Scotland's People Annual report: Results from 2009 Scottish Household Survey

2 The Composition and Characteristics of Households and Adults in Scotland

Introduction and context

The Scottish Household Survey ( SHS) collects information from the household respondent about all household members including children. This information is used principally for selecting the data of particular groups for further cross-cutting analysis or for use as background variables when analysing other topics.

The General Register Office for Scotland ( GROS) uses the SHS to publish household estimates based on SHS data. Estimates of total numbers of households derived from the 2009 SHS, using the household grossing weight ²¹, are the same as the 2009 household estimates from GROS. Estimates for particular types of household, as described in this chapter, are likely to differ from GROS due to differences in weighting.

The characteristics of adults and the Highest Income Householder ( HIH) ²² are used in this report as variables to examine SHS questions in the chapters that follow. The age and number of people in the household are combined in 'household type', a variable which is used to examine the relationship of household composition with a number of different topics throughout this report.

To set the scene for the subsequent analysis, this chapter briefly presents information on selected characteristics of all household members and of adults. It examines household types and considers the relationship between household type and degree of rurality.

All Household Members

The gender and age of all household members, including children, are presented in Table 2.1. There are more female (52%) than male (48%) household members, similar to previous years. Just under a fifth (18%) of household members is aged under 16, while just under a quarter (23%) is 60 or over.

Table 2.1: Characteristics of household members

Column percentages, 2009 data

All household members

Gender
Male	48
Female	52
All	100
Base	31,770
Age
0-15	18
16-24	12
25-34	12
35-44	15
45-59	20
60-74	16
75+	7
All	100
Base	31,770

Adults in private households

Table 2.2 presents the characteristics of adults, based on those selected to take part in the 'random adult' interview. As with all household members, 52% of adults are female and 48% are male. Those aged 16-24 represent 15% of adults. Those aged 45 to 59 make up a quarter (25%) of all adults, while those 75 or over represent just under one-tenth (9%) of adults.

Table 2.2: The characteristics of adults

Column percentages, 2009 data

Adults

Gender
Male	48
Female	52
All	100
Base	12,543
Age
16 to 24	15
25 to 34	15
35 to 44	18
45 to 59	25
60 to 74	19
75 plus	9
All	100
Base	12,543
Marital status
Married and living with spouse	51
In a same-sex civil partnership	1
Single, never been married / in civil partnership	32
Widowed	7
Divorced	6
Separated	3
Bereaved civil partner	0
All	100
Base	12,543
Ethnicity
White	96.8
Scottish	82.1
Other British	11.4
Irish	0.9
Any other White background	2.4
Any mixed background	0.1
Asian*	2.1
Indian	0.5
Pakistani	0.7
Bangladeshi	0.1
Chinese	0.4
Any other Asian background	0.4
Black*	0.4
Caribbean	0.0
African	0.3
Any other Black background	0.1
Any other background	0.7
All	100
Base	12,543

Asian includes Asian Scottish or Asian British.

Black includes Black Scottish or Black British.

*sub-totals of ethnic groups that follow.

Just over half (51%) of adults are married and living with a spouse, while just under a third (32%) are single and have never been married. The majority of adults (96.8%) are of white ethnic origin with Scottish being the predominant ethnic group (82.1%). The next biggest group is 'other British' (11.4%), while 3.2% of adults are non-white. Adults of Asian ethnic origin represent the biggest non-white group (2.1%).

Figure 2.1 examines the relationships between current marital status and adults of different ages. Of those adults aged 16-24, the majority (93%) are single. By the time adults reach the age of 35-44, the majority are married and living with spouse or in a civil partnership (60% in total). Being single declines throughout all age groups until the 75 and over, at which point there is a slight increase.

From the ages of 35 to 74, marriage is the predominant current status. Those aged 75 or over are more often 'widowed' (44%) although around four in ten (43%) are still married.

Figure 2.1: Current marital status of adults by age

2009 data, Adults (min base: 1,036)

The data underlying Figure 2.1 are presented in Table 2.3. As well as showing the percentages of each age group who are single, married, divorced etc., ²³ it also shows the percentage of each marital status category who are aged 16-24, 25-34 and so on. ²⁴ Over two thirds (69%) of those who are single are under 35, whilst just under eight in ten (79%) of married people are aged between 35 and 74.

Like marriage, being divorced or separated is more common than average between the ages of 35-74, and also like marriage, this peaks between the ages of 45-59 (42%).

Table 2.3: Age and marital status of adult population

Row and column percentages, 2009 data

Adults		Single, never married / civil partnership	Married / civil partnership	Divorced / Separated	Widowed / Bereaved civil partner		Row total	Row base
16 to 24	Row	93	7	1	0	15	100	1,036
	Column	43	2	1	0
25 to 34	Row	56	40	4	0	15	100	1,686
	Column	26	12	6	0
35 to 44	Row	27	60	12	1	18	100	2,170
	Column	15	21	23	2
45 to 59	Row	13	68	17	3	25	100	3,101
	Column	10	33	42	9
60 to 74	Row	6	68	11	15	19	100	2,925
	Column	4	25	23	38
75+	Row	8	43	5	44	9	100	1,625
	Column	2	7	4	51
All		32	51	10	7	100
Column total		100	100	100	100	100
Column base		3,633	5,506	1,732	1,672	12,543

Household Type

Household type is derived from the details collected from the household respondent about all household members, using a combination of age and number of people in the household. Combining the data in this way provides, in effect, an indicator of the life stage and family circumstance of households.

Figure 2.2: Household type

2009 data, Households (base: 14,190)

The structure of households, as represented by household type, is illustrated in Figure 2.2 and full definitions are included in the Glossary ( Annex 2). A third of households in Scotland contain only one adult, split as 20% of those below pensionable age and 13% above pensionable age. Small families without children also account for one-third of households (small adult, older smaller), while almost a quarter (24%) are families with children aged under 16 (single parent, small family, large family).

Having identified the percentage of households accounted for by different household types, Table 2.4 shows the extent to which household type varies according to degree of rurality, as defined using the Scottish Government Urban Rural Classification. ²⁵ In general the differences between different types of area are relatively small. Exceptions are higher than average levels of single adults in large urban areas (23%) and of older smaller households in remote rural areas (17%). A slightly increased amount of small adult households (24%) can be found in accessible rural areas.

Table 2.4: Household type by Urban Rural Classification

Column percentages, 2009 data

Households	Large urban areas	Other urban areas	Accessible small towns	Remote small towns	Accessible rural	Remote rural	Scotland
Single adult	23	19	16	20	13	14	20
Small adult	21	19	20	19	24	21	21
Single parent	5	6	5	5	5	3	5
Small family	11	13	14	10	15	13	13
Large family	5	7	8	6	7	8	6
Large adult	10	10	10	10	9	9	10
Older smaller	10	14	15	15	15	17	13
Single pensioner	13	12	13	16	12	15	13
All	100	100	100	100	100	100	100
Base	5,038	4,227	1,169	762	1,587	1,393	14,176

Additional tables providing further information on the composition and characteristics of households are available on the SHS website. ²⁶