Supplementary information to accompany the three year Annual Population Survey/Personal Well-being Dataset Please note, this information should be used alongside the ‘Personal Well-being Survey User Guide: 2014-2015 Dataset’. Rationale for Creation of the three year Personal Well-being (PWB) dataset A three year PWB dataset has been developed in response to user demand for more robust PWB data at low levels of geography, such as local authority district level (LAD). The three year PWB dataset will also allow for more robust analysis of the PWB of sub groups in the population. Methodology Background - the Annual Population Survey The estimates in the annual 'Personal Well-being in the UK' release are produced using a single year Annual Population Survey (APS) dataset which contains cases covering a 12 month period. The APS data comprises data from four Labour Force Survey (LFS) periods (waves one and five for the UK). Plus data collected from the annual Local (Area) Labour Force Survey (LLFS) (also known as the boost) for England, Wales and Scotland. For more information on the creation of the APS please see the LFS User guide volume 6: APS user guide. Creation of a three-year dataset When combining multiple APS datasets together, it is important to account for the rotational design of the APS and ensure that no person appears more than once in the multiple year dataset. This is because the PWB datasets are not designed to be longitudinal e.g. they are not designed to track individuals over time/be used for longitudinal analysis. They are instead cross-sectional, and are designed to use a cross-section of the population to make inferences about the whole population. For this reason, the three-year dataset has been designed to include only a selection of the cases from the individual year APS datasets, chosen in such a way that no individuals are included more than once, and the cases included are approximately equally spread across the three years. This is illustrated in the diagram below, where the dark red boxes are cases included in the three-year dataset and the light red boxes are cases which are normally included in a single year APS dataset, but which have been dropped from the multiple year dataset to avoid duplication.
UK Data Archive Study Number 7924 - Annual Population Survey: Personal Well-Being, April 2012 - March 2015
This dataset has been weighted to make it representative of the UK population, in a similar way to the single year datasets (a specific weight has been developed for use with the three year dataset). The multiple year dataset covers the three-year period April 2012 to March 2015. As this dataset is larger than a standard single year dataset, the sampling variability of estimates will be smaller, and it should be possible to do more robust analysis at lower levels of aggregation. It should be noted that although the sample size approximately doubles, the coefficients of variation are reduced by less than half. This is a standard result, increasing the sample size does not proportionately reduce standard errors. In general, doubling the sample size will reduce standard errors by around a quarter. How to access the three year PWB/APS dataset; The personal well-being three year dataset is available to GSS users through contacting the following email address: [email protected]. Non GSS users can access the dataset through applying for to the End User Licence or Special Licence versions of the dataset through the UK Data Archive under licensed access arrangements. Please contact the UK Data Archive for further information: http://www.data-archive.ac.uk/
Annexe 1 Additional variables available on the three year Personal Well-being dataset A full list of variables available on the Annual Population Survey/ Personal Well-being Three Year Dataset 2012-2015 are listed below. For full detail about these variables please see the LFS User guide volume 6: APS user guide and LFS User guide volume 3: Details of LFS variables. Note, overall there are fewer variables available on the three year PWB dataset than the one year datasets due to the increased size of the dataset to allow for faster data analysis. The additional variables have been added to the three year APS/PWB dataset following consultation with data users. In most cases, variables have only been retained on the dataset where the information is available for the entire three year period.
MAIN CHARACTERISTICS
AGEGRP Age groups
GSS, SL & EUL
DVAGE Age of respondent
GSS, SL & EUL
LIVWTH Whether living together as couple GSS & SL
MARDY6 Married/co-habiting/Civil Partners
GSS, SL & EUL
MARSTA Marital status
GSS, SL & EUL
SEX Sex of respondent
GSS, SL & EUL
NATIONALITY, NATIONAL IDENTITY, COUNTRY OF BIRTH
CAMEMT Month of most recent arrival to the UK
GSS, SL & EUL
CAMEYR Year of first arrival to UK
GSS, SL & EUL
CAMEYR2 Year of last arrival to the UK
GSS, SL & EUL
CRYOX7 Country of Birth - other GSS & SL
CRY12 Country of birth
GSS, SL & EUL
ETHNICITY
ETHUKEUL Ethnicity (9 categories) UK level GSS, SL &
EUL
ETHUK11 Ethnicity, UK level
GSS, SL & EUL
RELIGION
RELIG11 Religion GB level
GSS, SL & EUL
SUBJECTIVE WELL BEING
ANXIOUS How anxious yesterday
GSS, SL & EUL
HAPPY How happy did you feel yesterday
GSS, SL & EUL
SATIS Satisfied with your life
GSS, SL & EUL
WORTH How worthwhile things done in life are felt to be (overall)
GSS, SL & EUL
GEOGRAPHIES & RESIDENTIAL STATUS
CCG Clinical Commissioning Groups (2015) GSS only
CHP Community Health Partnerships GSS & SL
CTRY9D
GSS, SL & EUL
CTY County (England) GSS & SL
GOR9D Region
GSS, SL & EUL
HWB Health and Wellbeing Boards GSS & SL
LAUA Local authority district codes GSS & SL
LEP Local Enterprise Partnerships GSS & SL
LEP2 Local Enterprise Partnerships GSS & SL
LGD2014 LGD2014 GSS & SL
LHB Local Health Boards GSS & SL
LSOA01 2001 Census Lower Layer Super Output Area
GSS only
LSOA11 2011 Census Lower Layer Super Output Area
GSS only
MSOA01 2001 Census Middle Layer Super Output Area
GSS only
MSOA11 2011 Census Middle Layer Super Output Area
GSS only
PCODE Postcode GSS only
RU11IND 2011 Census Rural-urban classification GSS & SL
NUTS215CD 2015 NUTS, level 2 code GSS only
NUTS315CD 2015 NUTS, level 3 code GSS only
OA01 2001 Census Output Area GSS only
OA11 2011 Census Output Area GSS only
RESTME2 Length of time at address
GSS, SL & EUL
SAMELAD Live and work in same LAD GSS & SL
TTWA9D Travel-to-work-area (2007) GSS only
HOUSEHOLD CHARACTERISTICS
HRP Household Reference person Identity GSS only
LIVTOG Whether living together as a couple GSS & SL
LIVWTH Whether living together as couple GSS & SL
HOUSEHOLD COMPOSITION
HDPCH19 No. of dep children in hhld under 19 GSS only
LLORD Landlord of accommodation
GSS, SL & EUL
NUMCH18 Num of dep children in fam under 19 GSS & SL
ICDM Main job industry code GSS only
TEN1 Accommodation details
GSS, SL & EUL
FAMILY CHARACTERISTICS
AYFL19 Age youngest child in family under 19 GSS & SL
FDPCH2 Num of dep children in fam under 2 GSS & SL
FDPCH4 Num of dep chdn in fam aged 2-4 GSS & SL
FDPCH9 Num of dep chdn in fam aged 5-9 GSS & SL
FMPLUS Total num of fam units with > 1 person GSS & SL
FUTYPE6 Type of family unit GSS & SL
BASIC ECONOMIC ACTIVITY
ILODEFR Economic activity (reported) from MM05 GSS, SL &
EUL
INECAC05 Basic economic activity (ILO definition) (reported)
GSS, SL & EUL
MAIN JOB
JOBTYP Permanent or temporary job
GSS, SL & EUL
PRIVATE OR PUBLIC SECTOR
PUBLICR Public or private sector (reported)
GSS, SL & EUL
OCCUPATION
SC10LMJ Major occupation group (last job)
GSS, SL & EUL
SC10MMJ Major occupation group (main job)
GSS, SL & EUL
SC10MMN Minor occupation group (main job)
GSS, SL & EUL
EMPLOYMENT STATUS
FTPT FT or PT (all in employment)
GSS, SL & EUL
FTPTW FT or PT (employees or S-employ only)
GSS, SL & EUL
FTPTWK Full-time or part-time in main job
GSS, SL & EUL
LOOK4 Lkng for pd wrk in 4 wks ending ref wk
GSS, SL & EUL
LOOKM111 Why looking for another job
GSS, SL & EUL
LOOKM112 Why looking for another job
GSS, SL & EUL
LOOKM113 Why looking for another job
GSS, SL & EUL
NSECMJ10 NS-SEC major group (SOC2010 based)
GSS, SL & EUL
YPTJOB Reason for part-time job
GSS, SL & EUL
ADDJOB Looking for new or additional job
GSS, SL & EUL
WHEN LEFT LAST JOB
DURUN2 Duration of ILO unemp - new ranges GSS,
SL & EUL
INDUSTRY IN LAST JOB SIC2007
INDE07M Industry sector in main job
GSS, SL & EUL
AVAILABILITY TO START WORK
LIKEWK Not looking but would like a paid job
GSS, SL & EUL
HOURS WORKED (MAIN JOB)
BACTHR Basic actual hours in main job GSS & SL
ACTHR Actual hours excluding overtime
GSS, SL & EUL
ACTPOT Actual hours of paid overtime
GSS, SL & EUL
ACTUOT Actual hours of unpaid overtime
GSS, SL & EUL
TOTHRS Total hrs worked in reference wk
GSS, SL & EUL
TTUSHR Total usual hours in main job
GSS, SL & EUL
HOME WORKERS (MAIN JOB)
HOME Whether mainly work from home (main job)
GSS, SL & EUL
SECOND JOB
ACTHR2 2nd job actual hours including overtime
GSS, SL & EUL
BENEFITS
BENFTS Whether claiming (other) state benefits
GSS, SL, & EUL
EDUCATION AND TRAINING
LEARN4 Learning undertaken within the past 4 weeks
GSS & SL
QUALIFICATIONS
EDAGECOR Age when compltd cont. FT education
GSS, SL & EUL
UK GAINED QUALIFICATIONS
HIQUL11D Highest qualification (detailed grouping)
GSS, SL & EUL
HEALTH
LERND Learning difficulty or learning disabili GSS only
LIMITA Whether health prob affect amount work
GSS, SL & EUL
LIMITK Whether health prob affect kind of work
GSS, SL & EUL
QHEALTH1 Respondent's general health
GSS, SL & EUL
SMOKING
CIGNOW Smoke cigarettes nowadays
GSS, SL & EUL
CIGSMK1 Smoking Status (ever smoked)
GSS, SL & EUL
SMOKEVER Ever smoked a cigarette/cigar/pipe
GSS, SL & EUL
INCOME
GRSSWK Gross weekly pay in main job
GSS, SL & EUL
SYSTEM VARIABLES
CASE Anonymous Case Number
GSS, SL & EUL
INTRTYPE Type of Interview
GSS, SL & EUL
IOUTCOME Individual outcome
GSS, SL & EUL
IOUTDATE IOutDate
GSS, SL & EUL
REFWKD Reference week day
GSS, SL & EUL
REFWKM Reference week month
GSS, SL & EUL
WEEK Week no. when interview took place
GSS, SL & EUL
ADDRESS FEATURES BLOCK
PROXY Interview in person or by proxy
GSS, SL & EUL
DWELLTYP Type of accommodation
GSS, SL & EUL
WEIGHTS
NP122R14 Well-being weight/Non-proxy adult weight
GSS, SL &
EUL
For additional information please see Supplementary information to accompany the three year Annual Population Survey/Personal Well-being Dataset 2011-2014.
Statisticalbulletin:
MeasuringNationalWell-being:PersonalWell-beingintheUK,2014to2015PersonalWell-beingfindingsfromtheAnnualPopulationSurvey,withanalysisbycountry,regionandlocalareasandindividualcharacteristics.
Contact:LucyTinkler
Releasedate:23September2015
Nextrelease:Tobeannounced
Tableofcontents1. Mainpoints
2. Summary
3. Measuringpersonalwell-beingintheUK
4. Personalwell-beingacrossUKcountries
5. Personalwell-beingintheEnglishregions
6. Personalwell-beinginlocalareasoftheUK
7. Usesofthedata
8. Methodology
9. TheMeasuringNationalWell-beingprogramme
10. Furtherinformation
11. References
12. Backgroundnotes
MainpointsReportedpersonalwell-beinghasimprovedeveryyearsincefinancialyearending2012whendatawerefirstcollected,suggestingthatanincreasingnumberofpeopleintheUKarefeelingpositiveabouttheirlives
Proportionsreportingthehighestlevelsofpersonalwell-beinghaveincreasedsincethefinancialyearending2012foreachofthe4measuresconsidered.Thegreatestimprovementhasbeenforlevelsofanxiety
Theproportionofpeopleratingtheirwell-beingatthelowestlevelsforall4ofthemeasureshasreduced,butnotasmuchastheproportionreportinghighlevelshasgrown
PeopleinNorthernIrelandgavehigheraverageratingsforpersonalwell-beingforallmeasuresexceptanxietycomparedtotheother3UKcountries(basedonfiguresbeforerounding).Thishasbeenthecaseineveryyearsincedatawerefirstcollected
PeopleinLondonreportedlowerpersonalwell-beingonaverageforeachofthemeasuresthantheequivalentUKaverages,butLondonhasseenimprovementsacrossalltheaveragemeasuresofpersonalwell-being,particularlyinreductionstoanxietysincedatawerefirstcollected
Sincethefinancialyearending2012,averageratingsofpersonalwell-beinghaveimprovedsignificantlyacrossallmeasuresintheWestMidlands.TheregionalsohadthelowestaverageanxietyratingofanyEnglishregioninfinancialyearending2015
WaleswastheonlyUKcountrythatdidnothaveanysignificantpositiveimprovementsbetweenthefinancialyearending2014andthelatestestimatesacrossanyofthemeasuresforaverageratings
TheNorthWestofEnglandreportedincreasesintherateofpersonalwell-beingfor3outof4ofthemeasures,comparedwiththefinancialyearending2014
TheNorthEastandYorkshireandTheHumberweretheonly2Englishregionswithnosignificantreductionsinlowlevelsofwell-beingacrossanyofthepersonalwell-beingmeasurescomparedwiththefinancialyearending2014
1.
SummaryReportedpersonalwell-beinghasbeenimprovingeveryyearsincefinancialyearending2012,whenwestartedtocollectthedataacrossall4measures.
2.
Comparingtheaverageratingsforthefinancialyearending2015withthepreviousyearforeachofthe4measuresofpersonalwell-being:
lifesatisfactionwas7.6outof10(up0.10points)
feelingthatwhatonedoesinlifeisworthwhilewas7.8outof10(up0.08points)
happinessyesterdaywas7.5outof10(up0.08points)
anxietyyesterdaywas2.9outof10(down0.07points)
Theyear-on-yeardifferencesaresmallbutstatisticallysignificantineachcase.Theproportionofpeoplegivingthehighestratings(scoresof9or10outof10forlifesatisfaction,worthwhileandhappiness,and0to1outof10foranxiety)foreachmeasureofpersonalwell-beingalsoincreasedsignificantlyinfinancialyearending2015.
Additionally,theproportionsofpeoplereportingpersonalwell-beingatthelowestlevels(scoresof0to4forlifesatisfaction,worthwhileandhappinessandratingsof6to10foranxiety)reduced,althoughthedecreasesinlowwell-beingweresmallcomparedwiththeimprovementsinthehighestratings.
Thisisimportantbecauseitindicatesthatwhileimprovementsarewidespreadacrossthepopulation,theyareuneven.Theproportionreportingveryhighpersonalwell-beingisgrowingfasterthantheproportionreportinglowlevelsisfalling.Thisindicatesincreasinginequalityinpersonalwell-being.
Alsoreleasedtoday,23September2015:
Interactivemaps(http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/external-links/about-statistics/wellbeing/personal-well-being-across-the-uk-interactive-map.html)forexploringthepersonalwell-beingestimatesinlocalareasoftheUK
Shortstoryexploringpersonalwell-beingandtenure(http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/wellbeing/measuring-national-well-being/personal-well-being-in-the-uk--2014-15/sty-personal-well-being-and-housing-tenure.html).
FormoreinformationonNationalWell-beingpleaseseeNationalWell-beingInteractiveWheel(http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/external-links/other-ns-online/neighbourhood-statistics--ness-/national-well-being-interactive-wheel.html)andMeasuringNationalWell-being-DomainsandMeasures-September2015-September2015duetobepublishedon29thSeptember2015.
Measuringpersonalwell-beingintheUK3.
ThisbulletinispublishedaspartofourMeasuringNationalWell-beingprogramme.Itpresentsannualestimatesofpersonalwell-beingindifferentareasoftheUKforthefinancialyearending2015.Italsocomparesthelatestresultstoourpreviouspersonalwell-beingestimatescoveringthesameperiodsinfinancialyearsending2014,2013,and2012(ONS2014a(http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/wellbeing/measuring-national-well-being/personal-well-being-in-the-uk--2013-14/index.html);ONS2013a(http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/wellbeing/measuring-national-well-being/personal-well-being-in-the-uk--2012-13/index.html),ONS2012(http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/wellbeing/measuring-subjective-wellbeing-in-the-uk/first-annual-ons-experimental-subjective-well-being-results/index.html)).Thelatestestimatesofpersonalwell-beingamongpeoplewithdifferentcharacteristicsorcircumstancesareincludedinthereferencetables(http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/publications/re-reference-tables.html?edition=tcm%3A77-407641)withthisrelease.
Thepersonalwell-beingestimatesinthisbulletinarebasedondatafromtheAnnualPopulationSurvey(APS)withresponsestothepersonalwell-beingquestionsfromaround165,000people.Thisprovidesalargerepresentativesampleofadultsaged16andoverlivinginresidentialhouseholdsintheUK.
Personalwell-being,people'sthoughtsandfeelingsabouttheirownqualityoflife,isanimportantaspectofnationalwell-being.ItispartofamuchwiderinitiativeintheUKandinternationallytolookbeyondGrossDomesticProduct(GDP),andtomeasurewhatreallymatterstopeople.Weregularlymonitor41differentheadlinemeasuresinareassuchasthenaturalenvironment,ourrelationships,health,whatwedo,wherewelive,personalfinances,theeconomy,educationandskills,governanceandpersonalwell-beingtomeasuretheprogressandwell-beingofthenation.ThelatestupdatestotheseheadlinemeasureswillbeavailableinMeasuringNationalWellbeing-DomainsandMeasures,releasedbytheendofSeptember2015.Section7providesfurtherinformationabouthowthewell-beingdataareused.
TheUKStatisticsAuthorityhasdesignatedourpersonalwell-beingstatisticsasNationalStatistics,signifyingcompliancewiththeCodeofPracticeforOfficialStatistics.
Thismeansthatthesestatistics:
meetidentifieduserneeds
arewellexplainedandreadilyaccessible
areproducedaccordingtosoundmethods
aremanagedimpartiallyandobjectivelyinthepublicinterest
ItisastatutoryrequirementthattheCodeofPracticeshallcontinuetobeobserved
3.1Howpersonalwell-beingismeasuredWebeganmeasuringpersonalwell-beinginApril2011.Sincethen,theAnnualPopulationSurvey(APS)hasincluded4questionswhichareusedtomonitorpersonalwell-beingintheUK:
1. Overall,howsatisfiedareyouwithyourlifenowadays?
2. Overall,towhatextentdoyoufeelthethingsyoudoinyourlifeareworthwhile?
3. Overall,howhappydidyoufeelyesterday?
4. Overall,howanxiousdidyoufeelyesterday?
Peopleareaskedtogivetheiranswersonascaleof0to10,where0is“notatall”and10is“completely”.Thesequestionsallowpeopletomakeanassessmentoftheirlifeoverall,aswellasprovidinganindicationoftheirday-to-dayemotions.Although“yesterday”maynotbeatypicaldayforanindividual,thelargesamplemeansthatthesedifferences“averageout”andprovideareliableassessmentoftheself-reportedanxietyandhappinessoftheadultpopulationintheUKovertheyear.
Sincetheintroductionofthese4questionstheyhavebeenintroducedinover20othersurveysacrossgovernmentandnumeroussurveysintheacademic,privateandthirdsector.
Itisimportanttorememberthatthefindingspresentedarebasedonsurveyestimatesandaresubjecttoadegreeofuncertainty.Therefore,theyshouldbeinterpretedasprovidingagoodestimate,ratherthananexactmeasureofpersonalwell-beingintheUK.Formoreinformationabouthowthestatisticsareproducedandimplicationsfortheaccuracyoftheestimates,seetheMethodologysection(section8).
Differencesinthepersonalwell-beingestimatesovertimearedescribedonlywheretheyarestatisticallysignificant.Thatiswherethechangeisnotlikelytobeonlyduetovariationsinsampling,buttoarealchangeovertime.A5%standardisused,whichmeansthatthereisnomorethana5%chancethatadifferencewillbeclassifiedassignificantwheninfactthereisnounderlyingchange.Thecountryandregionalestimatesforfinancialyearending2015arecomparedtotheequivalentestimatesfortheUKanddiscussedonlywhereastatisticallysignificantdifferenceisfound.
Figure1:Distributionofpersonalwell-beingratings,financialyearsending2012to2015(1)-LifeSatisfaciton
UnitedKingdom
Source:AnnualPopulationSurvey(APS)-OfficeforNationalStatistics
Notes:Adults aged16andoverwereasked:"Overall,howsatis fiedareyouwithyourlifenowadays?""Overall,towhatextentdoyoufeelthethingsyoudoinyourlifeareworthwhile?""Overall,howhappydidyoufeelyesterday?""Overall,howanxiousdidyoufeelyesterday?"Where0is "notatall"and10is "completely"
1.
Figure1:Distributionofpersonalwell-beingratings,financialyearsending2012to2015(1)-Worthwhile
UnitedKingdom
Source:AnnualPopulationSurvey(APS)-OfficeforNationalStatistics
Notes:Adults aged16andoverwereasked:"Overall,howsatis fiedareyouwithyourlifenowadays?""Overall,towhatextentdoyoufeelthethingsyoudoinyourlifeareworthwhile?""Overall,howhappydidyoufeelyesterday?""Overall,howanxiousdidyoufeelyesterday?"Where0is "notatall"and10is "completely"
1.
Figure1:Distributionofpersonalwell-beingratings,financialyearsending2012to2015(1)-Happiness
UnitedKingdom
Source:AnnualPopulationSurvey(APS)-OfficeforNationalStatistics
Notes:Adults aged16andoverwereasked:"Overall,howsatis fiedareyouwithyourlifenowadays?""Overall,towhatextentdoyoufeelthethingsyoudoinyourlifeareworthwhile?""Overall,howhappydidyoufeelyesterday?""Overall,howanxiousdidyoufeelyesterday?"Where0is "notatall"and10is "completely"
1.
Figure1:Distributionofpersonalwell-beingratings,financialyearsending2012to2015(1)-Anxiety
UnitedKingdom
Source:AnnualPopulationSurvey(APS)-OfficeforNationalStatistics
Notes:
PeopleintheUKtendtoratetheirlifesatisfaction,feelingthatwhattheydoinlifeisworthwhileandhappinessatthehighendofthescale.Thisindicatesthatpeopletendtoanswertowardstheendofthe0-10scaleforthesemeasures.Peoplemostcommonlyratedeachofthesequestionsat8outof10.Ahigherproportionratedtheirlifesatisfactionandfeelingsthatwhattheydoinlifeareworthwhileat8outof10(justover30%ineachcase)thanratedtheirhappinesslevelsthisway(justunder25%).
Adults aged16andoverwereasked:"Overall,howsatis fiedareyouwithyourlifenowadays?""Overall,towhatextentdoyoufeelthethingsyoudoinyourlifeareworthwhile?""Overall,howhappydidyoufeelyesterday?""Overall,howanxiousdidyoufeelyesterday?"Where0is "notatall"and10is "completely"
1.
Thepatternforhowpeopleratetheiranxietyisdifferenttotheotherquestions.Fortheanxietyquestionthescaleisreversedasascoreof10outof10indicatesthehighestpossibleanxiety,andascoreof0outof10indicatesthelowestpossibleanxiety.Comparedtotheother3measures,amuchhigherproportionofpeopleratetheiranxietyatthelowerendofthescale(as0or1),butmorealsoratetheiranxietylevelsinthemiddleofthescale(as5outof10).Ineachyear,themajorityofpeopleratedtheiranxietyatalowlevelbetween0and3.Themostcommonresponsewas0outof10,whichindicatesthattheyfelt“notatallanxious”onthepreviousday.
Thispatternofpersonalwell-beingratingsintheUKhasbeenfairlyconsistentforeachofthe4yearswithsmall(butstatisticallysignificant)increasesemergingyear-on-year.
3.3Averageratingsofpersonalwell-beingintheUKAverageratingsofpersonalwell-beingareasimplewaytomakecomparisonsovertime.Theaverageratingsforeachofthe4measuresofpersonalwell-beinginthefinancialyearending2015comparedwiththepreviousyear:
lifesatisfactionwas7.6pointsoutof10(up0.10points)
feelingthatwhatonedoesinlifeisworthwhilewas7.8outof10for(up0.08points)
happinessyesterdaywas7.5outof10(up0.08points)
anxietyyesterdaywas2.9outof10(down0.07points)
Thelatestestimatessuggestimprovementinthepastyearintheaverageratingsofpersonalwell-beingintheUKacrossallofthemeasures.Theyear-on-yeardifferencesaresmallbutstatisticallysignificantineachcase.
Comparingthelatestaverageestimateswiththosefromfinancialyearending2012,therehavealsobeensmallbutsignificantimprovementsinpersonalwell-beingacrossall4measures(asshowninFigure2).
Figure2:ChangeinaverageannualUKpersonalwell-beingratingsbetweenthefinancialyearending2012and2015
UnitedKingdom
Source:AnnualPopulationSurvey(APS)-OfficeforNationalStatistics
Notes:
1. *Indicatesastatisticallys ignificantdifferencefrom2011/12atthe0.05level
2. +Indicatesastatisticallys ignificantdifferencefrom2012/13atthe0.05level
3. ~Indicatesastatisticallys ignificantdifferencefrom2013/14atthe0.05level
ThecontinuedsignificantimprovementsintheUKareinteresting,especiallywhenviewedinthecontextofEurobarometerestimatesfortheUKforlifesatisfactionwhichhaveshownproportionswithhighlifesatisfactiontobebroadlystableover35yearsbutwithsimilarincreasesinrecentyears(CabinetOffice,2014(https://coanalysis.blog.gov.uk/2014/08/06/wellbeing-measuring-what-matters/)).
3.4Highestandlowestpersonalwell-beingintheUKAverageratingsofpersonalwell-beingprovideausefulsummary,butdonottellthewholestory.AnimportantconsiderationiswhethertheproportionsofpeopleintheUKwhoratedtheirpersonalwell-beingatthehighestandlowestlevelsinfinancialyearending2015,comparedtofinancialyearending2014,andfinancialyearending2012haschangedovertime.Thishelpsustoseewhethertheoverallimprovementinaveragepersonalwell-beinghasresultedfromincreasesinpeoplereportingpersonalwell-beingatthehighestlevels,and/orreductionsintheproportionsofpeoplereportingpersonalwell-beingatthelowestlevels.Inotherwords,thishelpsustounderstandifimprovementsinpersonalwell-beingarearesultofraisingtheceilingandorliftingthefloor.Thisisimportantasithasimplicationsforhowequalthedistributionofpersonalwell-beingisinsociety.
3.4.1Measuring“highest”and“lowest”personalwell-being
Thehighestlevelsofpersonalwell-beingforlifesatisfaction,worthwhileandhappinessaredefinedasratingsof9or10.Forreportedanxiety,ratingsof0or1areused,becauselowerlevelsofanxietysuggestbetterpersonalwell-being.Ontheotherhand,lowestlevelsofpersonalwell-beingaredefinedasratingsof0to4forlifesatisfaction,worthwhileandhappiness.Forreportedanxiety,ratingsof6to10areused,becausehigherlevelsofanxietysuggestlowerpersonalwell-being.Itisparticularlyimportanttolookatconcentrationsoflowlevelsofpersonalwell-beingovertimesothatpolicymakerscantargetandmeasureinterventionsdesignedtoreducetheproportionsofpeoplewithlowlevelsofpersonalwell-being.
3.4.2Highestandlowestpersonalwell-beingintheUK,financialyearending2015
Figure3showsthepercentagesofpeopleintheUKreportingthehighestandlowestlevelsofwell-beinginfinancialyearending2015andhowthishaschangedsincefinancialyearending2012.
Thereportedhighestandlowestwell-beingforfinancialyearending2015:
28.8%ratedtheirlifesatisfactionatthehighestlevelscomparedto4.8%atthelowest
34.4%ratedtheirsensethatwhattheydoinlifeisworthwhileatthehighestlevels,comparedto3.8%atthelowest
34.1%ratedtheirhappinessatthehighestlevels,while8.9%ratedtheirhappinessatthelowest
40.9%ratedtheiranxietyatthelowestlevels,while19.4%rateditatthehighestlevels
Figure3:Percentagesratingpersonalwell-beingathighestandlowestlevels,financialyearsending2012to2015
UnitedKingdom
Source:AnnualPopulationSurvey(APS)-OfficeforNationalStatistics
3.4.3Changesovertimeinhighestandlowestpersonal
Lowest and Hi,hest Reported W e ll ·bein,
lowWell · bein.o: ,."",,_ """" ~I '_I""'o' ... " .... ~I
Lffe Soti>foction
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2OB/14 . S.6 •
2011/12
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2014/ 15 ~:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: 2OB/14 . t; •
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• •
well-beingintheUK
Theproportionofpeoplegivingthehighestratingsforeachaspectofpersonalwell-beingincreasedsignificantlyinfinancialyearending2015comparedtothepreviousyear.Thebiggestchangesinpercentagepointswereforlifesatisfaction(up2.0)andworthwhile(up1.9).ThissuggeststhatmorepeopleintheUKarefeelingpositiveabouttheirlives,andisconsistentwiththehigheraverageratingsofpersonalwell-beingnotedintheprevioussection.
Thispositivepictureisalsoreflectedinsignificantdecreasesintheproportionsofpeoplereportinglowwell-beingacrossall4measuresbetweenfinancialyearending2015andthepreviousyear,althoughthechangesaresmallerthanfortheincreasesintheproportionsofpeoplegivingthehighestratings.
Lookingathowratingshavechangedoverthe4yearperiod,therehavebeenstatisticallysignificantgainsintheproportionsofpeoplereportingveryhighpersonalwell-beingforeachofthe4measuresinfinancialyearending2015comparedtofinancialyearending2012,particularlyforimprovementsinlowlevelsofanxiety.
3.5Possiblereasonsforthepersonalwell-beingpatternsobservedintheUKThelatestpictureofpersonalwell-being,similartofindingslastyear,isofmorepositivewell-beingacrossallofthe4measuresinfinancialyearending2015comparedtobothfinancialyearending2014andfinancialyearending2012,whenwestartedtocollectpersonalwell-beingdata.Thisimprovementappearstohaveresultedmorefromtheproportionsofpeoplereportingthehighestlevelsofpersonalwell-beinggrowing,thanbyreductionsinpeoplereportinglowlevelsofpersonalwell-being.Thisisimportantasithasimplicationsforhowequalthedistributionofpersonalwell-beinginsocietyis,andsuggestsgrowinginequalityinreportedpersonalwell-being.
Thisisonlythefourthyearwehavecollectedpersonalwell-beingdata,soitistooearlytoidentifydefinitetrendsovertime.However,onereasonfortheoverallsmallimprovementinpersonalwell-beingoverthepastyearmaybetheeconomicoutlookinfinancialyearending2015comparedwithfinancialyearending2014.ONSeconomicdatashowsthatunemploymenthasbeenonadownwardstrendsincethebeginningof2013andfellto5.5%inthe3monthstoMarch2015(ONS2015a(http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/elmr/economic-review/august-2015/index.html)).Ourresearch(ONS2013b(http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/wellbeing/measuring-subjective-wellbeing-in-the-uk/first-annual-ons-experimental-subjective-well-being-results/index.html))andacademicsources(Blanchfloweretal,2013(http://www.bostonfed.org/employment2013/papers/Blanchflower_Session5.pdf))hasshownthatunemploymenthasanegativeeffectonpersonalwell-being,thereforethisfindingistobeexpected.
Additionally,researchintopersonalwell-beinghasfoundthat“periodsofrapidchange...areoftenassociatedwithdropsinhappiness”(Grahametal.,2015).Itcouldbethattherapidchangesthatoccurredwiththeeconomicdownturnin2008-2009werebeingfeltmorestronglyinfinancialyearending2012,andthegreaterstabilityinfinancialyearending2015couldbeoneofthereasonsforanimprovementinpersonalwell-beingoverthisperiod.Lookingatthe4measuressincefinancialyearending2012,thebiggestimprovementhasbeenforanxiety.However,aspersonalwell-beingdatawasnotcollectedpriortotheeconomicdownturnitisnotpossibletodeterminewithaccuracytheeffectofthedownturnonpersonalwell-beingmeasures.
Lookingatthe4countriesoftheUK(seesection4)andEnglishregions(seesection5),wecanseethatnotallcountriesandregionsareseeingthepositiveimprovementstopersonalwell-beingatthesamerate,andsomeareashaveimprovedmorethanothers.Forexample,WaleswastheonlyUKcountrythatdidnothaveanysignificantpositiveimprovementsinaveragepersonalwell-beingbetweenfinancialyearsending2014and2015acrossanyofthemeasures.
InsomeEnglishregionstheproportionofpeoplereportingverylowwell-beingremainedlargelystaticbetweenfinancialyearsending2014and2015.Forexample,theNorthEastandYorkshireandTheHumberweretheonly2Englishregionswithnosignificantimprovementinlowlevelsofwell-beingacross2outofthe4measures(seesection5.4).
Onepossiblereasonfortheslowerimprovementinpersonalwell-beingforsomeareascouldbedifferingeconomicsituations,forexample,fromFebruarytoApril2015unemploymentintheUKwashighestintheNorthEastat7.4%,andsecondhighestinYorkshireandTheHumberat6.9%(ONS,2015b(http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/subnational-labour/regional-labour-market-statistics/june-2015/index.html)).
TheNorthWestwastheEnglishregionthathadthelargestaverageimprovementsforlifesatisfaction,worthwhileandhappinesswhencomparingfinancialyearending2015andfinancialyearending2014.Duringthefinancialyearending2015therehasbeendiscussionaboutthe‘NorthernPowerhouse’proposaltoboosteconomicgrowthintheNorthofEngland.ItcouldbethatthisproposalhascontributedtoafeelingofoptimismintheNorthWest.
TheWestMidlandshadthelargestaverageimprovementsinaveragelifesatisfaction,worthwhileandhappinessbetweenfinancialyearending2012andfinancialyearending2015.TheWestMidlandshadthethirdlargestpercentagepointdecreaseintheunemploymentrate(thoseaged16andover)betweenfinancialyearsending2012and2015comparedtotheotherEnglishregions(ONS2015c(http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/subnational-labour/regional-labour-market-statistics/july-2015/index.html)).HMRCdatashowsthattheWestMidlandswastheregionwiththelargestincreaseinthevalueofexportsbetweenthefirstquarterof2012andthefirstquarterof2015(HMRC2015(https://www.uktradeinfo.com/Statistics/RTS/Pages/default.aspx))whichaswellaspotentiallycontributingtoreducingunemployment,mayhavecontributedtoimprovedfeelingsofoptimism.
Betweenthefinancialyearsending2012and2015averagereportedanxietylevelshavedecreasedthemostinLondon,althoughLondon,jointlywiththeNorthEast,stillhasthehighestreportedaverageanxietyofalltheEnglishregionsandcountriesoftheUK.
Personalwell-beingacrossUKcountriesThissectionexaminesthelatestfindingsonpersonalwell-beingacrossUKcountries.
4.1Averagereportedpersonalwell-beinginUKcountriesFigure4showsthelatestaverageratingsofpersonalwell-beingacrosstheUKcountriesandhowtheycomparetotheUKaverages.
Infinancialyearending2015:
NorthernIrelandhadthehighestaveragereportedratingforlifesatisfactionintheUK(7.9outof10),andwastheonlycountrytobesignificantlyhigherthantheUKaverage
WaleswastheonlycountrytohavereportedsignificantlylowerlifesatisfactionthantheUKasawhole(7.55comparedwith7.61)1
NorthernIrelandwastheonlycountrywherereportedaverageratingsforworthwhile(8.1),weresignificantlyabovetheUKaverage;WaleswastheonlycountrywhereaveragereportingratingsforworthwhileweresignificantlybelowUKaverage(UK7.82,Wales7.77)1
4.
NorthernIrelandhadhighestaveragereportedhappiness(7.8),andagain,wastheonlycountrywherethismeasurewassignificantlyhigherthantheUKaverage
averagereportedanxietyinEnglandandWaleswasthesameastheUKaverageat2.9,bothScotlandandNorthernIrelandhadslightlyloweraverageanxietyat2.8;althoughnoneofthe4countrieshadasignificantlydifferentaverageanxietycomparedtotheUKasawhole
NorthernIrelandhadthehighestreportedpersonalwell-beingfor3outofthe4measures;Waleshadthelowestreportedaveragefor3outofthe4measures
Figure4:Averagepersonalwell-beingratingscomparedtoUKaverages:bycountry,financialyearending2015
UnitedKingdom
Source:AnnualPopulationSurvey(APS)-OfficeforNationalStatistics
Notes:
1. *Indicatesastatisticallys ignificantdifferencedeterminedonthebasis ofnon-overlappingconfidenceintervals
4.2Changesovertimeinaveragereportedpersonalwell-beingintheUKcountriesWhencomparingthelatestaverageestimatesforeachcountrytothepreviousyear’sestimates,asshowninFigure5,importantpointsinclude:
England,ScotlandandNorthernIrelandallhadsignificantimprovementsintheaverageestimatesforlifesatisfaction
EnglandandScotlandhadsignificantimprovementsinratingsforthethingsthatwedoinlifebeingworthwhileandforhappiness
Englandwastheonlycountrywithsignificantreductionsinanxietylevels
Waleswastheonlycountrythatdidnothaveanysignificantpositiveimprovementsbetweenfinancialyearending2015andthepreviousyearacrossanyofthemeasures
Theaverageratingsofpersonalwell-beinginWalesdidnotimprovebetweenfinancialyearending2014andfinancialyearending2015.However,WalesreportedthegreatestimprovementsacrosstheUKintheprecedingperiod,financialyearending2013tofinancialyearending2014,forallpersonalwell-beingmeasuresexceptanxiety.
Sincefinancialyearending2012,whenwefirstcollectedthepersonalwell-beingdata,therehavebeenstatisticallysignificantimprovementsacrossallofthemeasuresandineachoftheUKcountries.Thisistobeexpectedgiventheoverallimprovementinpersonalwell-beingfortheUKasawholeduringthisperiod.
Figure5:AnnualchangeinaverageUKpersonalwell-beingratingscomparedfromthefinancialyearending2012,bycountry
UnitedKingdom
Source:AnnualPopulationSurvey(APS)-OfficeforNationalStatistics
Notes:
1. *Indicatesastatisticallys ignificantdifferencefrom2011/12atthe0.05level
2. +Indicatesastatisticallys ignificantdifferencefrom2012/13atthe0.05level
3. ~Indicatesastatisticallys ignificantdifferencefrom2013/14atthe0.05level
4.3Highestandlowestratingsofpersonalwell-beingacrossUKcountries
Thissectionprovidesthelatestestimatesoftheproportionsofpeopleineachcountryreportingthehighestandlowestlevelsofpersonalwell-being.
Concentrationsofhighestwell-beingacrosstheUKcountriesinthefinancialyearending2015:
infinancialyearending2015,England,ScotlandandWalesallhadsimilarproportionsofpeoplereportingthehighestlevelsoflifesatisfaction,andhappiness
EnglandandWaleshadsimilarproportionsofpeoplereportingaveryhighsensethatthethingsthattheydointheirlivesareworthwhile,whileScotlandhadasignificantlylowerscorethantheequivalentproportionfortheUKasawhole
NorthernIrelandhadthehighestpercentagesofpeopleratingtheirlifesatisfaction,sensethatthethingstheydointheirlivesareworthwhileandhappinessasveryhigh;itwastheonlycountrythathadsignificantlyhigherproportionstotheequivalentproportionfortheUKforlifesatisfaction,worthwhileandhappiness,forexample,45.0%ofpeopleinNorthernIrelandratedthethingstheydoinlifeasworthwhileasa9or10,comparedto34.4%intheUKasawhole
Concentrationsoflowestwell-beingacrosstheUKcountriesinthefinancialyearending2015:
Waleswastheonlycountrywiths ignificantlyhigherproportionsofpeoplewithlowerlifesatis faction,lowersensethatthethingstheydointheirlivesareworthwhileaswellashigherproportionsofpeoplereportinghighlevels ofanxietycomparedtotheUKaverage
4.4Changesovertimeinhighestandlowestpersonalwell-beingacrosstheUKcountriesComparingthelatestestimatesofhighestwell-beingforeachcountrytothefinancialyearending2014estimates:
allcountries,exceptScotland,hadsignificantincreasesintheproportionsofpeoplereportingveryhighlifesatisfaction
EnglandandScotlandhadsignificantincreasesintheproportionsofpeoplereportingaveryhighsensethatthethingsthattheydoinlifeareworthwhile
EnglandandScotlandhadsignificantincreasesintheproportionsofpeoplereportingveryhighhappiness
Englandwastheonlycountrythathadanincreaseintheproportionsofpeoplereportingverylowanxietycomparedwithfinancialyearending2014
Comparingthelatestestimatesoflowestwell-beingforeachcountrytothefinancialyearending2014estimates:
ForEnglandandNorthernIrelandtheproportionsofpeoplereportingverylowlifesatisfactionbetweenfinancialyearending2014andfinancialyearending2015hadsignificantlyreduced
Englandwastheonlycountrywhichhadasignificantreductioninthelowestratingsforpeople’ssensethatthethingswedoinlifeareworthwhile,happiness,andanxiety
Thisisinterestingasitsuggeststhattheimprovementsinaveragescores,particularlyforScotlandandWales,haveresultedmorefromanincreaseinpeoplereportingveryhighpersonalwell-being,thanbyadecreaseinpeoplereportinglowwell-being.
Sincefinancialyearending2012,whenwefirstcollectedwell-beingdata,therehavebeenchangesinthelowestandhighestpersonalwell-beingratingsineachUKcountry(asshowninFigure6).Thesechangesinclude:
England,WalesandNorthernIrelandallhadsignificantimprovementsintheproportionsofpeoplereportingveryhighlifesatisfaction
allcountries,exceptWales,hadasignificantimprovementintheproportionsofpeopleratingthethingsthattheydoinlifeareworthwhileasveryhigh
allcountrieshadsignificantimprovementsintheproportionsofpeoplereportingveryhighhappinessandverylowanxiety
Changesintheproportionsofpeoplereportinglowestwell-beingsincethefinancialyearendingin2012:
theproportionsofpeopleratinglifesatisfactionandhappinessasverylowhadsignificantlyreducedinall4countries
theproportionsofpeoplereportingthattheirsensethatthethingstheydoinlifeareworthwhileatthelowestlevelssignificantlyreducedforallcountriesexceptWales
theproportionsofpeoplereportingveryhighanxietysignificantlyreducedforallcountriesexceptNorthernIreland,however,itshouldbenotedthatNorthernIrelandhashadthelowestproportionsofpeoplereportinghighanxietyforeachyearsincefinancialyearending2012comparedtoEngland,ScotlandandWales
Figure6:Percentagesratingpersonalwell-beingathighestandlowestlevels,bycountry
Comparingthefinancialyearending2012andthefinancialyearending2015,UnitedKingdom
Source:AnnualPopulationSurvey(APS)-Officefor
low Well-being
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NotesforPersonalwell-beingacrossUKcountries
1. displayedto2decimalplacestoshowdifference
Personalwell-beingintheEnglishregionsThissectionfocusesonpersonalwell-beingacrosstheEnglishregionsinfinancialyearending2015andchangesovertime.Ourpreviousanalysis(ONS2013c(http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/wellbeing/measuring-national-well-being/personal-well-being-in-the-uk--2012-13/index.html))foundthatarangeofcharacteristicsrelatingtoindividualsandwheretheylive,theregionwheretheylivein,andwhethertheyliveinanurbanorruralareaarerelatedtopersonalwell-being.However,theeffectisnotasstrongasotheraspectsoflife,suchasemploymentsituationorhealth,forexample.Asthedifferencesbetweenregionsmaynotbestatisticallysignificant,comparisonsaremadebetweeneachregionandtheequivalentUKfigure.TheyarecommentedononlywherethereisastatisticallysignificantdifferencebetweentheregionalandtheUKfigure(theMethodologysectionhasmoreinformation).
Asdiscussedinsection3.5notallEnglishregionsareseeingthepositiveimprovementstopersonalwell-beingatthesamerate,andsomeareashaveimprovedmorethanothers.
5.1Averagepersonalwell-beingratingsintheEnglishregionsTheaveragereportedratingsacrosstheregionsforeachmeasureofpersonalwell-beinginfinancialyearending2015areshowninFigure7,aswellashowtheycomparetotheUKaverages.RegionswherereportedaverageratingsweresignificantlyabovetheUKaveragesinclude:
theSouthWestandSouthEastreportedsignificantlyhigheraverageratingsoflifesatisfaction(both7.7),additionallytheSouthEastwastheonlyEnglishregionwhichreportedsignificantlyhighersensethatthingstheydoinlifeareworthwhile(7.9)andhappiness(7.5)
theWestMidlandswastheregionwiththelowestlevelsofreportedaverageanxiety(2.6)
RegionswhereaverageratingsweresignificantlybelowtheUKaveragesinclude:
5.
LondonandYorkshireandTheHumberhadthelowestreportedlifesatisfaction(7.5),Londonwasamongthelowestforpeoplereportingalowsensethatthingswedoinlifeareworthwhile,alongwiththeNorthEast(7.7)
theNorthEast,NorthWestandLondonreportedsignificantlylowerhappinessratingsthantheUKaverage
theNorthEast,London,andYorkshireandTheHumberreportedsignificantlyhigheranxietylevels
Figure7:Averagepersonalwell-beingratingscomparedtoUKaverages:byEnglishregion,financialyearending2015
UnitedKingdom
Source:AnnualPopulationSurvey(APS)-OfficeforNationalStatistics
Notes:
1. *Indicatesastatisticallys ignificantdifferencedeterminedonthebasis ofnon-overlappingconfidenceintervals
5.2Changesovertimeinaveragepersonalwell-beingratingsintheEnglishregions
Comparingthelatestaverageestimatesforeachregiontothefinancialyearending2014estimates:
theNorthWesthadthebiggestreportedimprovementforaveragelifesatisfaction,worthwhileandhappiness
allregionsexceptYorkshireandTheHumberhadasignificantimprovementinaveragelifesatisfactionratings
allregionsexcepttheNorthEast,EastMidlandsandtheWestMidlandshadsignificantlyimprovedaverageratingsforthethingswedoinlifebeingworthwhile
foraveragehappinessthepicturewasmoremixedwith5outofthe9Englishregionsreportedasignificantimprovementinhappinesslevelsincluding:theNorthWest,EastMidlands,EastofEngland,SouthEastandSouthWest;therewasnosignificantimprovementsforLondon,theWestMidlands,YorkshireandTheHumberandtheNorthEast
onlytheEastofEnglandandLondonreportedsignificantreductionsinaverageratingsforanxiety;Londonhadthelargestreduction,althoughithasoneofthehighestaverageanxietylevelsoverall
Theonly4regionswherepositivechangeswerenotseenforatleast2outofthe4measuresweretheNorthEast,WestMidlands,EastMidlandsandYorkshireandTheHumber.
Sincefinancialyearending2012,whenwefirstcollectedthesedata,alloftheEnglishregionshavereportedsignificantincreasesinlifesatisfaction,happinessandworthwhile,andreductionsinaverageanxiety.Thisistobeexpectedgiventheoverallimprovementinpersonalwell-beingintheUKasawhole.Theregionwhichhasseenthebiggestaverageimprovementforlifesatisfaction,worthwhileandhappinesswastheWestMidlands.PeopleinLondonreportedthebiggestreductioninaverageanxietylevelsoverthisperiod.
Figure8:Annualchangeinannualaveragepersonalwell-beingratings,byregion,betweenthefinancialyearsending2012and2015
UnitedKingdom
Source:AnnualPopulationSurvey(APS)-OfficeforNationalStatistics
Notes:
1. *Indicatesastatisticallys ignificantdifferencefrom2011/12atthe0.05level
2. +Indicatesastatisticallys ignificantdifferencefrom2012/13atthe0.05level
3. ~Indicatesastatisticallys ignificantdifferencefrom2013/14atthe0.05level
5.3Highestandlowestpersonalwell-beingintheEnglishregionsinthefinancialyearending2015Thissectionconsiderswhetherthehighestandlowestreportedpersonalwell-beingisspreadevenlyacrosstheregionsorwhetherhighestandlowestwell-beingareconcentratedincertainareas.Thepercentagesofpeopleineachregionreportingthehighestwell-beinginfinancialyearending2015isshowninMap1andthelowestreportedwell-beingshowninMap2.Thesemapsalsoshowthedirectionofchangesintheestimatessincefinancialyearending2012.
Theconcentrationsofhighestlevelsofreportedpersonalwell-beingacrosstheEnglishregions,comparedtheUKasawhole,are:
theSouthEastwastheonlyregionwithasignificantlyhigherproportionofpeoplereportingveryhighlifesatisfactioncomparedtotheUK
theNorthWestandYorkshireandTheHumberhadasignificantlyhigherproportionofpeoplereportingaveryhighsensethatthethingsthattheydointheirlivesareworthwhilecomparedtotheUKasawhole
onlytheEastMidlandshadasignificantlyhigherproportionofpeoplereportingveryhighhappinesscomparedtotheUKasawhole
theEastMidlandsandWestMidlandsweretheonly2regionsthatreportedstatisticallysignificantlyhigherproportionsofpeoplereportinglowanxiety
Thisalsoshowsthatthepatternsofhighwell-beingacrosstheUKdifferforeachofthe4measures.
Map1:Percentagesratingpersonalwell-beingathighestlevels:byEnglishregionforfinancialyearending2015andchangesincefinancialyearending2012
East Midlands 29.0
Noo1h East 28.6
YorI<.shire ..-.::I The Ho.mber 28.3
West Midlands 27.0
London 25.4
50
England = 28.4%. UK = 28.6% Pen:entage ranked tJ)o regoo
Worthwhile (9-10),1 2014/2015
• North West 35.9
Yor1<.shire arid TIle HumtJer 35.9
South West 35.6
South East 35.4
East of England 34.1
East Midlands 33.8
North East 32.9
West Midlands 32.2
Loodon31.8
England = 34.3%. UK = 34 4% Percentage ranked IT)" region
Happiness (9_10),1 2014/2015 %
East Midlands 36.0
South East 35.3
South West 34.8
Yor1<.shire arid TIle HumtJer 34.6
East of England 34.1
North West 33.9
North East 33.1
West Midlands 32.1
Loodon 31.2 , , "
, "
, '" 50
England = 33.9%. UK = 34. 1% Pen:entage ranked tJ)o regoo
Improvement
No change
Improvement
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Significam change since 2011112
Improvement
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No change
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Significant change since 2011112
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Improvement
Anxiety (0-1 ),t 2014/2015 Significanl change % since 2011112
West Midlands 45.9 Improvement
East Midlands 43.0 Improvement
North West 41.4 Improvement
South East 41.0 Improvement
Yor1<.shire arid TIle HumtJer 40.8 Improvement
East of England 40.6 Improvement
South West 40.3 Improvement
North East 40.3 Improvement
Loodon 36.2 Improvement , " '" 50
England = 40.6%. UK = 4D.9% Pen:entage ranked tJ)o regoo
1 Adults aged 16 and over were asked 'Overall, how satisfied are you with your life nowadays?', 'Overall, to what extent do you feel the things you do in your life are worthwhile?' , 'Overall, how happy did you feel yesterday?' and 'Overall. how anxious did you feel yesterday?' where 0 is 'not at all' and 10 is 'completely'.
Source: Omce for Natooal StatiStiCS licensed under the Open Government Licence v.3.0. Contains OS data Cl Crown c~right and datalJase right 2Ot5
Source:AnnualPopulationSurvey(APS)-OfficeforNationalStatistics
Notes:
1. Adults aged16andoverwereasked:"Overall,howsatis fiedareyouwithyourlifenowadays?""Overall,towhatextentdoyoufeelthethingsyoudoinyourlifeareworthwhile?""Overall,howhappydidyoufeelyesterday?""Overall,howanxiousdidyoufeelyesterday?"Where0is "notatall"and10is "completely"
Theconcentrationsofthelowestlevelsofreportedpersonalwell-beingacrosstheEnglishregions,comparedtotheUKasawhole,are:
theNorthEast,NorthWestandYorkshireandTheHumberallhadsignificantlygreaterproportionsofpeoplereportingverylowlifesatisfaction,happinessandhighanxiety,onlytheSouthEasthadasignificantlylowerproportionofpeoplereportingverylowlifesatisfactionandhappiness
theNorthEastandNorthWestalsohadgreaterproportionsofpeoplereportinglowratingsforsensethatwhattheydoinlifeisworthwhile,whileagaintheSouthEastandalsotheEastofEnglandhadlowerproportionsofpeoplereportinglowworthwhilecomparedtotheUKasawhole
onlytheWestMidlandshadasignificantlylowerproportionofpeoplereportinghighanxietycomparedtotheUKfigure
Map2:Percentagesratingpersonalwell-beingatlowestlevels:byEnglishregionfinancialyearending2015andchangesincefinancialyearending2012
Source:AnnualPopulationSurvey(APS)-OfficeforNationalStatistics
Notes:
-Worthwhile (0-4),1 2014/2015
• North Eas14.7 _
North Wes14.4 _
YOfkstllre and The Humber 4.3 _
West Mldlards 4.2 _
South Wes13.9 _
East Midlands 3.7 _
London3.6 _
East 01 England 3.3 _
South Eas13.1 _ , , '" England = 3.8%, UK = 3.8% Percentage ranked IT)' regIOn
Happiness (0-4) ,1 2014/2015 %
NofIh East 10.8
Yor1<.shire arid TIle Humber 10.2
North West 10.2
South West 8.8
East Midlands 8.1
West Mldlallds 8.6
East 01 England 8.5
London 8.3
South EasIS.O
'" England = 9.0%, UK = 6.9% Percentage ranked tJ)o regoo
Anxiety (6-10),1 2014/2015 %
North East 22.1
YoO<.shire and TIle Humber 21.3
NtxU, W.,,;l 20.7
Loodon 19.2
South West 18.8
South East 18.8
East Midlands 18.6
East 01 England 18.3
West Midlands 17.9 , '" Englafld = 194%. UK = 19.4% Percentage ranked tJ)o regoo
Significant change since 2011112
No change
Improvement
No change
Improvement
No changl
Improvement
Improvement
Improvement
Improvement
Significanl change since 2011112
Improvement
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1 Adults aged 16 and over were asked 'Overall, how satisfied are you with your life nowadays?', 'Overall, to what extent do you feel the things you do in your life are worthwhile?', 'Overall, how happy did you feel yesterday?' and 'Overall, how anxious did you feel yesterday?' where 0 is 'not at all' and 10 is 'completely'.
Source OOce for Nallonal Slalislics icensed under the Open Governmenl Ucence v.3.0 Contains OS data Cl Crown ropyrighl and database righl2015
1. Adults aged16andoverwereasked:"Overall,howsatis fiedareyouwithyourlifenowadays?""Overall,towhatextentdoyoufeelthethingsyoudoinyourlifeareworthwhile?""Overall,howhappydidyoufeelyesterday?""Overall,howanxiousdidyoufeelyesterday?"Where0is "notatall"and10is "completely"
5.4Changesovertimeinhighestandlowestpersonalwell-beingintheregionsComparingtheconcentrationsofhighestreportedpersonalwell-beingintheregionscomparedtofinancialyearending2014:
theregionswiththelargestgrowthintheproportionofpeoplereportingwell-beingatthehighestlevelswere:theEastofEnglandandtheSouthEastforlifesatisfaction,theNorthWest,YorkshireandTheHumberandtheSouthEastforworthwhile
forhighlevelsofhappinesstheregionswiththelargestgrowthintheproportionofpeoplereportinghighlevelsofhappinesssincefinancialyearending2014weretheNorthWestandtheEastMidlands
theregionsthatreportedthebiggestimprovementsinreportedlowlevelsofanxietyweretheEastMidlandsandLondon;notethatLondonistheregionthat,jointlywiththeNorthEast,reportedthehighestaverageanxietyinthefinancialyearending2015
Comparingtheconcentrationsoflowestreportedpersonalwell-beingtothoseoffinancialyearending2014:
theproportionsofpeoplereportinglowlevelsoflifesatisfactionsignificantlyreducedforallregionsexceptfortheNorthEast,YorkshireandTheHumberandtheEastofEngland
fortheothermeasuresofpersonalwell-beingtherewereonlyafewregionswhichhadsignificantreductionsintheproportionsofpeoplereportingverylowwell-being:forworthwhiletheonlyregionthathadasignificantreductionwastheNorthWest
forhappiness,theonly2regionswithsignificantreportedreductionsweretheWestMidlandsandLondon
foranxiety,theonlysignificantreportedreductionsintheproportionsofpeoplereportinghighanxietyweretheEastofEnglandandLondon
theNorthEastandYorkshireandTheHumberweretheonly2Englishregionswithnosignificantreportedimprovementinlowlevelsofwell-beingacrossall4ofthemeasures
Itisimportanttolookatconcentrationsoflowlevelsofpersonalwell-beingovertimesothatpolicymakerscantargetandmeasureinterventionsdesignedtoimprovepersonalwell-beingforthesegroups.
Therehasbeenagreaterimprovementintheproportionsofpeoplereportinghighwell-beingthanreductionsinpeoplereportingwell-beingatthelowestlevels.ThisreflectsthepatternfortheUKasawhole,aswellasforthe4UKcountries.
Sincefinancialyearending2012,whenwefirstcollectedthesedata,changesinconcentrationsofhighestreportedpersonalwell-beingacrosstheregions,asshowninMap1,include:
significantincreasesintheproportionsofpeoplereportingveryhighlifesatisfactionforallregionsapartfromtheNorthEastandtheSouthWest
significantincreasesintheproportionsofpeoplereportingveryhighsensethatthethingstheydoinlifeareworthwhileacrossallregionsexceptfortheEastMidlands
significantincreasesintheproportionsofpeoplereportinglowanxietyforallregions
Ofthe4measures,anxietyistheonethathasseenthemostpositiveimprovement.ThiscouldbeduetogreaterstabilityintheUKeconomycomparedtofinancialyearending2012,whichmayhaveaffectedpeople’sanxietylevelsmorethantheothermeasuresofpersonalwell-being.
Sincefinancialyearending2012,whenwefirstcollectedthedata,changesinconcentrationsoflowestreportedpersonalwell-beingacrosstheregions,asshowninMap2include:
significantreductionsintheproportionsofpeoplereportinglowlifesatisfactioninallEnglishregionsexcepttheNorthEast
significantreductionsintheproportionsofpeoplereportingalowsensethatthethingstheydoinlifeareworthwhileexceptintheNorthEast,YorkshireandTheHumberandtheSouthWest
significantreductionsintheproportionsofpeoplereportinglowlevelsofhappinessinallregions
significantreductionsintheproportionsofpeoplereportinghighanxietyinallregionsexcepttheNorthEastandYorkshireandTheHumber
Thisistobeexpectedgiventhegeneralimprovementsinpersonalwell-beingintheUKasawholeduringthisperiod;however,aswasfoundinforthe4countriesoftheUK,thegainsinpersonalwell-beingaregreaterinsomeareasthanothers.
5.5SummaryofPersonalWell-beinginEnglishRegions
5.5.1SummaryofPersonalWell-beingintheEnglishRegionsinfinancialyearending2015
TheSouthEastwasoneoftheregionswithhighestpersonalwell-being,includingthehighestaveragereportedlifesatisfactionandworthwhile,butalsofortheproportionsofpeoplereportinglifesatisfactionatthehighestlevels,andwastheregionwiththehighestaveragereportedhappiness.
Intermsofreportedanxiety,thepatternofreportingwasdifferentintheEnglishregionscomparedtotheother3measures.Forexample,theWestMidlandswastheregionwiththelowestaverageanxietyandthelowestproportionsofpeoplereportinghighanxiety,butwasnotamongtheregionswiththehighestreportedlifesatisfaction,sensethatthethingswedoinlifeareworthwhileorhappiness.Thisshowsthatitisimportanttocapturepersonalwell-beingforall4measuresastheycapturedifferentaspectsofpersonalwell-being.
Regionsthatreported2ormorebelowaverage/lowlevelspersonalwell-beingacrossallthemeasuresweretheNorthEast,NorthWest,London,andYorkshireandTheHumber.
5.5.2SummarycomparisonofPersonalWell-beingchangeintheEnglishRegionsbetweenfinancialyearsending2014and2015
Forchangeinaverageratings,onlytheNorthEast,WestMidlands,EastMidlandsandYorkshireandTheHumberdidnotreportsignificantimprovementsforatleast2outofthe4measures.TheNorthEastandYorkshireandTheHumberweretheonly2Englishregionswithnosignificantimprovementinlowlevelsofwell-beingacrossall4ofthemeasures.
Theregionswiththelargestgrowthintheproportionsofpeoplereportingwell-beingatthehighestlevelswere:theEastofEnglandandSouthEastforlifesatisfaction,theNorthWest,YorkshireandTheHumberandSouthEastforworthwhile.ForhighlevelsofhappinessthebiggestgrowthinproportionsweretheNorthWestandEastMidlands.ForanxietytheregionsthatreportedthebiggestimprovementsinthosereportinglowlevelsofanxietyweretheEastMidlandsandLondon.ThisisinterestingasLondonwasoneoftheregionswhichhadthehighestaverageanxietyreportedforthefinancialyearending2015,andwiththelowestproportionsofpeoplereportinglowlevelsofanxiety.
Bothaveragelevelsinreportedpersonalwell-beingandproportionsofpeoplereportinglowlevelsofpersonalwell-beinghaveremainedstaticinsomeregions,despiteoverallimprovementsfortheUKasawhole.
Personalwell-beinginlocalareasoftheUKFormorelocalareasoftheUK,thepersonalwell-beingestimatesareavailableasinteractivemaps(http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/external-links/about-statistics/wellbeing/personal-well-being-across-the-uk-interactive-map.html),whichcanbeexploredinavarietyofways,andinthereferencetables(http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/publications/re-reference-tables.html?edition=tcm%3A77-407641)accompanyingthisbulletin.Thepersonalwell-beingestimateshavebeenpublishedforthefollowingadministrativeareasinEngland,Scotland,WalesandNorthernIrelandinthereferencetables(http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/publications/re-reference-tables.html?edition=tcm%3A77-407641):
unitaryauthoritiesorcountiesinEngland
localauthoritydistrictsinEngland
unitaryauthoritiesinWales
localauthoritiesinScotland
localgovernmentdistrictsinNorthernIreland
Wehavealsopublishedfurtheranalysislookingathowpersonalwell-beingdiffersaccordingtothecharacteristicsofareasandthepeoplelivingthere(ONS,2013b(http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/wellbeing/measuring-subjective-wellbeing-in-the-uk/first-annual-ons-experimental-subjective-well-being-results/index.html);ONS,2014b(http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/regional-trends/regional-economic-analysis/exploring-personal-well-being-and-place-in-the-uk/art-exploring-personal-well-being-and-place.html)).In2014wereleasedthefirstcombined3yearsofpersonalwell-beingdata(ONS,2015d(http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/wellbeing/measuring-national-well-being/personal-well-being-in-the-uk--three-year-data-2011-2014/index.html)).Wewillpublisharollingcombined3yearpersonalwell-beingdatasetannually.Thisisdesignedtoprovidelargersamplesizesandmorerobustanalysisofpersonalwell-beinginlocalareasandamongsmallerpopulationsubgroups.
Wewouldwelcomefeedbackonthisbulletin,particularlyhowthedataareused.
Pleasecontactusviaemailat:personal.well-being@ons.gsi.gov.ukortelephoneLucyTinkler01633455713.
6.
Usesofthedata7.
Thepersonalwell-beingstatisticsareusedtoinformdecisionmakingamongpolicy-makers,individuals,communities,businessesandcivilsociety.Theycomplementothertraditionalmeasuresofprogressandqualityoflife,suchasunemploymentandhouseholdincome.Weusethepersonalwell-beingestimatesaspartofawiderprogrammetomonitorandunderstandUKnationalwell-beingovertimeandincomparisontoothercountries.
Oneofthemainbenefitsofcollectingpersonalwell-beingdataisthatpeopleareabletogivetheirviewsabouteachaspectoftheirwell-being.Withoutit,assumptionsmustbemadeabouthowobjectiveconditions,suchaspeople’shealthandincome,mightinfluencetheirindividualwell-being.However,personalwell-beingmeasuresaregroundedinindividuals’preferencesandtakeaccountofwhatmattersmosttothembyallowingthemtodecidewhatisimportantwhenprovidinganassessmentoftheirownqualityoflife.
Theusesofpersonalwell-beingdataarevaried,butthe4mainusesare:
overallmonitoringofnationalwell-being
useinthepolicymakingprocess
internationalcomparisons
publicdecisionmaking
7.1Overallmonitoringofnationalwell-beingCollectedregularly,personalwell-beingdatacanprovideanindicationofhowthewell-beingofanationischanging.Togetafullpictureofnationalwell-beingwebelieveitisimportanttousethisinformationtosupplementexistingobjectiveinformation.Afterextensivepublicconsultationwehaveidentifieddifferentaspects(ordomains)ofwell-beingthatsitalongsidethepersonalwell-beingdomain.Theseinclude:
health
ourrelationships
whatwedo
wherewelive
personalfinance
educationandskills
theeconomy
theenvironment
governance
TheNationalWell-beingwheelofmeasures(http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/HTMLDocs/dvc146/wrapper.html)includesindicatorsforallthese.
7.2UseinpolicymakingPersonalwell-beingdata,withintheframeworkofwidermeasuresofnationalwell-being,focusesonhowpeoplethinkandfeelabouttheirlives.Thisisanimportantadditiontoofficialstatistics,helpingpolicymakersunderstandhowtheirdecisionsmayaffectpeople’squalityoflife.Personalwell-beingdataisincreasinglybeingusedbothintheUKandinternationallyinthedevelopmentandevaluationofpoliciesandservices.Theseinclude:
in2015theairportscommissionassessedpersonalwell-beingaroundairportstoinformit’srecommendationsonairportexpansion;
theCabinetOfficehasrecentlyreleasedresultsanalysingpersonalwell-beinginareaswheresocialactionprojectshavebeenrunning
theWhatWorksCentreforWell-beingreleasedpersonalwell-beingresultsbyoccupationandthisisbeingusedtodevelopanewcareersapplicationforyoungpeople
theBehavioralInsightsTeamrecentlyevaluatedthepersonalwell-beingofyoungpeopleparticipatinginYouthSocialActiontrialscomparedtocontrolgroups
TheWhatWorksCentreforWell-beingwaslaunchedinOctober2014.Theyaimtoencouragegreateruseofwell-beingdataamongdecisionmakersbymakingiteasytounderstandanduseinpracticalways
7.2.1Identifyingneedandtargetingpolicies
ThelargesamplesizeoftheAnnualPopulationSurvey(APS)PersonalWell-beingdatasetallowsforcomparisonsbetweendifferentgroupsofthepopulation(forexample,differentagegroupsordifferentethnicgroups)andbetweendifferentareasintheUK(forexample,countries,regionsandlocalauthoritydistricts).Thiscanhelppolicy-makerstargetpolicyatthegroupsorareaswithhighestneedintermsofpersonalwell-being.
Analysiscanalsobecarriedouttolookathowdifferentcircumstancesrelatetopersonalwell-beingandwhicharemoststronglyassociatedwithit.Thiscanhelptoidentifywhichpoliciescouldbemosteffectiveinimprovingpersonalwell-being.InMay2013wepublishedanalysislookingatWhatmattersmosttopersonalwell-being?(ONS,2013b(http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/wellbeing/measuring-subjective-wellbeing-in-the-uk/first-annual-ons-experimental-subjective-well-being-results/index.html))whichidentifiedhealth,relationshipstatusandemploymentstatusasthefactorsmosthighlyassociatedwithpersonalwell-beingintheAPS.Ourrecentpublicationshavealsolookedatrelationshipsbetweencommutingandpersonalwell-being(ONS,2014c(http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/wellbeing/measuring-national-well-being/commuting-and-personal-well-being--2014/index.html)),householdincomeandexpenditure(ONS,2014d(http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/wellbeing/measuring-national-well-being/income--expenditure-and-personal-well-being/art--income--expenditure-and-personal-well-being.html)),andaspectsofwherewelive(ONS,2014b(http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/regional-trends/regional-economic-analysis/exploring-personal-well-being-and-place-in-the-uk/art-exploring-personal-well-being-and-place.html)).
7.2.2Policyappraisal
Anotheruseisincost-benefitanalysisforpolicyappraisal.Personalwell-beingestimatescanprovideanalternativemethodtovaluethecostsandbenefitsofdifferentpolicies.Thisprocesscouldalsohelpinformdecisionsaboutwhatformsofspendingwillleadtothelargestincreasesinpersonalwell-being(Dolanetal,2011(99.8KbPdf)(http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/guide-method/user-guidance/well-being/publications/measuring-subjective-well-being-for-public-policy.pdf)).
TheGreenBookisHMTreasury'sguideforgovernmentdepartmentsontheappraisalofthecostsandbenefitsofprojectsthroughsocialcost-benefitanalysis.AGreenBookdiscussionpaper(FujiwaraandCampbell,2011(https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/valuation-techniques-for-social-cost-benefit-analysis)),producedjointlybyHMTreasuryandtheDepartmentforWorkandPensions,looksatthepotentialusesofpersonalwell-beingmeasuresinsocialcost-benefitanalysis.Anotherrecentexampleoftheuseofpersonalwell-beingdatainthisareahasbeentoproduceamethodforthemonetaryvaluationofvolunteering(Fujiwaraetal,2013(https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/wellbeing-and-civil-society-estimating-the-value-of-volunteering-using-subjective-wellbeing-data-wp112)).
7.2.3Examplesofuseofpersonalwell-beingdataforpolicyevaluationandmonitoring
Personalwell-beingdataareincreasinglybeingusedtoevaluateandmonitortheeffectivenessofpolicyinterventionsintheUK.ArecentexampleistheNationalCitizenService,thereportedpersonalwell-beingofyoungpeoplebeforeandaftertheirparticipationintheservicewasevaluated.Theresultscomparedpeople’sreportedpersonalwell-beingbeforeandafterparticipationintheprogrammeandfoundstatisticallysignificantincreases.Thewell-beingofparticipants’alsoimprovedcomparedtoacontrolgroupofsimilarpeoplewhohadnotparticipatedintheprogramme.Aswellasgovernmentinterventions,othercivilsocietyandthirdsectorinterventionscouldbeevaluatedinasimilarway.Addedtothis,lookingatpoliciesthrougha“well-beinglens”andusingdatatoinform,notonlytheformulationofpolicy,butalsohowpolicycouldbebetterimplementedwithpeople’swell-beinginmindisalsoimportant.TheSocialImpactsTaskforce(SITF),comprisingofsenioranalystsfromacrossgovernment,hasbeenworkingtomakeuseofpersonalwell-beingdataandshareapproachesandfindingsacrossgovernment.TheCabinetOfficehasalsoconvenedacross-Whitehallsteeringgroupofseniorpolicymakerstoencouragetheconsiderationofwell-beinginpolicy.
Separateinitiativestoinvestigatewell-beingarebeingundertakenbythedevolvedgovernments.Theseinclude:theNationalPerformanceFramework,whichformspartofthe“Scotlandperforms”initiativeandtherecentlypublishedAnalysisofsubjectivewell-beinginWales:EvidencefromtheAnnualPopulationSurvey.Theseinitiativesreflectthespecificneedsofthecountriestheyrepresent.
MostUKgovernmentdepartmentsareactivelyengagedinwell-beingresearchinsomeway,particularlyanalysisofpersonalwell-beingdata.Thisexploreshowpeople’sratingsoftheirpersonalwell-beingareassociatedwithparticularpolicyareasincludinghousing,crime,adultlearning,sport,culture,volunteeringandhealth.
Furtherinformation,includingexamplesofhowpersonalwell-beingdataarebeingusedinthepolicyprocess,isavailableinrecentgovernmentevidencesubmittedbytheCabinetOfficetotheUKParliament’sEnvironmentalAuditCommittee(http://wasppreview/ons/rel/wellbeing/measuring-national-well-being/personal-well-being-in-the-uk--2014-15/index.html)aspartoftheirinquiryonwell-being,
Well-beingPolicyandAnalysisisalsoavailable;thisreportprovidesupdatedinformationaboutwell-beingworkacrossWhitehall(includinguseofourpersonalwell-beingquestionsanddatainevaluations,surveysandspecialiseddataexplorationtools).
7.3Internationaldevelopmentstomonitorwell-being
ThebenefitofunderstandingwheretheUKisplacedcomparedtoothernationsisanotherimportantreasonforthecollectionofpersonalwell-beingdata.Thereareincreasingcallsfrominternationalorganisations,suchasEurostat(theStatisticalOfficeoftheEuropeanUnion)andtheOrganisationforEconomicCooperationandDevelopment(OECD),todevelopnationalpersonalwell-beingestimatesandincreasingrecognitioninternationallythatthisshouldbeincludedinofficialdatacollection.Eurostat(theStatisticalOfficeoftheEuropeanUnion)havestartedtocollectpersonalwell-beingstatisticsfrommemberstatesaspartoftheEuropeanStatisticsonIncomeandLivingConditions(EU-SILC)(http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/external-links/other-government-departments/eurostat/eu-statistics-on-income---living-conditions.html)inanad-hocwell-beingmodulein2013.Eurostat’sQualityofLifeIndicators,currentlybeingdeveloped,willalsoincludepersonalwell-beinginformationtosupplementobjectiveinformationalreadycollectedacrossEurope.
TheOECDhasalsopublishedguidanceonthemeasurementofsubjectivewell-being,whichwehavecontributedto(OECD,2013(http://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/economics/oecd-guidelines-on-measuring-subjective-well-being_9789264191655-en)).
Methodology8.1TheAPSPersonalWell-beingdatasetThedataanalysedinthisbulletinarefromtheAnnualPopulationSurvey(APS)PersonalWell-beingdataset,coveringtheperiodApril2014toMarch2015.ONSwillreleaseanewannualAPSPersonalWell-beingdataseteveryyear,soonafterthepublicationofthelatestPersonalWell-beingintheUKstatisticalbulletininSeptember.ThedatasetincludesresponsestothefourONSpersonalwell-beingquestionsaswellasarangeofothervariablesusefulfortheanalysisofpersonalwell-being.Also,specialweightingisincludedinthedatasettomakethedatarepresentativeoftheUKpopulation.Theweightingalsoadjustsforthefactthateachrespondentmustanswerthequestionsforthemselves,withnooneelseinthehouseholdallowedtoanswerontheirbehalf.Estimatesfor2014/15havebeenweightedusingpopulationtotalsfromthe2011census.Estimatesfrompreviousyearswereweightedtopopulationtotalsfromthe2001census.Thisdifferencemayimpactestimatesbutitisimpossibletoquantifyandislikelytobesmall.
Since2012,theannualversionoftheAPSPersonalWell-beingdatasethasbeenarchivedsothatapprovedresearcherscanusethedatafortheirownanalysis.FurtherdetailsofhowresearcherscanaccessthedataareavailablefromourFrequentlyAskedQuestionspage(http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/guide-method/method-quality/specific/social-and-welfare-methodology/subjective-wellbeing-survey-user-guide/subjective-well-being-frequently-asked-questions--faq-s-.html)orbycontactingthePersonalWell-beingTeam:[email protected].
8.
8.2TheONSpersonalwell-beingquestionsandtheirdevelopmentTheONSpersonalwell-beingquestionsweredevelopedaspartoftheMeasuringNationalWell-beingProgramme(http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/guide-method/user-guidance/well-being/index.html).ONSsoughtadvicefromexpertsworkinginthefieldofsubjectivewell-being(seeDolanetal,2011(99.8KbPdf)(http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/guide-method/user-guidance/well-being/publications/measuring-subjective-well-being-for-public-policy.pdf))andconsultedwithspecialistsontheNationalStatistician’sMeasuringNationalWell-beingAdvisoryForumandTechnicalAdvisoryGroup.Basedonthis,aswellasextensivequestiontesting,fourquestionsweredesigned.Theyprovideaconciseandbalancedapproachtothemeasurementofsubjectivewell-being,drawingonthreemaintheoreticalapproaches(Dolanetal,2011(99.8KbPdf(http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/guide-method/user-guidance/well-being/publications/measuring-subjective-well-being-for-public-policy.pdf)),ONS,2011a(240.8KbPdf)(http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/guide-method/user-guidance/well-being/wellbeing-knowledge-bank/understanding-wellbeing/measuring-subjective-well-being.pdf)).Theseinclude:
the‘evaluative’approachwhichaskspeopletoreflectontheirlifeandassesshowitisgoingoverallintermsoftheirsatisfactionwithlife;
the‘eudemonic’approachwhichaskspeopletoconsidertheextenttowhichtheyfeelasenseofmeaningandpurposeinlife;
the‘experience’approachwhichaskaboutpeople’spositiveandnegativeexperiencesandemotionsoverashortperiodoftimetoassesstheseaspectsofpersonalwell-beingonaday-to-daybasis
ONSconductedfocusgroupswithmembersofthepublicin2013,andfoundthat‘personalwell-being’isclearerandsimplerforpeopletounderstandthan‘subjectivewell-being’.Sincethen,boththequestionsandestimateshavebeenreferredtoas‘personalwell-being’.
ThefollowingaretheONSpersonalwell-beingquestionsthathavebeenincludedontheAnnualPopulationSurveyeachyearsince2011:
overall,howsatisfiedareyouwithyourlifenowadays?(evaluativeapproach)
overall,towhatextentdoyoufeelthethingsyoudoinyourlifeareworthwhile?(eudemonicapproach)
overall,howhappydidyoufeelyesterday?(experienceapproach)
overall,howanxiousdidyoufeelyesterday?(experienceapproach)
Allareansweredusinga0to10scalewhere0is‘notatall’and10is‘completely’.FurtherinformationontheONSapproachtomeasuringpersonalwell-beingcanbefoundinthepaper‘MeasuringSubjectiveWell-being’(240.8KbPdf)(http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/guide-method/user-guidance/well-being/wellbeing-knowledge-bank/understanding-wellbeing/measuring-subjective-well-being.pdf)(ONS,2011a).
8.3APSdesignanditsimplicationsforthepersonalwell-beingstatisticsEarlyintheMeasuringNationalWell-beingProgramme,ONSselectedtheAnnualPopulationSurvey(APS)asthekeysurveyonwhichtoincludethepersonalwell-beingquestionsforthenationalestimatesofpersonalwell-being.TheAPSisoneofthelargesthouseholdsurveysrunbyONSandoffersaverycost-effectivemeansofmeasuringpersonalwell-beinginarepresentativewayacrosstheUKandforeachUKcountry.Also,becauseofitsverylargesamplesize,itprovidesopportunitiesforanalysisofthepersonalwell-beingestimatesofsmallergroups,suchasminorityethnicgroups,andacrossregionalandlocalareas.Theseareimportantconsiderationsindecidinghowbesttomonitorthepersonalwell-beingofthenation.
Wheneverincludingnewquestionsonasurveyoriginallydesignedforanotherpurpose,therearesomeaspectsofthedesignandcoverageofthesurveywhichpresentchallenges.Thesearehighlightedinthissectionwherevertheyarerelevant.
8.3.1HowtheAPSisconstructed
TheAPSisanannualversionofthequarterlyLabourForceSurvey(LFS).ItisconstructedbycombiningdatacollectedontheLFS(waves1and5),andalsoincludesdatafromLFS‘boost’samplesinEngland,WalesandScotland(all4waves).TheAPSiscomprisedofdatacollectedovera12monthperiod,andincludesapanelelementwhereahousehold,onceselectedforinterview,isretainedinthesampleforasetperiodoftime(knownas’waves’).ThewaytheAPSisconstructedmakessurethatnopersonappearsmorethanonceinthedataset.Table1showsthis,withalltheboldtexthighlightingthewavescontributingtotheAPSdatabetweenApril2014andMarch2015:
Table1:DatastructureoftheAPSPersonalWell-beingdataset,2014/15(1,2)
APSPersonalWell-beingdataset:April2014toMarch2015
April-
June2014
July-Sept
2014
Oct-Dec
2014
Jan-
March
2015
LFScohort1(firstsampledApril-
June2013)Wave5
LFScohort2(firstsampledJuly-Sept
2013)Wave4 Wave5
LFScohort3(firstsampledOct-Dec
2013)Wave3 Wave4 Wave5
LFScohort4(FirstsampledJan-
March2014)Wave2 Wave3 Wave4 Wave5
LFScohort5(FirstsampledApril-
June2014)Wave1 Wave2 Wave3 Wave4
LFScohort6(firstsampledJuly-Sept
2014) Wave1 Wave2 Wave3
LFScohort7(firstsampledOct-Dec
2014) Wave1 Wave2
LFScohort8(FirstsampledJan-
March2015) Wave1
LFSboostcohort1(firstsampled
April2011-March2012)Wave4
LFSboostcohort2(firstsampled
April2012-March2013)Wave3
LFSboostcohort3(firstsampled
April2013-March2014)Wave2
LFSboostcohort4(firstsampled
April2014-March2015) Wave1
Source:OfficeofNationalStatistics
Notes:
1.LFShouseholdsareinterviewedovera5-waveperiod,with3months
betweeninterviews
2.LFSboosthouseholdsareinterviewedovera4-waveperiod,with1year
betweeninterviews
8.3.2Samplesizesandrepresentativeness
Intotal,theAPSpersonalwell-beingfileincludesresponsesfromover300,000peopleperyear,basedinaround135,000households.UnlikeotherquestionsontheAPS,peopleareonlyaskedthepersonalwell-beingquestionsdirectlyandnooneelseinthehouseholdisallowedtorespondontheirbehalf.ForthisreasonthesamplesizefortheAPSPersonalWell-beingdatasetissmallerthanthenormalAPSdataset,ataround165,000peopleperyear.ThisstillmakesitthelargestdatasetintheUKtoincludethepersonalwell-beingquestions.
TheAPSisahouseholdsurvey,andafterweighting,theAPSPersonalWell-beingdatasetprovidesarepresentativesampleofadults(aged16andover)livinginresidentialhouseholdsintheUK.Itisnotrepresentativeofyoungpeopleundertheageof16norpeoplelivingininstitutionalsettingssuchasnursinghomes,carehomes,prisonsorhostels.Italsodoesnotincludehomelesspeople.Itisimportanttoacknowledgethatthepersonalwell-beingofpeoplelivinginthesecircumstancesmightdiffersubstantiallyfromthatofadultslivinginhouseholdsettings.Asaresult,theestimatesofpersonalwell-beingfromtheAPScanonlybeseenasrepresentativeoftheadultpopulationoftheUKlivinginhouseholdsettingsandanygeneralisationsshouldbemadeonthisbasis.
8.3.3Datacollectionmethodsandtheirimplications
TheAPSusesbothface-to-faceandtelephoneinterviewingmethods.Thesedifferentdatacollectionmethodsappeartoaffecthowpeoplerespondtothepersonalwell-beingquestions.Ingeneral,peoplerateeachaspectoftheirwell-beingmorepositivelywheninterviewedbytelephonethanwheninterviewedface-to-facebyaninterviewer.Forexample,in2014/15,higherratingsweregivenonaverageforthelifesatisfaction,worthwhile,andhappyyesterdayquestionsduringtelephoneinterviewscomparedtoface-to-face(seeTable2).
Table2:Averagepersonalwell-being,bymodeofinterview,2014/15
UnitedKingdom
Average
Telephone Face-to-face
Lifesatisfaction 7.7 7.5
Worthwhile 7.9 7.8
Happyyesterday 7.6 7.4
Anxiousyesterday 3 2.8
Source:AnnualPopulationSurvey,OfficeforNationalStatistics
Therelationshipbetweenthemodeofinterviewandaverageresponsestothepersonalwell-beingquestionshasbeenexaminedusingregressionanalysistoholdotherpossibleinfluencesonpersonalwell-beingconstant.Thisshowsthesamepatternfoundindescriptivestatistics:onaverage,peoplegivemorepositiveresponseswheninterviewedbytelephonethanwheninterviewedface-to-face.Thesefindings,firstpublishedbyONSinMay2013(ONS,2013a),arereproducedinTable3.
Table3:Effectsofinterviewmodeonratingsofpersonalwell-being(1,2,3)aftercontrollingforindividualcharacteristics
GreatBritain
Coefficients
Life
satisfactionWorthwhile
Happy
yesterday
Anxious
yesterday
Referencegroup:Telephone
Interview4
FacetoFaceInterview -0.171* -0.165* -0.132* 0.054*
Source:AnnualPopulationSurvey,OfficeforNationalStatistics
Notes:
1.Adultsaged16andoverwereasked'Overall,howsatisfiedareyouwithyour
lifenowadays?','Overall,towhatextentdoyoufeelthethingsyoudoinyour
lifeareworthwhile?','Overall,howhappydidyoufeelyesterday?'and'Overall,
howanxiousdidyoufeelyesterday?'wherenoughtis'notatall'and10is
'completely'
2.DatafromApril2011toMarch2012
3.Alldataweighted
4.Thereferencegroupforinterviewmodeis'telephoneinterviews'
5.*showsthattherelationshipisstatisticallysignificantatthe5%level
ThefindingsinTable3indicatethesizeandstatisticalsignificanceofthemodeeffects,ortheextenttowhichpeopleratetheirwell-beingdifferentlybytelephoneorinperson.Theeffectissmallestforthequestionaboutanxietyyesterdaywhichpeoplerate0.05pointshigheronaverageonthe0-10scalewheninterviewedface-to-facecomparedtotelephone.Theeffectisgreatestonratingsoflifesatisfactionwhichpeoplerate0.17pointsloweronaveragewheninterviewedface-to-facecomparedtotelephone.Thesedifferencesarestatisticallysignificantforallfourquestions,implyingthattheyarelikelytobeduetofactorsotherthansamplingvariation.
Table4showsproportionsofpeopleinterviewedviaeachmethodineachofthethreeyearsforwhichthepersonalwell-beingdataareavailable.
Table4:Proportionsofrespondents:bymodeofinterview,2011/12to2014/15(1)
UnitedKingdom
Percentage
2014/152 2013/14 2012/13 2011/12
TypeofInterview
Telephone 37.6 44.2 41.7 42.2
Face-to-face 62.4 55.8 58.3 57.8
Total 100 100 100 100
Source:AnnualPopulationSurvey,OfficeforNationalStatistics
Notes:
1.Dataisweighted
2.Proportionsdifferfrompreviousyearsduetoamovementfromtelephoneto
facetofaceinterviewing,andthegreaterweightgiventofacetoface
interviews
8.3.4Implicationsofmodeeffectsforpersonalwell-beingestimates
Itischallengingtoaccountformodeeffectswhenusingstatistics.Asregressionanalysishasfoundmodeofinterviewtobesignificanttoallpersonalwell-beingmeasures,itisadvisabletoincludemodeofinterviewinanyplannedregressionanalysisusingtheAPSPersonalWell-beingdataset.
IntheONSnationalestimatesofpersonalwell-being,theimpactofmodeisstatisticallysignificant.Ithasbeenroughlyconsistentovertheperiodforwhichthedataareavailable,suggestingthatmodeeffectsareunlikelytoaffectanysubstantiveconclusionsdrawn.
Theremaybemoreofanimpactofmodeeffectsoncomparisonsbetweenpersonalwell-beingforlowerlevelgeographicalestimates.Thisisfortworeasons:differentgroupsmayhavedifferentbalancesoftelephoneandface-to-faceresponse;andtheimpactofmodemaydifferbyarea.
Ingeneral,mostwave1interviewswillbeconductedface-to-faceandsubsequentwaveinterviewswillbebytelephone.Thisshouldleadtoaroughlyequalbalanceofface-to-faceandtelephonerespondentsformostgeographicregionssouthoftheCaledonianCanal.NorthoftheCaledonianCanalallAPSinterviewsareconductedbytelephone.CareshouldthereforebetakenwhencomparinggeographiesnorthoftheCaledonianCanaltothosewhicharesouthoftheCaledonianCanal,andusersmaywishtodisregardanydifferencesbetweensuchareaswhichareonlymarginallystatisticallysignificant.
Thereissomepreliminaryevidencethattheimpactofmodemayvarybetweenareas,potentiallyintroducingbiasintogeographicalcomparisons.However,thisimpacttendstobesmallerthanthestandarderror,implyingthatadifferencewhichisstatisticallysignificantaccordingtothepublishedstandarderrorswouldbelikelytoremainifitwerepossibletoaccountforthevariationinmodeeffects(althoughitmaynolongerbesignificant).ONSplantoinvestigatethisfurtherandtomaketheresultsoffurtheranalysisavailabletousers.
8.3.5TopiccoverageoftheAPS
AstheAPSisbasedonalabourmarketsurvey,itincludesanextensiverangeofquestionswhichareimportantforunderstandinglabourmarketparticipation,manyofwhicharealsousefulfortheanalysisofpersonalwell-being.Forexample,itincludesawiderangeofsocialanddemographicquestionsaswellasitemsabouthousing,employmentandeducation.ForfulldetailsofthevariablesincludedintheAPSPersonalWell-beingdataset,pleaseseethesurveyuserguide(1.01MbPdf)(http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/guide-method/method-quality/specific/social-and-welfare-methodology/subjective-wellbeing-survey-user-guide/personal-well-being-survey-user-guide--2013-2014-dataset.pdf).
Asinterestinpersonalwell-beingdataextendstothefullspectrumofpolicyareas,ONShasalsoincludedthequestionsonothermajorsurveysthatitruns.IthasworkedcollaborativelywithotherUKgovernmentdepartmentsandwiththeEuropeanstatisticalinstitute,Eurostat,toencouragewideuseofthequestions.Alistofthesurveysthatcurrentlyincludethequestions,theirbroadtopiccoverageandhowtogetfurtherinformationisavailableonourFrequentlyAskedQuestions(http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/guide-method/method-quality/specific/social-and-welfare-methodology/subjective-wellbeing-survey-user-guide/subjective-well-being-frequently-asked-questions--faq-s-.html)pageorfromtheCabinetOfficewebsite(http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/external-links/other-government-departments/cabinet-office/wellbeing-policy-and-analysis.html).
8.4HowtoaccesstheAPSpersonalwell-beingdataThereisarangeofwaysinwhichthedataaremadeavailable.AregularsetofkeyestimatesfromthedataareavailableinExcelspreadsheetspublishedalongsidethePersonalWell-beingintheUKstatisticalbulletin:
ReferenceTable1:PersonalWell-beingestimatesgeographicalbreakdown,2014/15(664.5KbExcelsheet)(http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/wellbeing/measuring-national-well-being/personal-well-being-in-the-uk--2014-15/rft-table-1.xls)
ReferenceTable2:PersonalWell-beingestimateschangeovertime,2011/12to2014/15(118.5KbExcelsheet)(http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/wellbeing/measuring-national-well-being/personal-well-being-in-the-uk--2014-15/rft-table-2.xls)
ReferenceTable3:PersonalWell-beingestimatespersonalcharacteristics,2014/15(574KbExcelsheet)(http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/wellbeing/measuring-national-well-being/personal-well-being-in-the-uk--2014-15/rft-table-3.xls)
TheAPSPersonalWell-beingdataaredepositedwiththeUKDataService(UKDS)aboutsixweeksafterthepublicationofthePersonalWell-beingintheUKstatisticalbulletin.ItisavailablefromUKDSintwoformats:
EndUserLicense(afullyanonymisednon-disclosivesetofdatacontainingbasicdemographicinformation,availabletoUKandoverseasacademics),
SpecialLicenseversions(amoredisclosivesetofdata,containingmoredetailedvariablessuchasUnitaryAuthority/LocalAuthority,howeverUnitaryAuthority/LocalAuthorityleveldataisonlyavailableforGreatBritainbutnotforNorthernIreland.AccesstothisdatarequiresApprovedResearcheraccreditation,andisonlyavailabletoUK-basedresearchers)
FurtherinformationabouttheseoptionsandhowtoaccessthedataisavailablefromtheUKDataService(http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/external-links/academic/uk-data-service.html).
DatacanalsobeaccessedthroughtheONSVirtualMicrodataLaboratory(VML)orthroughtheSecureDataServiceofUKDS.Thisisusuallythewaytoaccessmoredetaileddatawithsmallersamplesizesorlowerlevelsofgeography,whichrequireaccessthroughamoresecureroute.UsersaccessingdatainthisformatwillrequireApprovedResearcheraccreditation.OverseasacademicsinterestedinthiscanalsoapplythroughthisroutebuttheymusttraveltotheUKtousethesefacilities.PleasecontacteitherUKDS(http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/external-links/academic/uk-data-service.html)[email protected].
ONSalsoprovidethedatadirectlytoUKCivilServicestatisticiansandgovernmentresearchers.GovernmentanalystsinterestedinthisoptionshouldpleasecontactONSat:[email protected].
8.5Interpretingthepersonalwell-beingestimates
8.5.1Usingaverageratingsversusgroupedratings
Whencomparingdifferencesbetweenaverageratingsofgroupsorareas,itmustberememberedthatthisdoesnotaccountforvariabilitywithinthegroups.Justbecausetheaverageofsamplerespondentshasacertainratingofpersonalwell-beingdoesnotnecessarilymeanthatallpeoplewiththatcharacteristicwillhavethatparticularoutcome.Forexample,eventhoughwomenonaveragehavehigherlifesatisfactionthanmen,itisimportantnottoinferthatallwomenaremoresatisfiedwiththeirlivesthanmen.Recentresearchsuggeststhatwomenmaytendtoratetheirlifesatisfactionaseitherveryhighorverylow.Thispatternofresponsesmaybemaskedwhenusingaveragesalone.Lookingatthepercentagewhoratetheirwell-beingatdifferentlevelscanaddfurtherinsightintopatternsofwell-beingandthisiswhybothmethodsareusedinthisbulletin.Italsohelpstomakeclearthatwhatistrueforpartofthesamplewithacertaincharacteristicisunlikelytobetrueforallpeoplewiththatcharacteristic.
8.5.2Associationversuscausation
TheAPSpersonalwell-beingdatahavebeenanalysedbydifferentpersonalcharacteristicsandcircumstancesintheonlinereferencetablesaccompanyingthisbulletin,butanyrelationshipsobservedshouldnotnecessarilybetakentoimplycausation.Itcanonlybeassertedthataspecificcharacteristicorcircumstanceisassociatedwithhigherorlowerwell-being,notthatithascausedthisoutcome.Althoughsomegroupsaremorelikelytogivehigherlifesatisfactionratingsonaverage,itmaynotbetheparticularcharacteristicthatiscausingthemtoratetheirwell-beingatahigherlevel.Thereareotherfactorsthatcouldalsoinfluencetheirratingswhichwouldneedtobecontrolledforinaregressionmodel,andeventhencausationisoftendifficulttoinfer.Forexample,althoughmarriedpeopleonaverageratetheirhappinessathigherlevels,itisdifficulttosaywithcertaintywhethermarriageincreasesreportedhappinessorwhetherhappierpeoplearemorelikelytomarry.Longitudinaldatawhichtrackspeople’scharacteristics,experiencesandviewsovertimeisneededtoestablishwhetherthewell-beingorthecircumstancecamefirst.
8.5.3Themeaningofsmalldifferences
Thesizeofdifferencesbetweenratingsofpersonalwell-beingbetweengroupsofpeoplewithcertaincharacteristicsorinspecificareasoftheUKcanappearfairlysmall.Thisisalsothecaseforthesizeofyear-on-yearchangesinthenationalpersonalwell-beingestimates.Thepersonalwell-beingestimatesinthisbulletinaregenerallypresentedtoonedecimalplace,buttheestimatesrelatingtochangeovertimearepresentedtotwodecimalplaces.Thisistopresentmoreclearlythedirectionofchangeovertimefortheseestimates.
Akeychallengeistodeterminetherelevanceofthesechanges.Onetheorysuggeststhatpeoplemayhaveapersonalset-pointforwell-beingtowhichtheynaturallyreturnafterapositiveornegativelifeevent.Thiswouldsuggestthatlevelsofwell-beingmayonlyvarywithinafairlysmallrangeovertime,particularlyintheaggregate(Cummins,1998;AllinandHand,2014,p.13).
Otherresearchsuggeststhattheremaybesomeshocksfromwhichpeopledonotnecessarilyregaintheirpreviousset-pointsuchasthedeathofaspouse(Dolan,PeasgoodandWhite,2008;Lucasetal,2004)orthatpolicyinitiativescanaffectlevelsofpersonalwell-beinginasustainedway(Helliwell,Layard,Sachs,2012).
Althoughthesizeofthechangesreportedinthisbulletinmayappearsmallintheaggregate,theymaymasklargerchangesinthewell-beingofparticulargroupswithinsocietyorwithinparticularareasoftheUK.ThisiswhyONSlooknotonlyatchangesinaveragelevelsofpersonalwell-being,butalsointheproportionsofpeoplewhoratetheirpersonalwell-beingasveryhighorverylowandhowthischangesovertimeandbetweengroups.Botharerequiredtogetaroundedpictureofpersonalwell-beingintheUKandregularmonitoringwillhelptouncoveranyimportantpatterns.
8.5.4Approachestostatisticalsignificance
Inthisbulletin,whendescribingchangesovertimetheterm‘significant’referstostatisticalsignificance(atthe95%level).Unlessotherwisestated,thechangesovertimementionedinthetexthavebeenfoundtobestatisticallysignificantatthe95%confidencelevel.Standarderrorshavebeencalculatedandusedintestsofstatisticalsignificanceandareavailableinthereferencetablespublishedalongsidethisbulletin.
ThestatisticalsignificanceofdifferencesintheestimatesforaspecificareaoftheUKandtheequivalentUKestimateareapproximate,anddeterminedonthebasisofnon-overlappingconfidenceintervals.Thismethodprovidesaconservativeestimateofstatisticalsignificancebutmayresultinestimateswhicharestatisticallysignificantlydifferenttooneanotherbeingassessedasnot.TheresultisthatsomeestimateswhichmaybesignificantlydifferenttotheUKestimatesmaynotbeidentifiedassuch.Thiswouldtendtounderestimatethedifferencesobservedinpersonalwell-beingbetweenacountryorEnglishregion,andtheequivalentUKestimates.
Asthepersonalwell-beingdatahaveonlybeencollectedforthreeyears,itisnotyetpossibletoknowhowvolatilethedatawillbeovertime.Thismakesitdifficulttoputtheseeminglysmallchangesreportedhereintoawidercontextwhichwouldhelptoshedlightonhowimportanttheyare.ThisisalsoakeyreasonwhyONSdonotplantochangethequestionsinthenearfutureasbuildingupaconsistenttimeserieswillhelpinterpretations.
8.6Personalwell-beingquestiontestingAnumberofothermethodologicalissueshavebeen/arebeingtestedaspartofaprogrammeofworklookingathowthequestionsperformindifferentcircumstances(seeONS,2011b).ThisinvolvesbothquantitativetestingofquestionvariationsusingtheOpinionsandLifestyle(OPN)Survey,andqualitativetestingmethodsinwhichpeopleareaskedtoexplainmoreaboutthewaytheyansweredthequestionsandwhy.Itisimportanttonotethat,althoughONScontinuetotestthequestionstheyhavenotbeenchangedontheAPSsincetheywerefirstintroducedin2011.Thisistomakesureaconsistenttimeseriesisdeveloped.
ThePersonalWell-beingTeamarealsoincontactwithresearcherswhohaveusedthequestionsinarangeofdifferentsettings.TheirfeedbackprovidesvaluableinformationforONSandotherprospectiveusers.Ifyouhaveusedthequestionsorhavedoneanalysiswhichcouldbenefitothers,pleaseletusknowbycontactingthePersonalWell-beingTeamatpersonal.well-being@ons.gsi.gov.uk.OnewayweintendtosharetheresultsofourquestiontestingisviatheMeasuringNationalWell-beinggroupofStatsUserNet(http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/external-links/organisations/statsusernet/statsusernet-home.html).Wewouldencourageotherresearcherstosharetheirfindingsthereaswell.
ThefollowingsectionsummarisessomeofthekeyissueslookedatbyONSinthequestiontestingtodate.
8.6.1Contextualeffects
Therespondent’smoodandtheimmediatecontextoftheinterviewcanaffectresponsestoevaluativequestions.Inahouseholdsurveycontext,responsestothepersonalwell-beingquestionscouldbeaffectedbyotherhouseholdmembersbeingpresentduringface-to-faceinterviews.ONShaveexploredthisissueincognitivetestingconductedin2013amongOPNrespondents.Theresultssuggestedthatpeoplemaygivebothmorepositiveandmorenegativeresponsestothequestionsdependingonwhichothermemberofthehouseholdispresent.Inordertotestthismorefully,a‘flag’hasbeenaddedtotheOPNsurveytoindicateifsomeoneelseispresentwhenarespondentisinterviewed.Thisworkisongoingandresultsareexpectedlaterintheyear.
Anothereffectofcontextthatappearstoinfluenceresponsesisthedayoftheweekonwhichtherespondentisinterviewed.InterviewingontheAPSisconductedeverydayoftheweekthroughouttheyear,butmanyfewerinterviewsareconductedonSundaysandcertainpublicholidays.Astwoofthequestionsreferto‘yesterday’,thereareinevitablyfewerresponsesrelatingtoSaturdays,whenpersonalwell-beingratingsmaybedifferenttootherdaysoftheweek.
Theprocessforidentifyingthedayoftheweekonwhicharespondenthasbeeninterviewediscomplicated.ONSarecurrentlyworkingonasimplermeansofidentifyingdayoftheweekwhentheinterviewtookplacesothiscanbeaddedtothedataset.
Themonthoftheyearinwhicharespondentisinterviewedmayalsoaffectresponses.Preliminaryevidencesuggeststhattheremaybeaseasonaleffect,butwithonlythreeyearsofdataavailable,itistooearlytobesure.ThisissomethingthatONSwillcontinuetomonitorasthetimeseriesbuilds.
8.6.2Questionorder
Responsestopersonalwell-beingquestionshavebeenshowntobeaffectedbyearlierquestionsinthesurvey(forexample,questionsabouthealthorlabourmarketstatus).PriortotheintroductionofthequestionsontheAPSinApril2011,ONScarriedoutcognitivetestingoftheplacementofthepersonalwell-beingquestions(see:MeasuringSubjectiveWell-being(240.8KbPdf)(http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/guide-method/user-guidance/well-being/wellbeing-knowledge-bank/understanding-wellbeing/measuring-subjective-well-being.pdf)).Thissuggestedthatthequestionsshouldbeaskedearlyintheinterview,immediatelyafterthequestionsonhouseholdandindividualdemographics.Thisallowstimeforrapporttobebuiltupbetweentheinterviewerandrespondentbutdoesnotallowquestionsonothertopics,suchashealthoremployment,toinfluenceresponsestothepersonalwell-beingquestions.ONSadviseresearcherstofollowthisapproachwheneverthequestionsareincludedonsurveysinordertoavoidpotentialbiasfromearlierquestions.
Quantitativequestiontestingfoundthattheorderinwhichthepersonalwell-beingquestionsareaskeddoesnotsignificantlyaffectresponses(Summaryofresultsfromtestingofexperimentalsubjectivewell-beingquestions(http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/guide-method/user-guidance/well-being/about-the-programme/advisory-groups/well-being-technical-advisory-group/index.html)).Qualitativetestingshowedthatrespondentspreferredthepositivequestionsfirstastheywereeasiertoanswer.ONSalwaysincludethefourquestionsinthesameorderoneverysurveytobesurethatthefindingsareasconsistentandcomparableaspossible.Therecommendedorderis:
lifesatisfaction
worthwhile
happyyesterday
anxiousyesterday
8.6.3Responsescales
ForallAPSpersonalwell-beingquestions,an11pointscaleisused.Thisrangesfrom0–10where0is‘notatall’and10is‘completely’.Thismeansthatthescalesareconsistentbetweenthequestions,whichhelpsrespondentstoanswerthequestionsmoreeasilyandalsoaidssubsequentanalysis.Additionally,11pointscalesarecommonlyusedacrossothersimilarsurveys,particularlyinternationally.Theuseofthistypeofscalewillalsoaidcomparisonswithothersurveyfindings.
Cognitivetestinghassuggestedthatpeoplemaymisinterpretthescalefortheanxietyquestionasthisistheonlyquestionwhereahigherscoresuggestsworsewell-being.Theuseofshowcards(whichprovideavisualaidofresponseoptionsforrespondents)hasbeentestedontheOPNsurveytoseewhetherthishelpstoremindpeopleofhowthescaleworksforeachquestion.Theresultsofthisworkshowedthatwhilehigherscoresweregivenforthelifesatisfaction,happinessandanxietyquestionswhenshowcardswereused,thedifferenceswereonlysignificantforthelifesatisfactionandhappinessquestions.Theseresultswerenotasexpectedbutthesampleusedforthistestwassmall.Furtherdetailsareavailableinthepaper:Summaryofresultsfromtestingofexperimentalsubjectivewell-beingquestions(http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/guide-method/user-guidance/well-being/about-the-programme/advisory-groups/well-being-technical-advisory-group/index.html).
ShowcardsarenotusedontheAPSanditisnotfeasibletousethemduetointerviewsbeingconductedbothface-to-faceandbytelephone.Forthisreason,wehavenotdoneanyfurthertestingoftheeffectsofshowcardsonresponses.
8.6.4Questionwording
ONShaveusedbothcognitivetestingtechniquesandsplittrialtestingofdatacollectedontheOpinionsSurveytolookatwhetheraskingthequestionsindifferentwaysmayaffectresponsestothequestions.Forexample,cognitivetestinghassuggestedthattheword‘anxious’maybeinterpretedbysomepeopleasrepresentingseverementaldistress,while‘stress’or‘worry’aremorecommonlyusedtodescribedailyemotions.ThesedifferencesarealsobeingtestedusingtheOPNtoseehowpeoplerespondtoeachwayofaskingthequestion.
TheMeasuringNationalWell-beingprogramme9.
ThisbulletinispublishedaspartoftheONSMeasuringNationalWell-beingprogramme.
Theprogrammeaimstoproduceacceptedandtrustedmeasuresofthewell-beingofthenation-howtheUKasawholeisdoing.Itisaboutlookingat'GDPandbeyond'andincludes:
greateranalysisofthenationaleconomicaccounts,especiallytounderstandhouseholdincome,expenditureandwealth
furtheraccountslinkedtothenationalaccounts,includingtheUKEnvironmentalAccountsandvaluinghouseholdproductionand'humancapital'
qualityoflifemeasures,lookingatdifferentareasofnationalwell-beingsuchashealth,relationships,jobsatisfaction,economicsecurity,educationenvironmentalconditions
workingwithotherstoincludethemeasurementofthewell-beingofchildrenandyoungpeopleaspartofnationalwell-being
measuresof'personalwell-being'-individuals'assessmentoftheirownwell-being
headlineindicatorstosummarisenationalwell-beingandtheprogresswearemakingasasociety
Theprogrammeisunderpinnedbyacommunicationandengagementworkstream,providinglinkswithCabinetOfficeandpolicydepartments,internationaldevelopments,thepublicandotherstakeholders.TheprogrammeisworkingcloselywithDefraonthemeasurementof'sustainabledevelopment'toprovideacompletepictureofnationalwell-being,progressandsustainabledevelopment.
ONSpublishedthethird‘LifeintheUK(http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/wellbeing/measuring-national-well-being/life-in-the-uk--2015/index.html)’reportinMarch2015,givingthelatestsnapshotofthenation’swell-being.ThenextupdateoftheNationalWell-beingMeasuresdataisreleased29September2015.AsummaryofalltheworkcompletedduringthefirstthreeyearsoftheMeasuringNationalWell-beingProgrammeisavailablehere(http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/wellbeing/measuring-national-well-being/reflections-on-measuring-national-well-being--may-2014/index.html).AfulllistofoutputsfromtheMeasuringNationalWell-beingprogrammeisavailablehere(http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/guide-method/user-guidance/well-being/publications/index.html).
FindoutmoreontheMeasuringNationalWell-beingwebsite(http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/guide-method/user-guidance/well-being/index.html)pages.
FurtherinformationFurtherinformationandguidancecanbefoundinthevariousdownloadsavailableonthePersonalWell-beingsurveyuserguidepage.Additionally,thePersonalWell-beingFrequentlyAskedQuestionspageprovidesanswerstocommonquestionsabouttheONSpersonalwell-beingquestionsanddata.
Name:LucyTinkler
Phone:+44(0)1633455713
Department:MeasuringNationalWell-being
Email:[email protected]
10.
ReferencesBlackaby,D,Drinkwater,S,Jones,M,Murphy,P,Parhi,MandRobinson,C.(WISERD)(2012)AnAnalysisofSubjectiveWellbeinginWales:EvidencefromtheAnnualPopulationSurvey(http://gov.wales/docs/caecd/research/121031wellbeingen.pdf)
BlanchflowerD.G,BellD.N.F,MontagnoliAandMoroM.(2013)“Theeffectsofmacroeconomicshocksonwell-being”(http://www.bostonfed.org/employment2013/papers/Blanchflower_Session5.pdf)
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CabinetOffice(2013)EvidencetotheEnvironmentalAuditCommittee(http://data.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/WrittenEvidence.svc/EvidencePdf/1069)
CabinetOffice(2014)Wellbeing-Measuring‘WhatMatters’(https://coanalysis.blog.gov.uk/2014/08/06/wellbeing-measuring-what-matters/)
DolanP,LayardRandMetcalfeR,OfficeforNationalStatistics(2011)MeasuringSubjectiveWell-beingforPublicPolicy(http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/guide-method/user-guidance/well-being/publications/measuring-subjective-well-being-for-public-policy.pdf)
Eurostat(2013)QualityofLifeIndicators(http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php/Quality_of_life_indicators)
FujiwaraD,OroyemiP&McKinnonE(2013)Well-beingandCivilSociety;EstimatingthevalueofvolunteeringusingsubjectivewellbeingdataCabinetOfficeandDepartmentforWorkandPensionsa(https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/wellbeing-and-civil-society-estimating-the-value-of-volunteering-using-subjective-wellbeing-data-wp112)
FujiwaraDandCampbellR,HMTreasuryandDepartmentforWorkandPensions(2011)ValuationTechniquesforSocialCost-BenefitAnalysis:StatedPreference,RevealedPreferenceandSubjectiveWell-BeingApproaches(https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/valuation-techniques-for-social-cost-benefit-analysis)
GrahamC,ShaojieZandZhang,J(2015)HappinessandHealthinChina:TheParadoxofProgress.GlobalEconomyandDevelopment.WorkingPaper89
HMRC(2015)RegionalTradeStatisticsSecondQuarter2015(https://www.uktradeinfo.com/Statistics/RTS/Pages/default.aspx)
OfficeforNationalStatistics(2011a)MeasuringSubjectiveWell-being(http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/guide-method/user-guidance/well-being/wellbeing-knowledge-bank/understanding-wellbeing/measuring-subjective-well-being.pdf)
OfficeforNationalStatistics(2012)FirstAnnualONSExperimentalSubjectiveWell-beingResults(http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/wellbeing/measuring-subjective-wellbeing-in-the-uk/first-annual-ons-experimental-subjective-well-being-results/index.html)
OfficeforNationalStatistics(2013a)MeasuringNationalWell-being–Personalwell-beingintheUK,2012/13(http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/wellbeing/measuring-national-well-being/personal-well-being-in-the-uk--2012-13/index.html)
OfficeforNationalStatistics(2013b)MeasuringNationalWell-being–WhatmattersmosttoPersonalWell-being?(http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/wellbeing/measuring-subjective-wellbeing-in-the-uk/first-annual-ons-experimental-subjective-well-being-results/index.html)
OfficeforNationalStatistics(2013c)PersonalWell-beingacrosstheUK,2012/13(http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/wellbeing/measuring-national-well-being/personal-well-being-across-the-uk--2012-13/index.html)
OfficeforNationalStatistics(2014a)PersonalWell-beingintheUK,2013/14(http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/wellbeing/measuring-national-well-being/personal-well-being-in-the-uk--2013-14/index.html)
OfficeforNationalStatistics(2014b)MeasuringNationalWell-being–ExploringPersonalWell-beingandplaceintheUK(http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/regional-trends/regional-economic-analysis/exploring-personal-well-being-and-place-in-the-uk/art-exploring-personal-well-being-and-place.html)
OfficeforNationalStatistics(2014c)MeasuringNationalWell-being–CommutingandPersonalWell-being(http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/wellbeing/measuring-national-well-being/commuting-and-personal-well-being--2014/index.html)
OfficeforNationalStatistics(2014d)Income,ExpenditureandPersonalWell-being,2011/12(http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/wellbeing/measuring-national-well-being/income--expenditure-and-personal-well-being/art--income--expenditure-and-personal-well-being.html)
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Contactdetailsforthisstatisticalbulletin
Backgroundnotes1. IfyouhavecommentsontheONSapproachtomeasuringpersonalwell-being
and/orthepresentationofthepersonalwell-beingdata,[email protected]
2. ThedataanalysedinthisreportwascollectedfromtheAnnualPopulationSurvey(APS)whichisthelargestconstituentsurveyoftheIntegratedHouseholdSurvey.Thesamplesizeofthe12monthAPSdatasetisapproximately165,000adultsaged16andoverandlivinginresidentialaccommodationintheUK(England,Scotland,WalesandNorthernIreland).Datausedareweightedtoberepresentativeofthepopulationandtotakeaccountofthefactthatresponsesmadeonbehalfofotherhouseholdmembersarenotaccepted
3. TheUKStatisticsAuthorityhasdesignatedthesestatisticsasNationalStatistics,inaccordancewiththeStatisticsandRegistrationServiceAct2007andsignifyingcompliancewiththeCodeofPracticeforOfficialStatisticsDesignationcanbebroadlyinterpretedtomeanthatthestatistics:
meetidentifieduserneeds
arewellexplainedandreadilyaccessible
areproducedaccordingtosoundmethods
aremanagedimpartiallyandobjectivelyinthepublicinterest.
OncestatisticshavebeendesignatedasNationalStatisticsitisastatutoryrequirementthattheCodeofPracticeshallcontinuetobeobserved.
4. Detailsofthepolicygoverningthereleaseofnewdataareavailablebyvisitingwww.statisticsauthority.gov.uk/assessment/code-of-practice/index.html(http://www.statisticsauthority.gov.uk/assessment/code-of-practice/index.html)orfromtheMediaRelationsOfficeemail:[email protected]
12.
[email protected]:+44(0)1633455713