Data Discovery

All variables here are from Understanding Society unless otherwise stated

Link to variable search

Although at first glance lots of variables are only asked intermittently, I think we will be able to derive lots of useful information from those that are asked more often. E.g. MRS social class in psychosocial is only included on two non-consecutive waves, however RG Social Class: present job was asked at every wave with good detail, which can be used to derive MRS.

Wage/Income

Individual income variables - this page details the six components of individual net income, and which variables in BHPS or US that relate to these components.

Only going to list labour income variables, as there are lots of others that are unrelated to this work. A living wage will only affect labour income.

N.B. The top variable here (fimnlabnet_dv) is a derived variable, which is the sum of three earnings components:

• paynu_dv: net usual pay

• seearnnet_dv: net self-employment income

• j2paynet_dv: net pay in second job

Variable	Label	Datafile	Waves	Notes
LABOUR	INCOME
fimnlabnet_dv	amount income component 1: net labour income	indresp	1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11	Derived variable, sum of the next three variables in this table. Labour income, component 1 out of 6 of individual income.
fimnlabgrs_dv	Total monthly labour gross income	indresp	1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, bh01, bh02, bh03, bh04, bh05, bh06, bh07, bh08, bh09, bh10, bh11, bh12, bh13, bh14, bh15, bh16, bh17, bh18	Gross monthly pay rather than net.
fihhmnlabgrs_dv	Total gross household labour income: month before interview	hhresp	1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11	Gross monthly household income. Calculated from fimnlabgrs_dv, calculating sum for household.
paynu_dv	Usual net pay per month: current job	indresp	1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, bh01, bh02, bh03, bh04, bh05, bh06, bh07, bh08, bh09, bh10, bh11, bh12, bh13, bh14, bh15, bh16, bh17, bh18	Component of labour income. Response of ‘inapplicable’ hovering around 40-50% across every wave. Don’t understand this, not obvious from the variable page. Could this be unemployed, disabled, or retired? Seems a large proportion to be in that group.
seearnnet_dv	Self employment earnings - net	indresp	1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11	Component of labour income
j2pay_dv	Pay in second job	indresp	1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, bh01, bh02, bh03, bh04, bh05, bh06, bh07, bh08, bh09, bh10, bh11, bh12, bh13, bh14, bh15, bh16, bh17, bh18	Component of labour income. Not sure if this is net income, the variable mentioned on the page about individual income is j2paynet_dv, but this doesn’t seem to exist in the variable search.
basrate	Basic pay hourly rate	indresp	1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, bh09, bh10, bh11, bh12, bh13, bh14, bh15, bh16, bh17, bh18
jbhrs	No. of hours normally worked per week	indresp	1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, bh09, bh10, bh11, bh12, bh13, bh14, bh15, bh16, bh17, bh18

Psychosocial - Improvement in social status/esteem, financial independence

(including from benefit stigma etc.)

Come back to this, unfinished. Mostly collected variables that refer to social status/esteem (social class, NSSEC etc.). Financial independence is more complex as there are LOTS of variables related to benefits.

Financial independence is a persons ability to support themselves financially. This relates to welfare/benefits, as well as extra support from family members (i.e. childcare from family members) as well as dependence for other reasons (i.e. victims of abuse).

Variable	Label	Datafile	Waves	Notes
Social	Status/Esteem
opcls2	Subjective social class membership	indresp	bh01, bh06, bh10, bh15	Ordinal variable, outcomes in the form ‘lower working class’, ‘ upper middle class’ etc.
jbmrs	MRS social class	indresp	bh08, bh15	Approximated social grade with 6 categories, produced by ONS by applying an algorithm developed by MRS Census & Geodemographics group. See link for more info.Based on occupation.
mrssci	MRS Social Class Individual	indresp	bh05	Similar to jbmrs above, distinction from household MRS
mrssch	MRS Social Class Household	indresp	bh05	See above
jbgold	Goldthorpe Social Class: present job	indresp	bh01, bh02, bh03, bh04, bh05, bh06, bh07, bh08, bh09, bh10, bh11, bh12, bh13, bh14, bh15, bh16, bh17, bh18	11 level occupational classification. Think this has been superceded by NS-SEC, also doesn’t seem to have all the job types in NS-SEC (missing managerial unless I’m being daft).
jbrgsc_dv	RG Social Class: present job	indresp	1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, bh01, bh02, bh03, bh04, bh05, bh06, bh07, bh08, bh09, bh10, bh11, bh12, bh13, bh14, bh15, bh16, bh17, bh18	Runs for every wave of BHPS and US. Note about derived variable: Registrar General’s Social Class (SC) of current job. Uses the coding frame from the BHPS. Current job refers to being in paid employment during the last week, even if respondent was away from work in that week. This standard classification has been replaced by the NS-SEC. Derived from look-up file SOC2000 to RGSC provided on the CAMSIS project website. From Wave 2 onwards this is includes RGSC codes fed forward from the previous interview.
mrjnssec8_dv	Occupation of most recent job: NSSEC 8 categories	indresp	bh01, bh02, bh03, bh04, bh05, bh06, bh07, bh08, bh09, bh10, bh11, bh12, bh13, bh14, bh15, bh16, bh17, bh18	Full length of BHPS 8 category NSSEC.
j1nssec8_dv	Own first job: NSSEC 8 classes	indresp	1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, bh08, bh09, bh10, bh11, bh12, bh13, bh14, bh15, bh16, bh17, bh18	Complete NSSEC of first job, most of BHPS & all of US. Also a 2nd job NSSEC var if necessary.Derived variable note:National Statistics Socio-economic Classification (NS-SEC) of respondent’s first job: Condensed 8-category version. Note that this indicator is constructed on the basis of less information than the respondent’s current or last job NSSEC: Information on establishment size and managerial duties is not considered. For a detailed look-up file between SOC 2000 and the 5-category NSSEC seebit.ly/1RzyUfR
f132	Income: income support (IS)	indresp	bh01, bh02, bh03, bh04, bh05, bh06, bh07, bh08, bh09, bh10, bh11, bh12, bh13, bh14, bh15, bh16, bh17, bh18	Whether someone receives income support, if they were to come off it then might have an impact on financial esteem.
benbase1	Income Support	indresp	6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11	Income support as above but in US instead of BHPS
Financial	Independence

Behaviour - Nutrition

(food security, hunger, better quality food)

Variables related to food and nutrition are somewhat lacking in US. Some variables included here are not very strongly related or at best incomplete in capturing the topic.

Variable	Label	Datafile	Waves	Notes
Food	Security
foodbank	Food banks usage	hhresp	11	Only in wave 11, might be useful as a component of a constructed/aggregated variable
hscane	Eat meat on alternate days	hhresp	bh06, bh07, bh08, bh09, bh10, bh11, bh12, bh13, bh14, bh15, bh16, bh17, bh18	Think this can fit in both hunger or food security. As the last time this was asked was in BHPS wave 18 (2008), I don’t think the answers would be related to health or environmental reasons. Comes under index terms for financial management: problems and financial management: material wellbeing so we can be confident this is a financial decision.
lacte	How often: eat out	indresp	bh06, bh08, bh10, bh12, bh14, bh16, bh18	Comes under index terms for time use and leisure activities, however we could investigate how income/wealth is related to those who answered never/almost never.Clutching at straws a little here as theres not much to go on.
Hunger
breakfst	Days eats breakfast	indresp	7, 9, 11	Could be for many reasons other than lack of access to food, however included this as there are not many variables that can relate to hunger.
pdepa2	filling meal a day: no, no money for this	hhresp	4, 6, 8, 10	Household question, only asked if there is a pensioner in the house.
Food	Quality
wkfruit	Days each week eat fruit	indresp	2, 5, 7, 9, 11	Including tinned, frozen, dried and fresh.Question asks for usual week.Categories: Never, 1-3d, 4-6d, everyday
wkvege	Days each week eat vegetables	indresp	2, 5, 7, 9, 11	Including tinned, frozen and fresh.Does not include potatoes, crisps, or chips.Same categories as above.
cdepdo5	Eat fruit and veg every day	hhresp	4, 6, 8, 10	Only asked if there is at least one child (age 0-15) living in the household.

Behaviour - Alcohol and Tobacco Consumption

(increase/decrease?)

Variable	Label	Datafile	Waves	Notes
Alcohol
scalcl7d	Drank alcohol last 7 days	indresp	2, 5	Binary, only asked if answered previous question stating that respondent has had an alcoholic drink in last 12 months. Also only asked in self-completion or telephone interviews.
auditc1	Past 12 months alcoholic drink	indresp	7, 9, 11	Binary
auditc3	Alcohol frequency past 12 months	indresp	7, 9, 11	Ordinal, 5 categories ranging from Never, monthly or less, …, up to 4+ times per week.
evralc	Ever had an alcoholic drink	indresp	3, 4, 6, 8, 10	Only asked for young adults aged 16-21.
fivealcdr	Frequency of 5 plus alcoholic drinks	indresp	3, 4, 6, 8, 10	Again only asked for young adults aged 16-21. One drink is defined as one pint/bottle/can of beer or cider, 2 alcopops, one small glass of wine, a single measure of spirits.
hlprbj	Health problems: Alcohol or drugs	indresp	bh01, bh02, bh03, bh04, bh05, bh06, bh07, bh08, bh09, bh10, bh11, bh12, bh13, bh14, bh15, bh16, bh17, bh18	Binary, positive response indicates problem with either alcohol or drugs.Very low relative frequency of positive response but could still be useful.
xpaltob_g3	Total amount spent on alcohol	hhresp	1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11	Household spending in past 4 weeks. Includes all alcohol (supermarkets/shops, pubs, restaurants, other venues).
dklm	Past month: how many alcoholic drinks?	indresp	3, 4, 6, 8, 10	Ordinal, question specifies how many times in the past month, not how many drinks. Answers range; most days, once or twice a week, 2 or 3 times, once only, never.Also youth version of this question asked.
scfalcdrnk	How often have you had an alcoholic drink during the last 12 months?	indresp	2, 5	Ordinal variable with 8 categories. Almost every day, …, once or twice a week, …, once or twice a year, not at all in last 12 months.
Tobacco
smoker	Smoker	indresp	6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, bh01, bh02, bh03, bh04, bh05, bh06, bh07, bh08, bh10, bh11, bh12, bh13, bh14, bh15, bh16, bh17, bh18	Simple binary, ‘do you smoke cigarettes?’
smever	Ever smoked cigarettes?	indresp	2, 5, bh09	Cigarette, cigar, or pipe.
smnow	Smoke nowadays	indresp	2, 5, bh09	Asked if smever == 1
smcigs	Smoking history	indresp	2, 5, bh09, bh12	Text: _Have you ever smoked cigarettes regularly, that is at least one cigarette a day, or did you smoke them only occasionally?_If smever == 1 (yes) && smnow == 2 (does no smoke nowadays). Find it a bit weird that this question relies on answers to 2 other questions that were not asked in BH12.
ncigs	Usual no. of cigarettes smoked per day	indresp	2, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, bh01, bh02, bh03, bh04, bh05, bh06, bh07, bh08, bh09, bh10, bh11, bh12, bh13, bh14, bh15, bh16, bh17, bh18	Asked if smoker == 1 Continuous outcome. Bit weird before wave BH09. Doesn’t seem to be a continuous variable however that could just be an error in the way it’s reported in the variable search.
smncigs	Number of cigarettes smoked in past	indresp	2, 5, bh09	If smever == 1 (ever smoked)&& smnow == 2 (does not smoke now)&& smcigs == 1 (used to smoke regularly) Continuous for wave 2 & 5, unknown for wave BH09.
ecigs1	Uses electronic cigarettes	indresp	9, 10, 11	Ordinal. Captures both whether respondent has or has not used ecigs, as well as the frequency.Frequency: only used once or twice -> at least once a week with steps in between.

Housing Quality

(decent homes = less damp, warmer, housing security)

Still to do: Look for more vars related to housing security.

Variable	Label	Datafile	Waves	Notes
lfsat3	Satisfaction with: house/flat	indresp	bh06, bh07, bh08, bh09, bh10, bh11, bh12, bh13, bh14, bh15, bh16, bh17, bh18	Ordinal, 7 categories from:Not satisfied at all -> Completely satisfied
matdepd	Material deprivation: house	hhresp	1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10	Question Text:Enough money to keep your house in a decent state of repair? Ordinal, 4 levels including: Yes, Can’t afford it, Don’t need it now, Does not apply
xphsdb	Problems paying for housing	hhresp	1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, bh01, bh02, bh03, bh04, bh05, bh06, bh07, bh08, bh09, bh10, bh11, bh12, bh13, bh14, bh15, bh16, bh17, bh18	Many people find it hard to keep up with their housing payments. In the last twelve months, have you ever found yourself behind with your rent/mortgage? Binary, applies to both rented and mortgaged accommodation.
hsprbj	Accom: not enough light	hhresp	bh06, bh07, bh08, bh09, bh10, bh11, bh12, bh13, bh14, bh15, bh16, bh17, bh18	Binary
hsprbk	Accom: lack of adequate heating	hhresp	bh06, bh07, bh08, bh09, bh10, bh11, bh12, bh13, bh14, bh15, bh16, bh17, bh18	Binary
hsprb	Accom: condensation	hhresp	bh06, bh07, bh08, bh09, bh10, bh11, bh12, bh13, bh14, bh15, bh16, bh17, bh18	Binary
hsprbm	Accom: leaky roof	hhresp	bh06, bh07, bh08, bh09, bh10, bh11, bh12, bh13, bh14, bh15, bh16, bh17, bh18	Binary
hsprbn	Accom: damp walls, floors etc.	hhresp	bh06, bh07, bh08, bh09, bh10, bh11, bh12, bh13, bh14, bh15, bh16, bh17, bh18	Binary
hsprbo	Accom: rot in windows, floors	hhresp	bh06, bh07, bh08, bh09, bh10, bh11, bh12, bh13, bh14, bh15, bh16, bh17, bh18	Binary
pdepf2	home good state of repair: no, no money for this	hhresp	4, 6, 8, 10	Specifically about pensioners and only asked if pensioner in the house.
pdeph2	damp-free home: no, no money for this	hhresp	4, 6, 8, 10	Again pensioners only
pdepi2	home kept warm: no, no money for this	hhresp	4, 6, 8, 10	Pensioner
hheat	keep accommodation warm enough	hhresp	1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11	Asked of everyone, specifically about keeping the house warm enough in winter.

Moving Home

(could mean less overcrowding, better neighbourhood with more green space, different cultural norms, better recreational and health care facilities, better food outlets, less tobacco and alcohol outlets, less crime and anti-social behaviours)

Variable	Label	Datafile	Waves	Notes
hsprbg	Accom: shortage of space	hhresp	bh06, bh07, bh08, bh09, bh10, bh11, bh12, bh13, bh14, bh15, bh16, bh17, bh18	Binary
hsprbh	Accom: noise from neighbours	hhresp	bh06, bh07, bh08, bh09, bh10, bh11, bh12, bh13, bh14, bh15, bh16, bh17, bh18	Binary
hsprbi	Accom: street noise	hhresp	bh06, bh07, bh08, bh09, bh10, bh11, bh12, bh13, bh14, bh15, bh16, bh17, bh18	Binary
hsbeds	Number of bedrooms	hhresp	1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, bh01
hsgdn	Accom: has terrace/garden	hhresp	bh06, bh07, bh08, bh09, bh10, bh11, bh12, bh13, bh14, bh15, bh16, bh17, bh18	Should be used alongside hsgdns, which is Accom: is terrace/garden shared?
hsprbp	Accom: pollution/environmental problems	hhresp	bh06, bh07, bh08, bh09, bh10, bh11, bh12, bh13, bh14, bh15, bh16, bh17, bh18
hsroom	Number of rooms in accomodation	hhresp	bh01, bh02, bh03, bh04, bh05, bh06, bh07, bh08, bh09, bh10, bh11, bh12, bh13, bh14, bh15, bh16, bh17, bh18
Neighbourhood
rescond	conditions of residential properties	hhsamp	1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11	Ordinal, 4 levels
vicini1	Boarded houses: abandoned buildings: demolished houses or demolished buildings	hhsamp	1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11	Thought this would relate to the neighbourhood quality. Binary but in the form ‘Yes mentioned’ or ‘Not mentioned’. Not sure therefore how complete/reliable.
vicini2	trash: litter or junk in street/road	hhsamp	1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11
vicini3	heavy traffic on street/road	hhsamp	1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11
nbrcoh_dv	Neighbourhood Social Cohesion,(α= .8)	indresp	3, 6	Summary of 4 variables on neighbourhood social cohesion. Ordinal var with range from 4 (no cohesion) to 20 (strong cohesion).
scopngbhg	Am similar to others in neighbourhood	indresp	1, 3, 6, 9	I think of myself as similar to the people that live in this neighbourhood. Could mean many different things, like ethnicity, religion, life stage, etc. But could be useful in this context. Relates to the idea of belonging and ‘fitting in’.There is also a separate var for this in BHPS.
nbrcoh3	people in this neighbourhood can be trusted	indresp	3, 6
nbrsnci_dv	Buckner’s Neighbourhood Cohesion Instrument, short (alpha ±= .88)	indresp	1, 3, 6, 9
crburg	extent of: homes broken into	hhresp, indresp	3, 6, 9, bh07, bh12, bh17	This and the following 8 vars (labels all start with ‘extent of: ‘ are more objective measures of the quality of a neighbourhood (still measured subjectively, but asking about specific things). All are ordinal with 4 levels, ranging from Very common to Not at all common. We could use these potentially to create a summary variable, ranging from the worst (9/36) to the best (36/36).
crcar	extent of: cars stolen/broken into	indresp, hhresp	3, 6, 9, bh07, bh12, bh17
crdrnk	extent of: drunks/tramps on street	hhresp, indresp	3, 6, 9, bh07, bh12, bh17
crgraf	extent of: graffiti on walls	indresp, hhresp	3, 6, 9, bh07, bh12, bh17
crmugg	extent of: people attacked on street	indresp, hhresp	3, 6, 9, bh07, bh12, bh17
crrace	extent of: racial insults/attacks	hhresp, indresp	3, 6, 9, bh07, bh12, bh17
crteen	extent of: teenagers hanging about	indresp, hhresp	3, 6, 9, bh07, bh12, bh17
crvand	extent of: vandalism	hhresp, indresp	3, 6, 9, bh07, bh12, bh17
crrubsh	extent of: rubbish on street	hhresp	3, 6, 9
crwora	worry about being affected by crime	indresp	3, 6, bh07, bh12, bh17	Binary
crworb	extent of worry about crime	indresp	3, 6, bh07, bh12, bh17	Ordinal, 3 levels
locchd	Suitability of area for raising children	indresp	bh08, bh13, bh18
hsctax	Council tax band of accommodation	hhresp	1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, bh06, bh07, bh08, bh09, bh10, bh11, bh12, bh13, bh14, bh15, bh16, bh17, bh18	Don’t know if this is important or not but must have some relationship to neighbourhood?
unsafe1	At school	indresp	3, 5, 7, 9, 11	This and the following 12 variables all relate to feeling safe in specific places. All binary although in the form ‘Mentioned/Not Mentioned’ so may not be complete.
unsafe2	At college/university	indresp	3, 5, 7, 9, 11
unsafe3	At work	indresp	3, 5, 7, 9, 11
unsafe4	On public transport	indresp	3, 5, 7, 9, 11
unsafe5	At/near Bus/train stn	indresp	3, 5, 7, 9, 11
unsafe6	In Shopping centres, etc	indresp	3, 5, 7, 9, 11
unsafe7	In cinema, cafes	indresp	3, 5, 7, 9, 11
unsafe8	At pub/disco/club	indresp	3, 5, 7, 9, 11
unsafe9	In car parks	indresp	3, 5, 7, 9, 11
unsafe10	Outside, street/park	indresp	3, 5, 7, 9, 11
unsafe11	At home	indresp	3, 5, 7, 9, 11
unsafe96	Not, in last 12 months	indresp	3, 5, 7, 9, 11
unsafe97	Other places	indresp	3, 5, 7, 9, 11
crworb	extent of worry about crime	indresp	3, 6, bh07, bh12, bh17	Think this var is part of the pathway between the quality of the neighbourhood and mental health. If a person is very worried about crime and in a high crime area then it will likely affect mental health.
crwora	worry about being affected by crime	indresp	3, 6, bh07, bh12, bh17	See above, in the same vein.
Access To	Services
servacc	able to access services when need to	indresp	3, 6	Bit crap that it only runs for 2 waves, might be able to find a better var for this.
locchd	Suitability of area for raising children	indresp	bh08, bh13, bh18
locsera	Standard of local services: Schools	indresp	bh08, bh13, bh18	This and the following are much better variables related to services but still don’t run for very long. Could use them to create a summary variable that relates to the quality of services and access to them in the neighbourhood. This maybe wouldn’t be too useful in longitudinal models but could be interesting to see what relationship it has with mental health. OR on the other hand, we could investigate the relationship between all of these things individually and mental health and try to determine which if any are important. Ordinal, subjective, 4 levels, Poor to Excellent.
locserap	standard of local services: primary schools	indresp	3, 6
locseras	standard of local services: secondary schools	indresp	3, 6
locserb	standard of local services: medical	indresp	3, 6, bh08, bh13, bh18
locserc	standard of public transport	indresp	3, 6, bh08, bh13, bh18
locserd	standard of local services: shopping	indresp	3, 6, bh08, bh13, bh18
locsere	standard of local services: leisure	indresp	3, 6, bh08, bh13, bh18
servaccy4	financial reasons	indresp	3, 6	Text: What stops you from accessing services such as healthcare, food shops and learning facilities when you need to? Not useful on its own but could relate to other vars.

More Social Inclusion

(e.g. more ability to participate in leisure activities e.g. sports, cinema, or pub)

Variable	Label	Datafile	Waves	Notes
sclonely	How often feels lonely	indresp	9, 10, 11	Ordinal, 3 levels. Variable note:The questions used to output levels of loneliness in Understanding Society come from the Government Statistical Service (GSS) harmonised principle of loneliness. This means the outputs are comparable with other surveys that use this principle. The GSS has a guidance page which may be useful to understand what other data can and cannot be compared with this output.
scisolate	How often feels isolated from others	indresp	9, 10, 11	See above
sclackcom	How often feels lack of companionship	indresp	9, 10, 11
scleftout	How often feels left out	indresp	9, 10, 11
visfrndsy2	Financial reasons	indresp	3, 6, 9	Text: What stops you from going out socially or visiting friends when you want to? Not really an indicator of sorts but we could look at the relationship between this and other social isolation vars.
pdepb2	go out socially: no, no money for this	hhresp	4, 6, 8, 10	Household question, specifically asked about pensioners and only if there is a pensioner in the house.

Psychosocial - Financial Security

(less chronic stress/worry)

Variable	Label	Datafile	Waves	Notes
sclfsat2	Satisfaction with income	indresp	1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11	This is obviously a subjective measure, but I think it’s reasonable to assume that someone would become more satisfied with income if they were moved onto a living wage. The question specifically asks for satisfaction with household income. Might be useful for looking at relationship with mental health or wage etc. Ordinal, 7 levels.
Savings Or	Investments
save	whether saves	indresp	2, 4, 6, 8, 10, bh01, bh02, bh03, bh04, bh05, bh06, bh07, bh08, bh09, bh10, bh11, bh12, bh13, bh14, bh15, bh16, bh17, bh18	This and the following vars are about whether a respondents (or household) has savings. Think we can assume a level of financial security based on the amount / existence of savings. Would be interesting to see the relationship between extent of savings and mental health before we do anything in anger.
saved	monthly amount saved	indresp	2, 4, 6, 8, 10, bh01, bh02, bh03, bh04, bh05, bh06, bh07, bh08, bh09, bh10, bh11, bh12, bh13, bh14, bh15, bh16, bh17, bh18
nvesth	Savings/investments: savings account	indresp	bh10, bh15
matdepf	regular savings	hhresp	1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10	Text:Enough money to make regular savings of £10 a month or more for rainy days or retirement? Ordinal 4 levels. From I/We have this, Can’t afford it, Don’t need it now, Does not apply. Weird levels in this one, we’d have to make some assumptions about those who say they don’t need it or it doesn’t apply.
fiyrdia	savings and investments	indresp	1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, bh09, bh10, bh11, bh12, bh13, bh14, bh15, bh16, bh17, bh18
svackb3	Over 10000 in savings	indresp	bh10, bh15
svackb5	Over 20000 in savings	indresp	bh15
nvestb	Savings/investments: premium bonds	indresp	bh05, bh10, bh15
nvestd	Savings/investments: PEP	indresp	bh05, bh10, bh15
nveste	Savings/investments: shares	indresp	bh05, bh10, bh15
nvestg	Savings/investments: other	indresp	bh05, bh10, bh15
nvestj	Savings/investments: tessa/ISA	indresp	bh05, bh10, bh15
nvestnn	Savings/investments: none	indresp	bh10, bh15
rtfndb	Retirement income: savings	indresp	bh16
svack	Total value in savings accounts	indresp	bh10, bh15
svackb1	Over 1000 in savings accounts	indresp	bh10, bh15
svackb2	Over 5000 in savings accounts	indresp	bh10, bh15
svackb4	Over 500 in savings accounts	indresp	bh10, bh15
fiyrinvinc_dv	income from savings and investments, annual	indresp	1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11	Relates more to income but also falls under financial security. Might be unlikely that someone has income below living wage that is propped up by savings/investments but not impossible.
bankk	Amount in account(s) - non-reg saving	indresp	bh05
bankkb1	Savings amount to 1000 or more	indresp	bh05
bankkb2	Savings amount to 5000 or more	indresp	bh05
bankkb3	Savings amount to 10,000 or more	indresp	bh05
bankkb4	Savings amount to 500 or more	indresp	bh05
savekb1	Savings amount to 1000 or more	indresp	bh05
savekb2	Savings amount to 5000 or more	indresp	bh05
savekb3	Savings amount to 10,000 or more	indresp	bh05
savekb4	Savings amount to 500 or more	indresp	bh05
				There are MANY more vars related to savings and investments but I’m stopping here and leaving this note.
Credit	and	Debt
ccamtjt	outstanding balance, cards in joint names	indresp	4, 8	Joint account debt
ccamtsole	balance outstanding, cards in sole name	indresp	4, 8	Sole account debt
debt	Resp. owe money	indresp	bh05, bh10, bh15	Debt doesn’t always indicate financial insecurity, could be things like buying a car on finance or personal loan for something reasonable. Think the level of debt is important here, or a combination of debt and income to find respondents who are in more debt than is reasonable. Therefore debt to income ratio might be better indicator. See next 5 vars for levels of debt
debtc1	owe 500 or more	indresp	4, 8, bh05, bh10, bh15
debtc2	owe 1,500 or more	indresp	4, 8, bh05, bh10, bh15
debtc3	owe 5,000 or more	indresp	4, 8, bh05, bh10, bh15
debtc4	owe 100 or more	indresp	4, 8, bh05, bh10, bh15
debtc5	owe 10,000 or more	indresp	4, 8, bh15
debty	total amount owed	indresp	4, 8, bh05, bh10, bh15
deduc	total hh deductions	hhresp	bh01, bh02, bh03, bh04, bh05, bh06, bh07, bh08, bh09, bh10, bh11, bh12, bh13, bh14, bh15, bh16, bh17, bh18
xphp	Repayments on hire purchase or loans	hhresp	bh05, bh06, bh07, bh08, bh09, bh10, bh11, bh12, bh13, bh14, bh15, bh16, bh17, bh18	This var and the following to the end are very good indicators of financial security and have great coverage. They could be used to create a summary variable that indicates whether someone has enough money to pay for housing and other bills, or if they have/are having trouble paying.
xphpdf	Repayments a burden on household	hhresp	bh05, bh06, bh07, bh08, bh09, bh10, bh11, bh12, bh13, bh14, bh15, bh16, bh17, bh18
xphsd1	Housing payments required borrowing	hhresp	bh01, bh02, bh03, bh04, bh05, bh06, bh07, bh08, bh09, bh10, bh11, bh12, bh13, bh14, bh15, bh16, bh17, bh18
xphsd2	Housing payments required cutbacks	hhresp	bh01, bh02, bh03, bh04, bh05, bh06, bh07, bh08, bh09, bh10, bh11, bh12, bh13, bh14, bh15, bh16, bh17, bh18
xphsdb	problems paying for housing	hhresp	1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, bh01, bh02, bh03, bh04, bh05, bh06, bh07, bh08, bh09, bh10, bh11, bh12, bh13, bh14, bh15, bh16, bh17, bh18
xphsdb_bh	Been 2+ months late with housing payment	hhresp	bh01, bh02, bh03, bh04, bh05, bh06, bh07, bh08, bh09, bh10, bh11, bh12, bh13, bh14, bh15, bh16, bh17, bh18
xphsdba	up to date with all bills	hhresp	1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11
xphsdct	problems paying council tax	hhresp	1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11
xphsdf	Problems paying for housing over year	hhresp	bh01, bh02, bh03, bh04, bh05, bh06, bh07, bh08, bh09, bh10, bh11, bh12, bh13, bh14, bh15, bh16, bh17, bh18
xphp	Repayments on hire purchase or loans	hhresp	bh05, bh06, bh07, bh08, bh09, bh10, bh11, bh12, bh13, bh14, bh15, bh16, bh17, bh18

Physical Well-Being

(e.g. do you have certain physical ailments? Does your physical well-being effect your ability to be social or work?)

Variable Name	Description	Source	Waves	Notes
adX	Able to do X?	indresp	7, 9, 11	Many variables of this form. Not listing them here..
adXd	Ease of doing X?	indresp	7, 9, 11	See above
XtypeY/hcondX	Do you have disease X type Y? (e.g. cancer, arthritis)	indresp	9, 10, 11	Many variables for every having a disease as well as history and severity. E.g. have you had a heart attack ever/ between interviews.
hlpformX	Do you require assistance from X/ todo X?	indresp	7, 9, 11	Does a person get help from medical/professionals/volunteers to do essential tasks such as getting groceries.
scsfX	Does your physical well-being affect X?	indresp	2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11	SF1 survey values. Usually 5 tier likert scales. Vague/subjective questions but greater coverage.
Sf12pcs_dv	What is your Short form 12 (SF-12 ) physical component score?	indresp	1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11	Continuous variable. Normalised to N(50,10) but still right skewed. See: A 12-Item Short-Form Health Survey

Mental Well-Being

(e.g. do you have certain mental ailments? Does your mental well-being effect your ability to be social or work?)

Variable	Label	Datafile	Waves	Notes
XtypeY/hcondX	Do you have disease X type Y? (e.g. depression, anxiety.)	indresp	9, 10, 11	Many variables for every having a disease as well as history and severity. E.g. have you had panic attacks ever/ between interviews.
scsfX	Does your mental well-being affect X?	indresp	2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11	SF1 survey values. Usually 5 tier likert scales. Vague/subjective questions but greater coverage.
Sf12mcs_dv	What is your Short form 12 (SF-12 ) mental component score?	indresp	1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11	Continuous variable. Normalised to N(50,10) but still right skewed.
swemwbs_dv	What is your Short Warwick Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale?	indresp	1, 4, 7, 10	Warwick Edinburgh mental wellbeing scale. 7-35 likert scale. Pseudo-continuous.
scghqX	Do you have trouble with X?	indresp	1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11	General Health Questions. Subjective 4 tier likert scales. Not reliable but provide a good relative measure of health between interviews.