FSD3854 Family Barometer 2018: Family Policy

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

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Study description in other languages

in Finnish

Related files

Questionnaire (PDF file, Finnish)

Study title

Family Barometer 2018: Family Policy

Dataset ID Number

FSD3854

Persistent identifiers

https://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:fsd:T-FSD3854
https://doi.org/10.60686/t-fsd3854

Data Type

Quantitative

Authors

Family Federation of Finland. Population Research Institute

Abstract

The 2018 Family Barometer charted the views of Finnish people on family policy, birth-related topics and social benefits for families. The study included themes such as family benefits, taxation, parenthood, acquiring children, and work-life balance. Many of the questions in this survey have also been presented in the 2010, 2014 and 2018 Family Barometers.

First, the survey asked about the respondent's life situation by asking, for example, how many children the respondent have. If the respondent had minor children, he or she was asked about their use of screen media. Respondents were also asked about their views on family benefits and services and the distribution of tax resources. Next, the respondent was asked about the ideal number of children. The respondent was also asked if he/she planned to have children or, alternatively, more children. If the respondent is not planning to have children, he/she was asked to what extent the various issues listed influence this decision. Respondents were also asked about their views on the level of child benefit, the duration of parental and childcare leave and the amount of childcare allowance. Next, the respondent was asked which issues influenced the decision to have the youngest child and which issues he/she had found particularly challenging in relation to the birth of the youngest child.

The next question asked whether the respondent had recently had to compromise on various personal or family expenses. The respondent was also asked about issues such as the limitation of subjective day care, how to promote parental leave for fathers and at what age the child is ready to go to care outside the home. Respondent was also asked to assess the reasons why more and more Finns are postponing having children or not having children at all. Finally, respondent was asked about views on proposed changes to family leave, taxation models and the success of the government in promoting the well-being of families and children in Finland.

Background variables included, among others, the respondent's gender, year of birth, number of children, region of residence, marital status, level of education, number of children and grandchildren, ages of children living in the household, number of persons in the household, gross annual personal and household income and occupational status.

Keywords

child care; child day care; childbirth; children; families; family benefits; family life; family planning; family policy; parental benefits; parental leave; parental role; parents; social security benefits; taxation

Topic Classification

Social sciences (Fields of Science Classification)
Social welfare policy (CESSDA Topic Classification)
Family life and marriage (CESSDA Topic Classification)
Reproductive health (CESSDA Topic Classification)

Series

Family Barometers

Distributor

Finnish Social Science Data Archive

Access

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

Data Collector

Kantar TNS Finland

Funders

Alli Paasikivi Foundation

Time Period Covered

2018

Collection Dates

2018-02-01 – 2018-02-28

Nation

Finland

Geographical Coverage

Finland

Analysis/Observation Unit Type

Individual

Universe

Persons aged 20-59 living in Finland (excluding the Åland Islands)

Time Method

Longitudinal: Trend/Repeated cross-section

Sampling Procedure

Non-probability

Kantar TNS Finland chose the respondents from their population panel that represents the population of Finland (excluding the Åland Islands) based on the demographic of Finland. The Internet panel covers around 50 000 households in mainland Finland. Data collection ended when the wanted amount of respondents was reached. Data collection was conducted with an online survey.

Collection Mode

Self-administered questionnaire: Web-based (CAWI)

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

To prevent identification of respondents, the open-ended variables and variable containing open-ended responses to the response option "Other, please specify” (K5b_Other, K19d, K20b, Q041) have been removed from the data at FSD. For the same reason, the number of minor children living in the household (K3c), the number of children (K4) and the number of persons living in the household (Yhousehold) were top-coded.

Weighting

There is a weight variable 'weight' in the data that weights the sample to match the target population in terms of age, gender and place of residence distributions.

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

Family Federation of Finland: Family Barometer 2018: Family Policy [dataset]. Version 1.0 (2024-11-05). Finnish Social Science Data Archive [distributor]. https://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:fsd:T-FSD3854

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

Kontula, Osmo (2018). 2020-luvun perhepolitiikkaa. Perhebarometri 2018. Väestöliitto, Väestöntutkimuslaitos. Katsauksia E52/2018.

Related Publications

Savelieva, Kateryna & Jokela, Markus & Rotkirch, Anna (2022). Reasons to Postpone Childbearing during Fertility Decline in Finland. Marriage & Family Review, 1-24. Doi: 10.1080/01494929.2022.2083283

Golovina K, Nitsche N, Berg V, Miettinen A, Rotkirch A, Jokela M (2023). Birth cohort changes in fertility ideals: Evidence from repeated cross-sectional surveys in Finland. European Sociological Review, jcad048. https://doi.org/10.1093/esr/jcad048

Lehtonen N., Sorsa, T. & Rotkirch A. (2023). Kaikki tykkää perheistä. Suomalaisten perhepoliittiset toiveet. Perhebarometri 2023. Väestöliitto, Väestöntutkimuslaitos, Katsauksia E58/2023.