€4.2M of funding has been made available to European researchers, with the aim of increasing healthy life expectancy by two years within the European Union by 2020.

Parents struggling to combine paid work with bringing up their children now have some positive news thanks to a new study funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) on maternal employment and child socio-emotional behaviour in the UK

Following the victory of the Scottish National Party (SNP) in the recent Scottish elections on May 5, a unique in-depth survey of the entire SNP membership conducted throughout 2008, funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), reveals a range of views on Scotland’s constitutional status.

A new study suggests young people with a serious genetic blood disorder are not getting the right help at school, especially pupils who miss lessons due to sickness.

People who have a long term debilitating physical illness demonstrate mental resilience according to Understanding Society. The first findings reveal that people diagnosed with cancer, diabetes, respiratory or cardiovascular disease report similar mental health scores to those without physical illness.

A new study has brought into focus how policymakers and health providers can take into account variations in lifestyle among different ethnic groups.

The Understanding Society/BHPS Conference 2011 conference brings together researchers from all over the world to present and discuss a variety of research, using data primarily from two of Britain’s most comprehensive household longitudinal studies.

The regulation of personal data varies hugely across countries and sectors, research funded by the ESRC reveals. Privacy regulations in the UK, the United States, Germany, and Sweden is highly dependent on local context and institutional arrangements in each country.

The ESRC-funded research study 'Changing Lives and Times' has explored the impact of the financial crisis on the daily lives and future plans of new fathers, finding that several men were making significant life changes.

For the first time researchers from South Africa and China will be working together on a joint data project with UK social scientists, using existing data to answer global issues facing all three countries.