Understanding Society User Support

Hello Foteini,

There are several variables related to mental health in the dataset, such as hcond, mhcond, etc. Additionally, the survey includes questions from the GHQ-12 (General Health Questionnaire), which is commonly used to assess mental health, as well as the WEMWBS (Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale) for measuring well-being and the SF-12, a short-form health survey that assesses quality of life, physical, and mental health. These variables appear across different waves and are asked of respondents aged 16 and above.

UKHLS also includes the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) for children's mental health. This information is collected from the adults responsible for children aged 5 or 8 as part of the Child Development module in the adult questionnaire. SDQs are also administered to young people aged 10-15, with consent from their parents or carers.

I'm attaching an Excel file with the list of relevant variables, including details about which wave and file the data can be found in. You can also use the "Mainstage variable search" tool at https://www.understandingsociety.ac.uk/documentation/mainstage/variables/ to find more information about these variables.

The data is available through the UK Data Service. Following are some helpful links with more details on accessing Understanding Society data:
• How to access data: https://www.understandingsociety.ac.uk/documentation/access-data/
• Data releases: https://www.understandingsociety.ac.uk/documentation/data-releases/
• UK Data service login: https://beta.ukdataservice.ac.uk/myaccount/login

You may also want to explore the UKHLS New User Pathway, which can be a useful starting point for navigating the data. Here’s the link:
https://www.understandingsociety.ac.uk/help/new-user-pathway/

I hope this information is helpful.

Best wishes,
Roberto Cavazos
Understanding Society User Support Team