Study title

Finland 2014: Consumer Habits and Lifestyle

Dataset ID Number

FSD3172

Persistent identifier

urn:nbn:fi:fsd:T-FSD3172

Data Type

Quantitative

Authors

• Koivula, Aki (University of Turku)
• Räsänen, Pekka (University of Turku)
• Sarpila, Outi (University of Turku)

Other Identification/Acknowledgements

• Professors Jani Erola (University of Turku) and Terhi-Anna Wilska (University of Jyväskylä) participated in planning the survey. Social sciences student Antti Holmberg (University of Turku) assisted with data processing.

Abstract

The survey studied the lifestyle and consumer habits of Finnish people. The respondents were asked to compare their lifestyle and consumer habits to the average consumer, and to give their opinions on consumption-related issues.

The respondents were asked to evaluate their life situation at the time of the survey, and five years to the future on several aspects of life, such as financial situation and general welfare. They were also asked to compare their expenditure and consumer behaviour (concerning e.g. food, housing, leisure activities, alcohol, travel) to those of the average consumer. Furthermore, the respondents were asked which things and household items they considered necessary and what they would have done had they had more money. The survey carried a set of attitudinal statements about consumption and lifestyle (e.g. "I don't care about fashion" and "One should avoid debt").

The respondents' opinions on using one's looks to gain advantages in life were measured. Some questions covered on what grounds respondents made decisions on economical, family or work matters. Questions on social integration measured how closely the respondents felt that they were a part of their family, workplace, Internet communities, Finnish society, European Union etc. The respondents were also asked which generation and social class they most closely identified with. Satisfaction, and happiness with one's life and health was charted.

Opinions on values were measured by asking the respondents to rate the importance of various things (e.g. self-respect, world peace, prosperity, independence). Furthermore, the respondents were asked about the safety and security of their own life, relationships, European integration, Finnish society, and the world. The respondents feelings of insecurity were measured by asking them about risks at the personal level (unemployment, gambling, casual sexual encounters, etc.), and at the level of society (immigration, different types of crime, terrorism, environmental problems, etc.).

The survey contained questions about the income, expenditure, savings and debts of the respondents and the household. Quickie loan and consumer credit use were charted as well as possible bad credit record. The respondents were asked about their methods of coping when short of money (borrowing, reducing expenditure, gambling, etc.)

Background variables included the respondent's gender, year of birth, marital status, household size, basic and vocational education, economic activity, occupation, party preference, experiences of unemployment, and financial circumstances as well as the number of children, occupations of the spouse and parents, and voting in elections.

Keywords

consumer goods; consumption; decision making; generations (age); health; household budgets; life styles; money; personal finance management; risk; values

Topic Classification

• Social sciences (Fields of Science Classification)
• Consumption and consumer behaviour (CESSDA Topic Classification)
• Social behaviour and attitudes (CESSDA Topic Classification)

Series

Consumer Habits and Lifestyle in Finland

Distributor

Finnish Social Science Data Archive

Access

The dataset is (B) available for research, teaching and study.

Data Collector

• University of Turku. Unit of Economic Sociology
• University of Turku. Department of Sociology
• University of Jyväskylä. Department of Social Sciences and Philosophy. Unit of Sociology

Time Period Covered

2014

Collection Dates

2014-08-13 – 2014-10-22

Nation

Finland

Geographical Coverage

Finland

Analysis/Observation Unit Type

Individual

Universe

People aged 18-74 living in Finland who spoke Finnish

Time Method

Longitudinal: Trend/Repeated cross-section

Sampling Procedure

Probability: Simple random

A sample of 3,000 persons was randomly selected from the population register maintained by the magistrate of Southwestern Finland (Lounais-Suomi). The sample excluded people living institutions and those who did not speak Finnish as their mother tongue. Altogether 1,354 people responded.

Collection Mode

Self-administered questionnaire: Paper

Self-administered questionnaire: Web-based (CAWI)

Research Instrument

Structured questionnaire

Response Rate

46

Data File Language

Downloaded data package may contain different language versions of the same files.

The data files of this dataset are available in the following languages: English and Finnish.

FSD translates quantitative data into English on request, free of charge. More information on ordering data translation.

Number of Cases and Variables

242 variables and 1351 cases.

Data Version

1.0

Completeness of Data and Restrictions

Variable v2 (year of birth) has been replaced with age as a categorized variable (v2lk). Open-ended questions v10, v13, v16, and v17 (one's own occupation and the occupations of spouse, father, and mother) have been replaced with occupations categorized according to Classification of occupations 2010 by Statistics Finland. The data did not contain the open-ended answers for questions v8, v11, v26, and v27 when deposited at the FSD. Variables for these open-ended questions are also missing. Outliers in variables v32_1 (height) and v32_2 (weight) were categorized into broader categories.

Weighting

The data contain a weight variable that adjusts for the non-response bias based on age and gender. For each year of birth, the weight has been calculated separately for men and women.

Citation Requirement

The data and its creators shall be cited in all publications and presentations for which the data have been used. The bibliographic citation may be in the form suggested by the archive or in the form required by the publication.

Bibliographical Citation

Koivula, Aki (University of Turku) & Räsänen, Pekka (University of Turku) & Sarpila, Outi (University of Turku): Finland 2014: Consumer Habits and Lifestyle [dataset]. Version 1.0 (2017-06-16). Finnish Social Science Data Archive [distributor]. https://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:fsd:T-FSD3172

Deposit Requirement

Notify FSD of all publications where you have used the data by sending the citation information to user-services.fsd@tuni.fi.

Disclaimer

The original data creators and the archive bear no responsibility for any results or interpretations arising from the reuse of the data.

Related Materials

Koivula, Aki & Räsänen, Pekka & Sarpila, Outi (2015). WORKING PAPERS IN ECONOMIC SOCIOLOGY: Suomi 2014 - kulutus ja elämäntapa: Tutkimusseloste ja aineistojen 1999-2014 vertailua. Turun yliopisto, sosiaalitieteiden laitos: Turku 2015. ISBN 978-951-29-6034-7. ISSN 1799-2370.

Related Publications

Koivula, Aki & Räsänen, Pekka & Sarpila, Outi (2015). WORKING PAPERS IN ECONOMIC SOCIOLOGY: Suomi 2014 - kulutus ja elämäntapa: Tutkimusseloste ja aineistojen 1999-2014 vertailua. Turun yliopisto, sosiaalitieteiden laitos: Turku 2015.

Koskinen, Matti (2018). Ylivelkaantuminen suomalaisessa luottoyhteiskunnassa. Itä-Suomen yliopisto. Yhteiskuntapolitiikan kandidaatintutkielma.

Kuoppamäki, Sanna-Mari & Wilska, Terhi-Anna & Taipale, Sakari (2017) Ageing and consumption in Finland: The effect of age and life course stage on ecological, economical and self-indulgent consumption among late middle-agers and young adults between 1999 and 2004. International Journal of Consumer Studies, 41(5), 457-464.

Koivula, Aki & Räsänen, Pekka & Sarpila, Outi (2014) Suomi 2014 - kulutus ja elämäntapa: Tutkimusseloste ja aineistojen 1999-2014 vertailua. Working papers in economic sociology. Turun yliopisto, Sosiaalitieteiden laitos.

Koivula, Aki & Räsänen, Pekka & Saarinen, Arttu (2017) Does party identification associate with consumer preferences? Analyzing Finnish consumers in 2009 and 2014. International Journal of Consumer Studies, 42(5), 475-483.

Koivula, Aki & Sarpila, Outi & Räsänen, Pekka (2016) Internet- ja paperilomakkeiden täyttäjät: vastaustavan ja sen merkityksen tarkastelua hyvinvointitutkimuksessa. Yhteiskuntapolitiikka 81(2), 54-65.

Koivula, Aki & Sarpila, Outi & Räsänen, Pekka (2015) Verkkolomakkeiden käyttö sosiaalitieteellisessä tutkimuksessa. Working Papers in Economic Sociology (VIII). University of Turku: Turku.

Koivula, Aki & Räsänen, Pekka & Saarinen, Arttu (2016) Political Orientation and Consumer Preferences. Working Papers in Economic Sociology (VIII) University of Turku: Turku.

Korhonen, S. (2015) Kauneusleikkaukseen vai ei? Suomalaisten asenteet plastiikkakirurgiaa kohtaan vuosina 2009 ja 2014. Taloussosiologian pro gradu -tutkielma. Sosiaalitieteiden laitos. Turun yliopisto: Turku.

Sarpila, O. & Pajunen, T. & Kekäläinen, S. & Åberg, E. (2017) Onko ulkonäön arvostus nousussa Suomessa? Yhteiskuntapolitiikka 82(1), 86-93.

Kekäläinen, Tiia & Wilska, Terhi-Anna & Kokko, Katja (2017) Leisure Consumption and well-Being among Older Adults: Does Age or Life Situation Matter? Applied Research in Quality of Life 12(3), 671-691.

Kekäläinen, Tiia & Wilska, Terhi-Anna & Kokko, Katja (2017) Varttuneet kuluttajat, vapaa-aika ja hyvinvointi. Kulutustutkimus.Nyt 11(1), 4-17.

Koiranen, Ilkka & Koivula, Aki & Saarinen, Arttu & Räsänen, Pekka (2017) Puolueiden rakenteet ja jäsenistön verkostot. Kunnallisalan kehittämissäätiön tutkimusjulkaisu sarjan julkaisu nro 103.

Koivula, Aki & Räsänen, Pekka & Saarinen, Arttu (2016) Poliittinen suuntautuminen ja kulutusasenteet. Kulutustutkimus.Nyt 10(1), 17-35.

Koivula, Aki & Räsänen, Pekka & Sarpila, Outi (2014) Luksusta vai yllättävän välttämätöntä? Hyvinvointikatsaus 4:2014, 27-32.

Kukkonen, Iida (2017) Consolidation of the common good and a personal quest for virtue? Sketching out the Finnish ethical consumer. Taloussosiologian Pro gradu -tutkielma. Sosiaalitieteiden laitos. Turun yliopisto.

Kuoppamäki, Sanna-Mari & Uusitalo, Outi & Kemppainen, Tiina (2018) A risk to privacy or a need for security? Digital domestic technologies in the lives of young adults and late middle-agers. In Sakari Taipale, Terhi-Anna Wilska & Chris Gilleard (eds.) Digital Technologies and Generational Identity: ICT USage Across the Life Course (pp. 167-182). Abingdon: Routledge.

Lehti, Hannu & Räsänen, Pekka (2016) Kaupallinen seksi yhteiskunnallisena riskinä: sukupuolten väliset erot sosiaalisen rooliteorian ja evolutiivisen teorian näkökulmista. Kulutustutkimus.Nyt 10:2, 25-49.

Wilska, Terhi-Anna & Kuoppamäki, Sanna-Mari (toim.) (2017) Varttuneet kuluttajat, digitalisoituva arki ja kulutusympäristöjen muutos: digi 50+ -hankkeen loppuraportti. Julkaisuja/Jyväskylän yliopiston kauppakorkeakoulu n:o 209.

Rennes, Laura (2018) Oma etu vai yhteiskunnallinen vastuu? Ympäristövastuullinen ja eettinen kulutus 2010-luvun Suomessa. Taloussosiologian kandidaatintutkielma. Sosiaalitieteiden laitos. Turun yliopisto.

Vainio, Emmi (2018). Sosiaalisen taustan yhteys ympäristöystävällisiin kulutusasenteisiin Suomessa. Turku: Sosiaalitieteiden laitos, Turun yliopisto. Taloussosiologian kandidaatintutkielma.

Sutinen, Sini (2019). Yhteiskuntaluokka ja kulutus. Suomalaisten eettinen kuluttaminen 1999-2014. Tampereen yliopisto. Yhteiskuntatutkimuksen kandidaatintutkielma.

Hakala, Ville (2018). Internet ilmastotekojen edistäjänä? Jyväskylän yliopisto: Yhteiskuntapolitiikan kandidaatintutkielma.

Räty, Anni (2020). Ympäristöasenteet ja punainen liha suomalaisten ruokavaliossa - tarkastelua iän, sukupuolen ja sosioekonomisen taustan mukaan. Sosiaalitieteiden kandidaatintutkielma. Turku: Turun yliopisto.

Laukkanen, Salla (2022). Sukupuolten arvot kestävän kulutuksen ennustajina. Kandidaatin tutkielma. Yhteiskuntatutkimus. Tampere: Tampereen yliopisto. https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:tuni-202203102454