Scotland's People Annual Report: Results from 2011 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 National Records of Scotland (NRS) uses the SHS to publish household estimates based on SHS data. Estimates of total numbers of households derived from the SHS 2011, using the household grossing weight^[27], are the same as the 2011 household estimates from NRS. Estimates for particular types of household, as described in this chapter, are likely to differ from NRS due to differences in weighting.

The characteristics of adults and the Highest Income Householder (HIH)^[28] 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.

Main Findings

• Just under half (49%) of adults are married and living with a spouse, while just over a third (34%) have never been married or in a civil partnership.
• The majority of adults (96.8%) are of white ethnic origin, with Scottish being the predominant ethnic group (80.3%). Adults of Asian ethnic origin represent the biggest minority ethnic group (2.0%).
• Around 5% of young adults aged 16 to 24 are married, and by the time adults reach the age of 35 to 44 the majority are married and living with their spouse or in a same sex civil partnership (58%).
• A third (33%) of households in Scotland contains only one person, made up of single adults (18%) and single pensioners (15%). Small families without children also account for one-third of households.
• Just over one-fifth of households in large urban areas are single adult households (22%).

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, 2011 data

All household members

Gender
Male	48
Female	52
All	100
Base	31,885

Age
0 to 15	18
16 to 24	12
25 to 34	12
35 to 44	14
45 to 59	21
60 to 74	16
75 plus	7
All	100
Base	31,885

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, 2011 data

Adults

Gender
Male	48
Female	52
All	100
Base	12,893

Age
16 to 24	15
25 to 34	15
35 to 44	17
45 to 59	25
60 to 74	19
75 plus	9
All	100
Base	12,893

Marital status
Single - never married or never formed a legally recognised same sex civil partnership	34
Married and living with husband / wife	49
A civil partner in a legally recognised same sex civil partnership	0
Married and separated from husband / wife	3
In a legally recognised same sex civil partnership and separated from your civil partner	0
Divorced	7
Formerly a civil partner, the same sex civil partnership now legally dissolved	0
Widowed	8
A surviving same sex civil partner: your partner having since died	0
All	100
Base	12,892

Ethnicity
White	96.8
Scottish	80.3
Other British	12.6
Irish	0.6
Any other White background	3.3
Mixed or multiple ethnic groups	0.1
Asian, Asian Scottish or Asian British	2.0
Pakistani, Pakistani Scottish or Pakistani British	0.9
Indian, Indian Scottish or Indian British	0.5
Bangladeshi, Bangladeshi Scottish or Bangladeshi British	0.1
Chinese, Chinese Scottish or Chinese British	0.3
Any other Asian, Asian Scottish or Asian British	0.2
African, Caribbean or Black	0.7
African, African Scottish or African British	0.5
Caribbean, Caribbean Scottish or Caribbean British	0.1
Black, Black Scottish or Black British	0.1
Any other Black background	0.1
Any other background	0.4
All	100
Base	12,886

Just under half (49%) of adults are married and living with a spouse, and just under 1% are living in a same sex civil partnership. The majority of adults (96.8%) are of white ethnic origin with Scottish being the predominant ethnic group (80.3%). The next biggest group is 'other British' (12.6%), while 3.2% of adults are non-white. Adults of Asian ethnic origin represent the biggest non-white group (2.0%).

Figure 2.1 examines the relationships between current marital status and adults of different ages. Of those adults aged 16-24, the majority (95%) have never been married. By the time adults reach the age of 35-44, the majority are married and living with spouse or in a civil partnership (58% in total). As would be expected, having never been married or in a same sex civil partnership declines throughout all age groups until the 75 and over, at which point it remains constant at 7%.

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

The data underlying Figure 2.1 are presented in Table 2.3. As well as showing the percentages of each age group who are married, divorced etc,^[29] it also shows the percentage of each marital status category who are aged 16-24, 25-34 and so on.^[30] 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 (46%).

Figure 2.1: Current marital status of adults by age

2011 data, Adults (base: 12,892; minimum: 1,022)

Table 2.3: Age and marital status of adult population

Row and column percentages, 2011 data

Adults		Single, never married / civil partner- ship	Married / civil partner- ship	Divorced / Separated	Widowed / Bereaved civil partner	All (column)	Total (row)	Row base
16 to 24	Row	95	4	0	0		100	1,022
	Column	41	1	0	0	15
25 to 34	Row	60	37	3	0		100	1,741
	Column	26	11	5	0	15
35 to 44	Row	30	58	12	0		100	2,055
	Column	15	21	22	1	17
45 to 59	Row	16	64	17	3		100	3,217
	Column	12	32	46	9	25
60 to 74	Row	7	66	11	15		100	3,126
	Column	4	26	23	38	19
75+	Row	7	44	4	44		100	1,731
	Column	2	8	4	52	9
All (row)		34	49	9	8		100	12,892
Total (column)		100	100	100	100	100
Column base		3,927	5,449	1,725	1,791	12,892

The question on sexual orientation was introduced to the SHS in 2011 as one of the Scottish Government's "core" questions.^[31] Developed by the Office for National Statistics^[32], the question was designed to provide statistics to underpin the equality monitoring responsibilities of public sector organisations and to assess the disadvantage or relative discrimination experience by the lesbian, gay and bisexual population.

Table 2.4 shows that 98% of adults identified themselves as heterosexual or straight, whilst just under one per cent identified themselves as lesbian, gay or bisexual. The 'other' option (0.1%) addresses the fact that not all people will fall in the three main categories. It is interesting to note that only 0.5% of adult stated they don't know or refused the question. Comparisons by gender show there was a slightly larger proportion of men stating they were gay at 0.8% compared to women at 0.6%. 

Table 2.4: Sexual orientation by gender

Column percentages, 2011 data

Adults	Male	Female	All
Heterosexual / Straight	98.3	98.6	98.4
Gay / Lesbian	0.8	0.6	0.7
Bisexual	0.2	0.3	0.2
Other	0.1	0.1	0.1
Dont know	0.1	0.0	0.1
Refused	0.5	0.4	0.4
All	100	100	100
Base	5,559	7,334	12,893

 

It should be noted that estimates on self-identified sexual orientation from the SHS may be considered to under-represent the lesbian, gay and bisexual population.  Potential reasons for this are discussed in Annex 2. 

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.

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 alone, split as 18% in single adult households and 15% in single pensioner households. 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).

Figure 2.2: Household type

2011 data, Households (base: 14,358)

Table 2.5 shows the extent to which household type varies according to degree of rurality.^[33] 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 and of older smaller households in remote rural areas (both 22%). A slightly increased amount of small adult households (20%) can be found in accessible rural areas.

Table 2.5: Household type by Urban Rural Classification

Column percentages, 2011 data

Households	Large urban areas	Other urban areas	Accessible small towns	Remote small towns	Accessible rural	Remote rural	Scotland
Single adult	22	16	15	18	12	14	18
Small adult	18	16	16	14	20	17	17
Single parent	5	6	5	4	4	4	5
Small family	12	14	14	12	14	10	13
Large family	5	6	8	6	8	6	6
Large adult	10	11	10	11	11	11	11
Older smaller	13	16	17	17	18	22	15
Single pensioner	15	15	16	18	14	17	15
All	100	100	100	100	100	100	100
Base	5,166	4,318	1,231	775	1,550	1,316	14,356

Additional tables providing further information on the composition and characteristics of households are available on the SHS website.^[34]