Scotland's People Annual Report: Results from 2013 Scottish Household Survey: Revised October 2015

2 The Composition and Characteristics of Households and Adults in Scotland

INTRODUCTION AND CONTEXT

The collection of data on protected equality characteristics (age, disability, ethnicity, religion, sex, and sexual orientation) provides an important contribution to the overall equality evidence base, which is used by policy makers to target services and tackle discrimination and disadvantage. The Scottish Household Survey (SHS) collects information about all household members, including children, from the household respondent. 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.

National Records of Scotland (NRS) use the SHS to publish household estimates based on SHS data. It should be noted though that estimates of total numbers of households derived from the SHS 2013, using the household grossing weight^[23], are the same as the 2012 household estimates from NRS^[24]. 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)^[25] 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 and deprivation.

Main Findings

• Around half (48 per cent) of all adults are married and living with a spouse, while around a third (34 per cent) have never been married or in a civil partnership.
• The majority of adults (96.4 per cent) are of white ethnicity, with ‘White: Scottish’ the predominant ethnic group (79.7 per cent). Four per cent of young adults aged 16 to 24 are married. The majority of adults aged 35 to 44 the majority are married and living with their spouse or in a same sex civil partnership (58 per cent).
• Around a third (34 per cent) of households in Scotland contains only one person, made up of single adults (18 per cent) and single pensioners (16 per cent). Around one quarter of households (23 per cent) are families with children aged under 16.

ALL HOUSEHOLD MEMBERS

The gender and age of all household members, including children, are presented in Table 2.1. There are more female (52 per cent) than male (48 per cent) household members, similar to previous years. Just under a fifth (17 per cent) of household members are aged under 16, while just under a quarter (23 per cent) are 60 or over^[26].

Table 2.1: Characteristics of household members

Column percentages, 2013 data

All household members

Gender
Male	48
Female	52
Total	100
Base	23,530

Age	Male	Female	All
0-15	18	16	17
16-24	12	11	12
25-34	13	13	13
35-44	13	13	13
45-59	22	21	22
60-74	15	17	16
75+	6	8	7
Total	100	100	100
Base	11,450	12,080	23,530

ADULTS IN PRIVATE HOUSEHOLDS

Table 2.2 presents equalities characteristics of adults, based on those selected to take part in the ‘random adult’ interview. These tables provide estimates for age, gender, marital status, ethnicity and religion of adults in Scotland.

Just under half (48 per cent) of adults are married and living with a spouse, and less than 1 one per cent are living in a same sex civil partnership. The majority of adults (96.4 per cent) are of white ethnic origin with ‘White: Scottish’ being the predominant ethnic group (79.7 per cent). Adults of Asian ethnicity represented the largest minority ethnic group (2.2 per cent).

Table 2.2: The characteristics of adults

Column percentages, 2013 data

Adults

Adults
Male	48
Female	52
Total	100
Base	9,920

Adults	Male	Female	All
16-24	15	14	14
25-34	16	15	15
35-44	16	16	16
45-59	26	25	26
60-74	19	20	20
75+	8	10	9
Total	100	100	100
Base	4,450	5,470	9,920

Adults
Never married and never registered a same-sex civil partnership	34
Married	48
In a registered same-sex civil partnership	0
Separated, but still legally married	2
Separated, but still legally in a same-sex civil partnership.	1
Divorced	7
Formerly in a same-sex civil partnership which is now legally dissolved.	0
Widowed	8
Surviving partner from a same-sex civil partnership	0
Total	100
Base	9,920

Ethnicity
White	96.4
Scottish	79.7
Other British	12.1
Irish	1.1
Polish	1.2
Other white ethnic group	2.3
Any Mixed or Multiple Ethnic Groups	0.2
Asian, Asian Scottish or Asian British	2.2
Pakistani, Pakistani Scottish or Pakistani British	0.7
Indian, Indian Scottish or Indian British	0.7
Bangladeshi, Bangladeshi Scottish or Bangladeshi British	0.0
Chinese, Chinese Scottish or Chinese British	0.5
Other Asian ethnic group	0.3
African	0.4
African, African Scottish or African British	0.3
Other African ethnic group	0.1
Caribbean or Black	0.1
Caribbean, Caribbean Scottish or Caribbean British	0.0
Black, Black Scottish or Black British	0.0
Other Caribbean or Black ethnic group	-
Other Ethnic Group	0.7
Arab, Arab Scottish or Arab British	0.0
Any other ethnic group (please say what)	0.6
Total	100
Base	9,920

Adults
None	46.1
Church of Scotland	28.4
Roman Catholic	15.1
Other Christian	7.6
Muslim	1.2
Buddhist	0.2
Sikh	0.1
Jewish	0.1
Hindu	0.3
Pagan	0.1
Another religion, please write in	0.7
Total	100
Base	9,920

Since the harmonised^[27] religion question was introduced to the SHS in 2009, there has been an upward trend in the proportion of adults reporting not having a religion, from 40 per cent in 2009 to 46 per cent in 2013. There has also been a corresponding decrease in the proportion reporting ‘Church of Scotland’, from 34 per cent to 28 per cent.

Figure 2.1: Religion of adults by year

2013 data, Adults (base minimum: 9,890)

Figure 2.2 shows the relationships between current marital status and adults of different ages. Of those adults aged 16 to 24 in 2013, the vast majority (96 per cent) have never been married or been in a same sex civil partnership. For those in the age bands between 35 to 74, marriage is the predominant status and accounts for 63 per cent of adults across these categories. The proportion married or in a civil partnership then drops off slightly for those aged 75 or over (43 per cent) with a similar proportion (46 per cent) in this age group reporting being widowed or a bereaved civil partner.

Figure 2.2: Current marital status of adults by age

2013 data, Adults (base minimum: 830)

The data underlying Figure 2.2 are presented in Table 2.3 in more detail. As well as showing the percentages of each age group who are married, divorced etc.^[28], it also shows the percentage of each marital status category who are aged 16 to 24, 25 to 34 and so on^[29].

Table 2.3: Marital status and age of adult population

Column and row percentages, 2013 data

Adults	16-24	25-34	35-44	45-59	60-74	75+	All
Single, never been married/in civil partnership	96	61	32	15	7	6	34
Married/civil partnership	4	35	58	63	66	43	48
Divorced/Seperated	0	4	9	19	13	5	10
Widowed/Bereaved civil partner	-	-	1	3	14	46	8
Total	100	100	100	100	100	100	100
Base	830	1,350	1,450	2,590	2,400	1,300	9,920

Adults	16-24	25-34	35-44	45-59	60-74	75+	Total	Base
Single, never been married/in civil partnership	40	28	15	12	4	2	100	3,040
Married/civil partnership	1	11	19	33	27	8	100	4,160
Divorced/Seperated	0	6	15	48	26	5	100	1,410
Widowed/Bereaved civil partner	-	-	1	10	36	53	100	1,310
All	14	15	16	26	20	9	100	9,920

The question on sexual orientation was introduced to the SHS in 2011 as one of the Scottish Government’s “core" questions.^[30] Developed by the Office for National Statistics^[31], the question was designed to provide accurate statistics to underpin the equality monitoring responsibilities of public sector organisations and to assess the disadvantage or relative discrimination experienced by the lesbian, gay and bisexual population. See notes on self-identified sexual orientation in Annex 2 for further information on the data limitations.

Table 2.4 shows that 98.6 per cent of adults identified themselves as heterosexual or straight. A further 0.6 per cent of adults refused or preferred not to answer the question. The ‘other’ option addresses the fact that not all people will fall in the three main categories.

Table 2.4: Sexual orientation by gender

Column percentages, 2013 data

Adults	Male	Female	All
Heterosexual/Straight	98.5	98.7	98.6
Gay/Lesbian	0.7	0.4	0.6
Bisexual	0.2	0.2	0.2
Other	0	0	0
Refused	0.6	0.7	0.6
Total	100	100	100
Base	4,450	5,470	9,920

It should be noted that estimates on self-identified sexual orientation from the SHS are likely 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. Full definitions of each household type are included in the Glossary (Annex 2). Combining the data in this way provides an indicator of the life stage and family circumstance of households.

Figure 2.3 shows that just over a third of households in Scotland contain only one adult living alone, split as 18 per cent in single adult households and 16 per cent in single pensioner households. Small families without children also account for one-third of households (small adult, older smaller), while around a quarter (23 per cent) are families with children aged under 16 (single parent, small family, large family).

Figure 2.3: Household type

2013 data, Households (base: 10,650)

Table 2.5 shows the extent to which household type varies according to degree of rurality^[32]. The differences between different types of area are relatively small, but some can be seen between large urban areas and Scotland as a whole, with large urban areas having higher than average levels of single adults (22 per cent) and lower than average levels of older smaller households (11 per cent).

Table 2.5: Household type by Urban Rural Classification

Column percentages, 2013 data

Households	Large urban areas	Other urban areas	Accessible small towns	Remote small towns	Accessible rural	Remote rural	All
Single adult	22	17	14	22	14	13	18
Small adult	18	16	18	13	18	14	17
Single parent	5	6	5	3	4	3	5
Small family	12	13	13	11	14	14	13
Large family	4	6	6	6	7	6	5
Large adult	10	10	10	12	8	9	10
Older smaller	11	16	17	16	20	24	15
Single pensioner	17	16	17	17	15	17	16
Total	100	100	100	100	100	100	100
Base	3,570	3,230	970	650	1,150	1,080	10,650

There are also links between levels of deprivation and household type (Table 2.6). In particular, the proportion of single adult and single parent households increases with increasing deprivation (24 per cent and 9 per cent, respectively, in the 20 per cent most deprived areas). This might be because with one adult of working age, these household are likely to have lower incomes and therefore housing options in the most deprived areas will be more affordable to them.

Table 2.6: Household type by Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation quintiles (SIMD)

Column percentages, 2013 data

Households	1 - Most Deprived	2	3	4	5 - Least Deprived	All
Single adult	24	21	19	16	12	18
Small adult	14	17	18	18	19	17
Single parent	9	7	4	3	2	5
Small family	12	10	13	14	15	13
Large family	5	4	5	7	6	5
Large adult	7	10	10	10	12	10
Older smaller	11	14	15	19	18	15
Single pensioner	17	19	16	14	15	16
Total	100	100	100	100	100	100
Base	2,020	2,140	2,320	2,260	1,910	10,650