linear regression with random effects by participant to investigate friendship characteristics and age differences with sexual partners (n = 633 participants, 1051 partners). We found that it was common for friends to introduce young women to those who later became sexual partners, and having older friends was associated with having older sexual partners, (increase of 0.37 years per friend at least 1 year older, 95% CI 0.21-0.52, adjusted). Young women were more likely to report ever having had sex when more friends were perceived to be sexually active (adjusted OR 1.85, 95% CI 1.72-2.01 per friend) and when they discussed sex, condoms and HIV with friends. Perception of friends' condom use was not associated with participants' reported condom use. While this study is preliminary and unique in this population and further research should be conducted, social connections between friends and sexual partners and perceptions of friend sexual behaviours could be considered in the design of sexual health interventions for young women in South Africa