Study title

Finnish Views on Inequality and Support for Families with Children 2018

Dataset ID Number

FSD3415

Persistent identifier

urn:nbn:fi:fsd:T-FSD3415

Data Type

Quantitative

Authors

• Central Union for Child Welfare

Abstract

The study surveyed Finnish opinions on issues related to families with children, inequality and support provided by the society. The study was commissioned by a coordination project of the Central Union for Child Welfare funded by the Funding Centre for Social Welfare and Health Organisations (STEA). The study was financed with the funds received from the former Finland's Slot Machine Association.

The respondents were first asked their views on the most significant reasons for poverty in families with children, harmfulness of different growth environments on child development (e.g. divorced parents, a parent with substance abuse problem, living in a foster family), and the most important aspects of good parenthood. Regarding support from the society, the respondents were asked which kinds of families with children the society should support (e.g. families with a disabled child, families where a parent uses a lot of alcohol, families that have come to Finland as refugees). A number of statements were presented about support from the society, social and health care system and child education. The respondents were also asked which kinds of families they would prefer to have as neighbours.

Opinions were charted on the measures of child protective services, such as whether it should be possible to take a child into care indefinitely (instead of temporarily) and whether involuntary adoption should be possible. Views were also surveyed on the rights of underaged asylum seekers and the use of experts by experience in social and health services. Regarding social conflict, the respondents were asked how united or divided Finland was as nation and how much tension there was between different groups (e.g. the left and the right, the wealthy and the needy, the rural and the urban population). Finally, the respondents were asked how much an increase and decrease of 250 euros to their income would affect their well-being.

Background variables included the respondent's gender, age, economic activity and education as well as household composition, ages of children living in the household, annual gross income of the household, municipality type, number of inhabitants in the municipality of residence, major region and region.

Keywords

child development; child poverty; child protection; children; families; parent responsibility; parental role; parents; social conflict; social inequality; social services

Topic Classification

• Social sciences (Fields of Science Classification)
• Equality, inequality and social exclusion (CESSDA Topic Classification)
• Family life and marriage (CESSDA Topic Classification)
• Social conditions and indicators (CESSDA Topic Classification)

Series

Individual datasets

Distributor

Finnish Social Science Data Archive

Access

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

Data Collector

• Taloustutkimus

Time Period Covered

2018

Collection Dates

2018-08-31 – 2018-09-21

Nation

Finland

Geographical Coverage

Finland

Analysis/Observation Unit Type

Individual

Universe

Finnish consumers aged 15-79 (excluding the Åland Islands)

Time Method

Cross-section

Sampling Procedure

Non-probability: Quota

The survey was conducted as a part of the Omnibus interviews by Taloustutkimus. The sample was formed through quota sampling with quotas based on age, gender, major region and municipality type distributions. The interviews were conducted in 82 municipalities (48 towns and 34 other municipalities) by 54 interviewers trained by Taloustutkimus.

Collection Mode

Face-to-face interview: Computer-assisted (CAPI/CAMI)

Research Instrument

Structured questionnaire

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: Finnish.

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

Data Version

1.0

Completeness of Data and Restrictions

The original ID variable and variables containing information on the respondents' provinces (bv26) and municipalities (bv21) of residence were removed from the data for privacy reasons. Variables on the size of the household (bv12_1) and the number of children (bv_10) were top-coded. There are no open-ended variables in the data.

Background variables surveying grocery shopping, household appliances, the use of internet and online services and housing type (bv7, bv14, bv17, bv18, bv23 and bv24) were removed from the data.

Weighting

There is a weight variable in the data that weights the data to represent the target population. Weighted Ns correspond to the Finnish population aged 15-79 in thousands (Official Statistics of Finland 31.12.2017).

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

Central Union for Child Welfare: Finnish Views on Inequality and Support for Families with Children 2018 [dataset]. Version 1.0 (2021-01-21). Finnish Social Science Data Archive [distributor]. https://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:fsd:T-FSD3415

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

Kosonen, Anne (2018). Lastensuojelun keskusliitto. Asennemittaus. Helsinki: Taloustutkimus Oy.

Related Publications

Lavikainen, Ville. (2019). Elinkustannukset vai elämänhallinta? Suomalaisten näkemyksiä eriarvoisuudesta sekä yhteiskunnan avusta ja jakolinjoista. Lastensuojelun Keskusliitto, Helsinki. ISBN 978-952-7002-36-0