1 Lifestyle, participation, identity and life satisfaction Nick Buck Institute for Social and Economic Research

2 The range of issues This area is concerned with: How individuals engage with social institutions and collective groups beyond their household, – Participation in politics, informal organisations, leisure activities, use of IT and media Subjective orientations, including identities and related practises – Multiple potential dimensions of identity, and e.g. consumption practices which relate to those identities (link to ethnicity strand) Measures of satisfaction and happiness relating to different life domains (also covered in other groups)

3 Research agendas Diversity in terms of a range of cultures, practices and identities of increasing salience for public policy and the understanding of UK society. – Issues of inequality, social cohesion, also stability of identities – Dimensions: class, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, citizenship, national identity, age group, disability status, consumption groups Social and cultural capital as influences on life chances Political engagement and civic participation: the degree to which disengagement from public institutions and ‘individualisation’ are occurring Others?

4 BHPS questions Religious identification and participation Political identification and participation National identity Leisure participation Social trust Membership and activity in organisations Life satisfaction IT ownership and usage How important is continuity of measurement relative to the existing BHPS, and comparability with other UK national surveys?

5 Key issues for the group What is the case for covering these issues in a systematic way in the UKHLS rather than existing cross-section or longitudinal studies or small-scale special-purpose surveys? What are the most important research questions to be addressed, now and potentially in the future? Which issues should receive priority? Some areas are not frequently addressed in quantitative surveys; is there a case for a qualitative development programme first? What measurement frequency is required? Is there a case for targeting some questions on particular age groups (e.g. when identities may be more fluid)?