This first Research Briefing focuses on solo-living - that is the increasing trend towards one person households, and the personal and social implications of this trend for those at different stages of the lifecourse

Backett-Milburn, Kathryn

Cunningham-Burley, Sarah

Jamieson, Lynn

Kemmer, Debbie

Wasoff, Fran

Edinburgh Research Archive

 RESEARCH BRIEFING       NUMBER 1             June 2001CENTRE FOR RESEARCH ONCRFR RESEARCH BRIEFING SERIESThe Centre for Research on Families and Relationships was set up in January 2001 with the support of aresearch development grant from the Scottish Higher Education Funding Council. It involves a consortiumof universities in Scotland. CRFR is committed to producing research and commentary on families andrelationships relevant to Scotland and to disseminating such work widely. We plan to produce a range ofpublications and to hold different types of events to promote collaboration across sectors, to stimulatedebate and to enhance the dissemination of research. A core strand of these efforts is the CRFR ResearchBriefing Series. Research Briefings will provide the opportunity for short, accessible reporting of primaryresearch; literature reviews; commentary on demographic and social trends; and think pieces on topicalissues. We plan to develop the Series over time, with the members of the CRFR network of researchers,policy makers and practitioners contributing ideas, developing briefings, and working with CRFR staff onshort articles.This first Research Briefing focuses on solo-living  that is the increasing trend towards oneperson households, and the personal and social implications of this trend for those at differentstages of the lifecourse.SOLO-LIVING IN SCOTLAND: Trends and IssuesFAMILIES AND RELATIONSHIPSKey Points• Solo-living describes the household structure of many individuals at differentstages of the lifecourse.• Those who live on their own may do so involuntarily, temporarily or by lifestylechoice.• Men and women who live alone may be single, separated, divorced or widowed.• 31% of all households in Scotland consist of one adult. This proportion is projectedto rise to 38% by 2012.• In 1999 over 700,000 people in Scotland lived alone.• The family and friendship networks of adults living alone are likely to vary byage, ethnicity, gender, marital and partnership history and socio-economiccircumstances.• There may be some health disadvantage for some of those living alone.• There are important policy consequences of living alone especially for communitycare but also for social security, pensions, employment, health and housing.Why is solo-living important?Solo living has become more commonplace. Thischange has occurred in the context of othersubstantial changes to family and householdstructures over the past thirty years.Solo-living is a phrase used to denote a particularhousehold structure  an adult living in a one personhousehold. However, the circumstances, meaningand context of solo-living will all be highly variable.For example, we might see a young adult in theirmid-twenties living alone having left the area inwhich she or he grew up. Solo-living here might beperceived as highly desirable, a symbol of economicand social independence, but also perhaps a preludeto partnership formation, cohabitation and marriage.A small minority of those who start living alone intheir 20s will remain solo in middle-age, for someas a positive choice, for others as an unintendedoutcome. For those who begin living alone in middle-age, the situation may be quite varied  a recentlydivorced or separated adult in their middle yearsmay experience solo-living as an unwelcome lossor as a liberation from unwanted ties. At a laterstage a sense of loss may be particularly commonfor older adults, recently bereaved, living alone forthe first time in their lives. Not only does experiencevary across the lifecourse, but also in other ways,for example by gender, ethnicity and socio-economiccircumstances.Historically, cultural stereotypes have influencedattitudes and perceptions of solo-living. These areboth positive and negative, and are certainlygendered: the spinster who has forsaken marriageto care for her parents; the bachelor eschewingmarriage for the carefree life. There are morenegative portrayals of never-married women thanof men, and this may impact differentially on theexperience of solo living for all men and women.There is a tendency to see those living alone asremoved from conventional family life and marginalor peripheral to the mainstream, although this maynot reflect actual experience. Expectations still existthat individuals will marry, albeit at a later stagethan previously.The reality of solo-living across the lifecourse isdiverse: solo-living may be involuntary or temporary,or it may be a conscious life style choice. Althoughthere are now more people living alone, it may bethat the roles of these individuals are not clearlydefined, and that we are not always well preparedfor managing solo-living.CRFR RESEARCH BRIEFING Number 1Who lives alone in Scotland?Almost one third of all Scottish households (31%)consist of one person (nearly 706,000 people inScotland in 1999). Data published in Scottish SocialStatistics 2001, show that there has been a largeincrease in the number of lone adult households,where the adult is under pensionable age  from6% in 1971 to nearly 15% of all households in 1999.Although the number of lone pensioner householdshas not increased so rapidly, they now account fornearly 16% of all households. There are now moreone person households than households withdependent children (28%). Projected changes inhousehold composition suggest the growth in solo-living will continue, and that by 2012, single personhouseholds will comprise 38% of all households;17% male, and 21% female. But, this overall trendis not uniform across the whole population; forexample, there are fewer one person householdsamongst ethnic minority populations.However, we also need to understand better whothese individuals are, for being a one personhousehold covers a range of statuses andcircumstances (see Table 1). Men who live aloneare spread more evenly across the life course thanwomen; as the table below shows, 37% are aged60 or more. Women living alone are more heavilyconcentrated in the older years; 64% are aged 60or more. More young men than women live alonedespite men leaving the parental home slightly later.This is mainly because men marry or cohabit laterthan women. Slightly higher proportions of men thanwomen remain never married in later life. Thereare more men living alone in the middle yearsbecause divorce and separation less often result inliving alone for women when dependent childrenare involved. There are many more women livingalone in later years because of mens higher mortalityrates.Other important differences amongst those who livealone are further illustrated in Tables 2 and 3, whichcompare mens and womens routes into solo living.For example, in the 60-74 age group, widowspredominate among women (66%) but amongstmen, the never married (25%) and the divorcedand separated (25%) together outnumber widowers(46%).CRFR RESEARCH BRIEFING Number 1Social networks and social supportStudies such as the British Household Panel Studyshow that people living on their own are oftenactively a part of wider networks of family and kin,and are typically involved in other personalrelationships. These networks are likely to be variedand may be experienced as more or less satisfactoryby those living alone. The patterns of family andpersonal relationships of one adult households arelittle researched. However, the relative importanceof family relations and friendships will vary acrossthe lifecourse. There is some evidence that friendshipis especially important for childless older people andthat friends are particularly significant in youngeradults networks.Divorce and separation disrupt social relationships.There may be changes to social networks, and jointfriendships and family relationships often alter.Financial arrangements may radically change, andwe know that divorced women are a particularlydisadvantaged group economically. Those who haveexperienced divorce and separation may not retainnetworks from their partners side, and friendshipsmay fail to be maintained. On the other hand, thosewho have become widowed may retain their previousnetworks, and be able to draw on both their own,their late partners and other networks createdduring the partnership.Support can have both positive and negative aspects:there is some evidence to suggest that women tendto have larger networks involving both the givingand receiving of social support. On the other hand,men tend to rely on one confiding relationship,although may have many other social relationships.Health-related issuesIt has long been noted that there are differences inthe health of those in different marital statuscategories, with lower mortality rates amongstmarried people. Despite enormous social changes,these observations persist, and those who are single,widowed, divorced or separated seem to experienceworse health, with the differences between thosewho are married and the rest being greater for menthan for women. The range of evidence nowavailable on the relationship between marital statusand health suggests the pattern of difference is quitecomplex. For example, health is affected byeconomic and material circumstances. Evidence fromthe Scottish Household Survey suggests that peopleliving alone are more likely to be found in the poorersections of the population, and are at greater riskof other forms of social exclusion.Table 1: Men and women living alone by age (%)16-24 25-34 35-44 45-59 60-74 75+ All in sampleMen 5 18 16 22 23 14 100  (1767)Women 4  9  6 16 33 31 100  (2739)Both 5 12 10 19 29 25 100  (4506)Table 2: Mens routes into solo-living across the life course: marital status of solo men by age (%)16-24 25-34 35-44 45-59 60-74 75 plus All AgesNever married 95 84 63 38 25 11 47Widowed  3 - -  7 46 80 24Divorced/separated 1 12 33 50 25 6 25Other 1  4  3  5  4 3  4All in sample 100( 92)   100(323)  100(288)  100(397) 100(412)     100(254)  100(1766)Table 3: Womens routes into solo-living across the life course: marital status of solo women by age(%)16-24 25-34 35-44 45-59 60-74 75 plus All AgesNever married 97 84 67 26 15 15 30Widowed  1  1  3 21 66 81 51Divorced/separated 1 14 27 50 17 3 18Other 1  1  2  2  1 1  1All in sample 100(116)100(241)100(165)    100(444)  100(914)   100(859)    100(2739)Sources for Tables 1-3: derived from the Scottish Household Survey, 1999. The Scottish Household Survey is financed and deposited in theUK Data Archive by the Scottish Executive and conducted in partnership with System Three Social Research and MORI Scotland. Theybear no responsibility for the further analysis or interpretation of the data.Marriage may provide economic advantages, as wellas offering protection through social support andhealth promoting activities. Evidence shows thatmarriage may be more beneficial to mens healththan womens. This may be related to their differentexperiences of support, with men relying mostly ontheir partner for such support, and women drawingsupport from wider social networks.Policy concernsThe increase in numbers of adults who are expectedto live on their own across the lifecourse or atdifferent life stages has important policyconsequences, notably in the areas of social andcommunity care, social security, especially pensions,health provision, planning and housing policy andprovision, and employment policies. This growth insolo-living is occuring at the same time as manygovernments are considering how to contain thecosts of state funded welfare provision, and topromote personal responsibility for welfare needsacross the life course through private investmentstrategies and familial obligations.Community care policies often rest on theexpectation that most social care will be providedby co-resident kin, usually spouses but also adultchildren. The persistence of such expectationscontinues alongside increasing numbers of adultsliving alone, particularly in old age, and more peopleremaining childless. It is therefore not clear fromwhere an adequate supply of familial carers will bedrawn. Will family obligations to provide care andsupport extend to non-resident kin, wider kinnetworks and through more complex familystructures? Will new ties and obligations to otherrelationships and friendship networks emerge? Weshall only be able to answer those questions if wehave greater in-depth understanding of theexperience of solo-living across the lifecourse.Greater numbers of people living on their own maygenerate increasing demand for health services andimpose greater strains, for example, on mentalhealth services. With smaller households, the samesize of population needs more dwellings, so thatchanges in household structure can produce housingshortages even if the size of the population as awhole does not increase significantly. With fewerpeople living with co-resident partners, there willbe less pooling of earnings and pensions, withparticularly adverse consequences for women. Ifwomen especially, but also others with lower earningcapacities, cannot draw on the resources of otherfamily members to achieve economies of scaleacross households and build up pensions andinsurance for future needs, standards of living mayfall, and there may be a need for higher levels oflabour market participation and rewards, and incometransfers through welfare benefits systems.Solo living is an increasingly significant feature ofthe social landscape in Scotland. People who livealone are a varied population, and it is importantthat we learn more about their experience andunderstanding of solo living, and about their familyand social networks. Solo living also raises manyimportant issues for policy and practice.CRFR RESEARCH BRIEFING Number 1Authors: Lynn Jamieson, Fran Wasoff, Sarah Cunningham-Burley, Kathryn Backett-Milburn, Debbie KemmerDesign: Monika Strell, Vivienne McFarlaneCRFR Research Briefing SeriesCRFR Briefing 1: Solo-living in Scotland: Trends and issues June 2001CRFR Briefing 2: Demographic Trends in Scotland September 2001CRFR Briefing 3: Parenting November 2001If you are interested in writing a briefing, or have ideas you would like to share, please contact our ResearchLiaison and Information Officer at the address below. Further copies of Research Briefing 1 are also available atthe address below and on our website.Contact details:Centre for Research on Families and RelationshipsThe University of Edinburgh23 Buccleuch PlaceEdinburgh EH8 9LNTel: 0131-651-1832Fax: 0131-651 1833E-mail: crfr@ed.ac.ukWebsite: www.crfr.ac.uk

Solo-Living in Scotland: Trends and issues

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Solo-Living in Scotland: Trends and issues

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