Household Panel Study Research Articles

The associations between poverty and social–emotional outcomes among children in Japan

AbstractThe current study examined the impacts of poverty on children’s socio-emotional outcomes among Japanese children. Children of 325 Japanese families were identified based on the Japan Household Panel Study and Japan Child Panel Survey. Poverty was examined in four non-linear income to needs ratio categories and the poverty status, poverty and non-poverty. Compared to children who were in the lowest income to needs ratios, children in the upper categories had less fewer behavioural problems. Children in poverty had significantly lower physical health, emotional well-being, self-esteem, family, friends and school relationship than those children not in poverty. Children’s time spent on academics and family support significantly affected children’s social outcomes. Child poverty and its adverse impacts on children’s mental health should be considered in the ecological framework that incorporates children, family, community and policy.This study examined the associations between poverty and socio-emotional developments among children in Japan. Children and parents of 325 Japanese families participated and provided data on the household poverty status and children’s socio-emotional outcomes. Children’s socio-emotional outcomes included in the study were behavioural difficulties (strength/weakness) reported by parents and social adaptability (six indicators on the quality of life) measured by children’s self-report. Findings indicated that poverty has significant adverse impacts on Japanese children’s mental health. The adverse impact of poverty became more prevalent as families’ income decreased. Among children living in poverty, self-reported mental health problems were significantly higher than those reported by parents. Other factors such as grade level (upper grade), less time spent on academics and a larger household size negatively affected mental health. Findings suggest for policy interventions with increased expenditures on income assistance programmes for families with children in Japan. In addition, social workers or other service providers in Japan should facilitate matching low-income families with children to available social service programmes. Poverty and its adverse impacts on children’s mental health should be considered in an ecological framework that incorporates children, family, community and policy.

2.F. Workshop: Informing COVID-19 responses with longitudinal studies: demonstrating harmonised data infrastructure

Abstract Longitudinal studies which have collected information from participants repeatedly over time have the potential to provide timely intelligence to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. The UK has a rich resource of population-based longitudinal studies, which have now collected information during the COVID-19 pandemic. These include multiple national birth cohort studies going back to 1946, the Understanding Society household panel study, ageing cohorts such as the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing and regional cohorts such as ALSPAC, Born in Bradford and Generation Scotland. The UK is therefore well placed to combine COVID-19 surveys with rich pre-pandemic information and provide timely insight into how the pandemic is affecting people with different backgrounds and circumstances. Similar longitudinal studies exist in many other European countries. In this workshop, we will illustrate the potential for collaborative approaches to analysing longitudinal datasets - an approach which could be applied elsewhere in Europe and indeed, across European countries. Four papers present important evidence on health inequalities during the COVID-19 pandemic, each addressing a single topic in up to a dozen longitudinal surveys. Results are meta-analysed showing findings overall and stratified by socio-demographic characteristics. This represents a collaborative effort under the Longitudinal Health and Wellbeing strand of the National Core Studies initiative in the UK: an important advance methodologically, in addition to the substantive value of the questions addressed. Co-ordinated analyses across multiple studies can act as replication for each other and/or differences in study designs and assumptions can be informative, e.g., by comparing findings in cohorts of respondents at different life-stages. While improving understanding of inequalities in the public health impacts of the pandemic, this effort is also building a strong foundation for future multi-study comparative research. This workshop will provide an example of some of the opportunities and practical challenges to conducting such research. Professors Tea Lallukka and Vittal Katikireddi will act as discussants and the potential for collaboration across European cohorts will be explored. Key messages Co-ordinated analysis of multiple UK longitudinal datasets to inform the COVID-19 response has been achieved and this approach could be extended across Europe. Existing health inequalities may be exacerbated during the pandemic as disadvantaged groups experience greater disruption.

Employment Loss in Informal Settlements during the Covid-19 Pandemic: Evidence from Chile.

The Covid-19 pandemic has reached almost every corner of the world. Despite the historical development, approval, and distribution of vaccines in some countries, non-pharmaceutical interventions will remain an essential strategy to control the pandemic until a substantial proportion of the population has immunity. There is increasing evidence of the devastating social and economic effects of the pandemic, particularly on vulnerable communities. Individuals living in urban informal settlements are in a structurally disadvantaged position to cope with a health crisis such as the Covid-19 pandemic. Estimates of this impact are needed to inform and prioritize policy decisions and actions. We study employment loss in informal settlements before and during the Covid-19 pandemic in Chile, using a longitudinal panel study of households living in Chile’s informal settlements before and during the health crisis. We show that before the pandemic, 75% of respondents reported being employed. There is a decrease of 30 and 40 percentage points in May and September 2020, respectively. We show that the employment loss is substantially higher for individuals in informal settlements than for the general population and has particularly affected the immigrant population. We also show that the pandemic has triggered neighborhood cooperation within the settlements and that targeted government assistance programs have reached these communities in a limited way. Our results suggest that individuals living in informal settlements are facing severe hardship as a consequence of the pandemic. In addition to providing much-needed support, this crisis presents a unique opportunity for long-term improvements in these marginalized communities.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11524-021-00575-6.

The Changing Impact of Family Background on Political Engagement During Adolescence and Early Adulthood

Abstract This paper examines the development of the impact of family background on young people’s political engagement during adolescence and early adulthood in order to test a number of hypotheses derived from the impressionable years and family socialization perspectives. The study analyses data of the British Household Panel Study and Understanding Society to assess these hypotheses. Political interest and voting intentions are used as outcomes of political engagement. The study finds parental education to have no effect on initial levels of these outcomes at age 11 but to be positively related to the change in these outcomes between ages 11 and 15. This indicates that the effect of parental education becomes stronger over time and that social disparities in political engagement are widening significantly during early adolescence. In contrast, parental political engagement is positively related to initial levels of voting intentions at age 11 but not related to the change in voting intentions between ages 11 and 15, which supports the hypothesis drawn from the family socialization perspective. Neither parental education nor parental political engagement are related to post-16 changes in political engagement. These results point to early adolescence as a crucial period for the manifestation of social inequalities in political engagement. They provisionally suggest that the influence of parental education runs through educational conditions in lower secondary and that these conditions could play an important role in amplifying the said inequalities.

Welfare within Families beyond Households: Intergenerational Exchanges of Practical and Financial Support in the UK

Families extend well beyond households. In particular, connections between parents and their adult offspring are often close and sustained, and transfers may include financial assistance, practical support, or both, provided by either generation to the other. Yet this major engine of welfare production, distribution, and redistribution has only recently become the focus of research. Who are the beneficiaries and to what extent are the patterns of exchange socially stratified? This article discusses findings from a programme of research analysing data from two nationally representative longitudinal studies, the British Household Panel Study and its successor Understanding Society, which record help given by, and received by, respondents through exchanges with their non-coresident parents and offspring in the UK. Some families exhibit a high tendency to provide mutual support between generations; these tendencies persist over time. Financial and practical support are generally complementary rather than substitutes. Longer travel time between parents and their offspring makes the provision of practical help less likely, whilst social class, social mobility, and ethnicity exhibit complex patterns of association with intergenerational exchanges. The resulting conclusion is that exchanges within families are an important complement to formal welfare institutions in the UK and that social policies should be designed to work with the grain of existing patterns of exchange, enabling family members to continue to provide help to one another, but ensuring that those who are less well supported by intergenerational assistance can access effective social protection.

Disability, Loneliness and Health in the UK: cross-sectional survey.

Research has suggested that exposure to loneliness can have a powerful detrimental impact on health, including mental health. Addressing socially determined health inequity requires understanding of the situation of marginalized or vulnerable groups. People with disability are increasingly being recognized as one such group. Little population-based research has addressed the association between loneliness and health among working age adults with and without disability. Secondary analysis of data collected in waves 8 and 9 of Understanding Society, the UK's main annual household panel study. Rates of exposure to substantial loneliness were 25.4% (95%CI 23.5-27.3%) among adults with persistent disability (disability at W8 and W9), 15.4% (13.3-17.5%) among adults with disability onset (disability at W9 only), 12.3% (10.1-14.5%) among adults with disability offset (disability at W8 only), and 6.9% (6.5-7.3%) among adults with no disability. Exposure to loneliness was positively associated with the incidence (GHQ-12) and prevalence (SF-12 Mental) of mental health problems, but not the prevalence of physical health problems (SF-12 Physical). Disability status appeared to moderate the association between loneliness and health, with the difference between the persistent disability and no disability group increasing with exposure to greater levels of loneliness. Loneliness may be an important determinant of the poorer mental health of working age adults with disability in the UK. Exposure rates are significantly higher than among the non-disabled population. The strength of association between exposure to loneliness and poorer mental health is greater for people with persistent disability than people with no disability.

An Algorithm a Day Keeps the Doctor Away? A Survey Among the General Population and Their View on AI in Medicine

Background: The purpose of this study was to investigate the general population’s view on AI in medicine with specific emphasis on three areas that have experienced major progresses in AI research in the past few years, namely radiology, robotic surgery and dermatology. We hypothesized, based on optimistic views posed in the media about AI in medicine, that the general population would have higher levels of trust than distrust of AI in medicine. Methods: For this prospective study the April 2020 online LISS (Longitudinal Internet Studies for the Social sciences) Panel wave was used. The LISS panel is a nationally representative household panel study for people aged 16 and above in the Netherlands. Oof 3,117 LISS panel members contacted, 2,411 completed the full questionnaire (77.4% response rate), and due to combining data form earlier waves, the final sample size was 1909 respondents. Measurement of five-point attitude scales and predictor variables were included. Three scales focusing on trust in implementation of AI in radiology, robotic surgery, and dermatology were used. Level of education, immigration background, and health care utilization were included as potential predictor variables. Repeated measures Anova and Manova were used to allow comparison of the three scales and differences in different predictor variables in one analysis. All p-tests were 2-tailed and considered significant if <0.05. Findings: The overall means show that respondents have slightly more trust in AI in dermatology (M=2.90, SD = 0.73, 95% confidence interval 2.86 to 2.93) than in radiology (M=2.82, SD = 0.66, F376,66 p <0.001) and especially surgery (M=2.75, SD = 0.73 F381,74 p <0.001). The means show that males, higher educated persons, those who are employed or student, respondents with a Western background and those who were not admitted to a hospital in the past 12 months have more trust in AI than female, lower educated persons, and those with a non-Western immigration background. Trust in AI in radiology, robotic surgery and dermatology is negatively associated (r= -.610, -.594, and -556 respectively) with distrust and accountability in AI (η2 = 164) and a positively associated (r= .531, .523, and .564 respectively) with belief in efficiency of AI (η2 = 0.200). Interpretation: Unlike overall optimistic views posed in the media about AI in medicine, the general population is more distrustful of AI in medicine. The level of trust is dependent on what medical area is subject of scrutiny. Demographic characteristics and a general positive view on AI and efficiency, are significantly associated with higher levels of trust in AI. Funding: This research is part of a project funded by a grant of the Open Data Infrastructure for Social Science and Economic Innovations (ODISSEI) in the Netherlands. Declaration of Interest: None to declare. Ethical Approval: Ethical approval for the procedures in the LISS Panel was given by the board of overseers (https://www.lissdata.nl/organization/board-overseers).

Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Exposure, Industry Sector, and Child Health

The historic 2010 BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill (DHOS) led to public distress regarding potential impacts on children in nearby Gulf Coast communities. Using a community-based South Louisiana panel study of households with children, we examined the effect of fishing industry employment on changes in a subjective measure of general child health and whether economic and physical DHOS exposures played a mediating role. Fishing industry employment had a negative effect on child health compared to other industries. Economic exposure and physical exposure both mediated the effects of the fishing industry on child health, with economic exposure mediating a larger share (49.3%) of the relationship compared to physical exposure (40.5%). The importance of economic oil spill exposure in these findings highlights the significance of social determinants of health at the intersection of disasters and child vulnerability.

Testing the social investment principle around childbirth: little evidence for personality maturation before and after becoming a parent

In line with the social investment principle, becoming a parent should lead to more mature behaviour and an increase in conscientiousness, agreeableness, and emotional stability. However, previous research provided mixed results that do not support this idea. Here, we used data from a nationally representative household panel study from Germany ( N = 19875) to examine whether becoming a parent relates to personality maturation. Whether a child was born was assessed yearly, and the Big Five personality traits were measured in four waves from 2005 to 2017. We used multilevel analyses to investigate whether personality differs between individuals who will or will not become parents, whether personality differs before and after becoming a parent, and whether these effects vary by gender, age, and living status. In sum, our findings revealed that less open and more extraverted individuals were more likely to start a family, and openness and extraversion both decreased after the transition to parenthood. Some other effects varied by gender, age, and living status. Taken together, our findings suggest that the Big Five personality traits differ before and across the transition to parenthood and that these differences especially apply to openness and extraversion.

Understanding Society at 10 Years

AbstractUnderstanding Society: The UK Household Longitudinal Study (UKHLS) has now been collecting a range of data from its nationally representative sample of participants for 10 years. This significant ‘birthday’ offers a moment to reflect on its contribution to sociological research, and on its current and future potential for fundamental and cutting-edge sociological analysis. While the study shares many features with other longer-standing household panel studies, including its direct predecessor the British Household Panel Survey (BHPS), it incorporated from the outset distinctive features that make it particularly valuable for analysis in specific fields, including biosocial research, ethnicity and migration studies, and analyses of the interplay between environmental, social and institutional contexts and individual characteristics. Understanding Society has incorporated methodological development and innovation since its inception, which has facilitated more extensive forms of data collection.

Taking the ups and downs at the rollercoaster of love: Associations between major life events in the domain of romantic relationships and the Big Five personality traits.

Personality predicts how we interact with others, what partners we have, and how happy and lasting our romantic relationships are. At the same time, our experiences in these relationships may affect our personality. Who experiences specific major relationship events, and how do these events relate to personality development? We examined this issue based on data from a nationally representative household panel study from Germany (N = 49,932). In this study, the occurrence of major relationship events (moving in with a partner, marriage, separation, and divorce) was assessed yearly, and the Big Five personality traits were measured repeatedly in 2005, 2009, 2013, and 2017 with the short version of the Big Five Inventory. We applied multilevel analyses to simultaneously model selection effects as well as different types of personality changes in the years before and after these events in the total sample and separately in women and men. Our findings revealed that less agreeable individuals were more likely to experience each of the examined relationship events. Moreover, each event was associated with personality changes, which only occurred after (not before) these events and considerably varied by event and gender. Individuals who moved in with a partner, got married, or separated from a partner primarily experienced changes in openness in the first year thereafter, and individuals who separated from a partner or got divorced became less emotionally stable in the following years. However, there was little evidence for "maturation" effects, except that individuals who moved in with a partner (especially men) became more conscientious in the following years. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Social construction of house size expectations: testing the positional good theory and aspiration spiral theory using UK and German panel data

ABSTRACT This paper examines the social construction of house size expectations in two national panel datasets: German Socio Economic Panel Study (GSOEP) and the British Household Panel Study (BHPS). More specifically, it tests the aspiration spiral theory and positional good theory using data on housing/life satisfaction and house size judgements. In both countries, it finds substantial evidence that the current space expectations of individuals who have ‘upsized’ depends on the level of living space they experienced in the past year. For downsizers, however, the evidence in support of the aspiration spiral theory is weaker. In terms of the positional good theory, this paper finds no consistent evidence that an individual’s space expectations are influenced by those around them. In both countries, the paper tests for two reference groups – the average level of living space in the region, and the mean size of the largest decile of houses in the region – and neither are found to be significant.

Effects on mental health of a UK welfare reform, Universal Credit: a longitudinal controlled study

SummaryBackgroundUniversal Credit, a welfare benefit reform in the UK, began to replace six existing benefit schemes in April, 2013, starting with the income-based Job Seekers Allowance. We aimed to determine the effects on mental health of the introduction of Universal Credit.MethodsIn this longitudinal controlled study, we linked 197 111 observations from 52 187 individuals of working age (16–64 years) in England, Wales, and Scotland who participated in the Understanding Society UK Longitudinal Household Panel Study between 2009 and 2018 with administrative data on the month when Universal Credit was introduced into the area in which each respondent lived. We included participants who had data on employment status, local authority area of residence, psychological distress, and confounding variables. We excluded individuals from Northern Ireland and people out of work with a disability. We used difference-in-differences analysis of this nationally representative, longitudinal, household survey and separated respondents into two groups: unemployed people who were eligible for Universal Credit (intervention group) and people who were not unemployed and therefore would not have generally been eligible for Universal Credit (comparison group). Using the phased roll-out of Universal Credit, we compared the change in psychological distress (self-reported via General Health Questionnaire-12) between the intervention group and the comparison group over time as the reform was introduced in the area in which each respondent lived. We defined clinically significant psychological distress as a score of greater than 3 on the General Health Questionnaire-12. We tested whether there were differential effects across subgroups (age, sex, and education).FindingsThe prevalence of psychological distress increased in the intervention group by 6·57 percentage points (95% CI 1·69–11·42) after the introduction of Universal Credit relative to the comparison group, after accounting for potential confounders. We estimate that between April 29, 2013, and Dec 31, 2018, an additional 63 674 (95% CI 10 042–117 307) unemployed people will have experienced levels of psychological distress that are clinically significant due to the introduction of Universal Credit; 21 760 of these individuals might reach the diagnostic threshold for depression.InterpretationOur findings suggest that the introduction of Universal Credit led to an increase in psychological distress, a measure of mental health difficulties, among those affected by the policy. Future changes to government welfare systems should be evaluated not only on a fiscal basis but on their potential to affect health and wellbeing.FundingWellcome Trust, UK National Institute for Health Research, and Medical Research Council.

Measuring geographic mobility: Comparison of estimates from longitudinal and cross-sectional data

Attrition of sample members from a longitudinal survey can undermine the quality of the data and its research potential, especially when the sample members who drop out are different from those who do not. People who move house are more likely to drop out of the survey as they are harder to locate, and once located, may be harder to interview in the remaining fieldwork time available. Moving coincides with many other life events (such as changes in marital status, the birth of a child, buying a home, changes in employment, or retirement) and if movers are not adequately interviewed, this may result in the study under-representing these changes and the events that occur after a move. This paper examines the weighted estimates of the rate of moving by age in a long running household panel study, the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) Survey, compared to official cross-sectional data sources and probabilistically linked Census data. Geographic mobility is examined over one-, five- and 10-year periods. Some of the differences that occur in the mobility estimates is a result of item non-response or recall error in the cross-sectional sources but little evidence is found of the differential impact of attrition in the HILDA Survey. There is, however, some indication that the longitudinal survey data may underrepresent long distance moves. Other differences between the data sources are investigated by fitting logistic regression models of mobility to estimate the effect of housing tenure and education levels over the life course. These models show similar overall trends, but there is some evidence of differential effects for renters with lower education levels which may be due, at least in part, to the differential role recall error plays in these measures. Overall, these findings reassure longitudinal data users of the quality of geographic mobility estimates from the HILDA Survey and encourage similar comparisons to be made for other longitudinal data sources.

Educational Pathways and their Role in Occupational and Class Attainment in Czech Society

This article introduces a new approach to the study of the association between education and socio-economic outcomes in the Czech Republic: educational pathways, which are the primary channels of study involving at least two educational transitions with qualitatively different tracks. Based on Czech Household Panel Study data, I operationalise Czech educational pathways between secondary and tertiary education and examine the role of eight different educational paths on ESeC-derived social classes, contrasted by parental education, gender, and birth cohort. Based on the ordered logit model, I compute the predicted probability that specific educational pathways would lead to a specific class status. I find that the educational pathway approach yields distinct insights about the education-class link that would be masked had I studied only highest level of education attained. The educational pathway approach could, therefore, be a fruitful way to approach other areas of Czech social stratification research.

The economic benefits of volunteering and social class

A theory that the economic benefits of volunteering are contingent on social class (as defined by similarities in labour market situation) is tested using seven waves of longitudinal data from the British Household Panel Study gathered between 1996 and 2008 and fixed-effects models. Volunteering has a positive effect on earnings, but it is confined to people in professional and managerial occupations. Employees in white and blue collar jobs do not benefit. The study suggests that inconsistent results from previous studies might be due to failure to consider occupational heterogeneity among volunteers.

A new family equilibrium? Changing dynamics between the gender division of labor and fertility in Great Britain, 1991–2017

Background: There has recently been a heated debate about the relationship between gender equality and fertility. The macro-level relationship between female labor force participation and fertility has changed from negative to positive. At the micro level, a traditional gender role setting between spouses is still largely considered to be conducive to fertility. Objective: How has the relationship between the couple-level gender division of labor and fertility changed over the last 26 years in Great Britain? Methods: Data is from the harmonized Understanding Society and the British Household Panel Study. We first identify different levels of traditionalism in the division of labor by using latent class analysis. We then employ couple-level fixed-effect logistic regressions to analyze the reciprocal relationship between the gender division of labor and fertility. Results: From 1991 to 2017, the positive, reciprocal association between the traditional division of labor and fertility has been significantly weakening over time. Couples are less likely to adopt the male-breadwinner model when they have more children, and couples who adopt the male-breadwinner model are no longer more likely to have a new child from 2009 onward. Contribution: We take both spouses’ market work and domestic work and their combinations into account to measure the gender division of labor. This measurement and the use of fixed-effect regressions enable a comprehensive and rigorous evaluation of the micro-level relationship between the division of labor and fertility. The time-varying association between the gendered division of labor and fertility provides important evidence of a changing family equilibrium in Britain. Egalitarian gender roles within a family are no longer a barrier to fertility.

Religious service attendance, health behaviors and well-being-an outcome-wide longitudinal analysis.

Previous studies of relationship between religiosity, health behaviors and well-being have showed mainly positive relationships, however, are very often limited to results of associative nature and subject to unmeasured confounding. This study focused on evaluating evidence for a positive association between religious service attendance (RSA), health behaviors and well-being in a longitudinal setting and robustness of these associations to unmeasured confounding. Three waves (2009, 2011 and 2015) of the biennial longitudinal Polish household panel study with response from 6400 respondents were analyzed. Evidence for a positive and robust association between RSA and outcome variables was evaluated using outcome-wide regression analysis with control of all variables temporally prior to the exposure and sensitivity measures (E-values) to give information on the extent to which an unmeasured confounder would need to be associated with both the exposure and the outcomes. RSA is associated with reduced risk of unhealthy behaviors (smoking, alcohol use) and higher emotional well-being. These relationships are robust to substantial unmeasured confounding and difficult to explain by reference to other, unknown, variables. Evidence for a positive relationship between RSA and other well-being variables (social, physical) was less clear. Religiosity may play an important role in public health, particularly in prevention of non-communicable diseases. The strong and robust associations between RSA and some health behaviors (i.e. tobacco use, alcohol abuse) and emotional well-being should arguably be taken into account in health education, health promotion programs, health prevention policy and psychotherapeutic approaches, particularly in more religious populations.

Gender-specific effects of commuting and relocation on a couple's social life

Background: This contribution analyzes gender-specific effects of long-distance commuting and residential relocation on the social integration of couples. Research on geographical mobility in the partnership context focused very much on gender differences of regional mobility with respect to labor market outcomes and economic success. The effects of regional mobility and their possibly gendered impact on social networks and the social integration of households have been understudied. However, one would expect that regional mobility imposes severe temporal and geographical restrictions on the formation and upholding of social relationships. Moreover, these restrictions can be assumed to differ by gender due to differential involvement of women and men in market and domestic care work, which also present different opportunities and constraints for maintaining and forming social contacts. Objective: Against this background we analyze the effects of internal migration and job-related commuting on couples’ social relationships. Methods: The analysis is based on the British Household Panel Study (BHPS) waves 1997–2008. We first give extensive descriptive overview on the social structure of mobile couples and the amount and perceived quality of social contacts men and women maintain. Second the effects on quality (i.e., the satisfaction with one’s social life) are analyzed within a panel fixed-effects framework. Results: Results indicate that regional mobility affects women more than men. In particular women who move for her partner’s job prospects suffer losses in perceived quality of social life. Female commuters are dissatisfied if they have low qualification and are only weakly integrated in the labor market. Among male commuters time restrictions due to high workload are detrimental to their social life. Contribution: This contribution gives new insights on gender-specific dynamics of commuting and relocation and their gendered impact on social integration.

Modeling within-household associations in household panel studies

Household panel data provide valuable information about the extent of similarity in coresidents’ attitudes and behaviours. However, existing analysis approaches do not allow for the complex association structures that arise due to changes in household composition over time. We propose a flexible marginal modeling approach where the changing correlation structure between individuals is modeled directly and the parameters estimated using second-order generalized estimating equations (GEE2). A key component of our correlation model specification is the “superhousehold”, a form of social network in which pairs of observations from different individuals are connected (directly or indirectly) by coresidence. These superhouseholds partition observations into clusters with nonstandard and highly variable correlation structures. We thus conduct a simulation study to evaluate the accuracy and stability of GEE2 for these models. Our approach is then applied in an analysis of individuals’ attitudes towards gender roles using British Household Panel Survey data. We find strong evidence of between-individual correlation before, during and after coresidence, with large differences among spouses, parent–child, other family, and unrelated pairs. Our results suggest that these dependencies are due to a combination of nonrandom sorting and causal effects of coresidence.