New data offers unparalleled insight into pivotal moments of millennials’ lives

The new data release includes information collected from more than 7,200 study participants. It provides valuable up-to-date insights into the diverse lives of the millennial generation and their experiences of a pandemic and cost-of-living crisis.

Next Steps is the only national cohort study of millennials. Since 2004, the study has followed the lives of around 16,000 people born in 1989-90 who attended school in England. The UCL Centre for Longitudinal Studies (CLS) - based at IOE, Faculty of Education and Society and leader of multiple nationally representative cohort studies - took over management of the Next Steps study at the previous data sweep when participants were aged 25.  

The Next Steps Age 32 Sweep took place between April 2022 and September 2023. Study participants were first invited to take part online, with face-to-face, video and telephone interviews offered through follow-up. Survey fieldwork was conducted by Ipsos.

During the Age 32 Sweep, study participants were asked questions covering various aspects of their lives, including their: 

• household relationships, family and children 
• housing 
• employment situation 
• finances 
• education 
• physical health and health behaviours 
• mental health and wellbeing 
• identity 
• social and political attitudes. 

What’s new at age 32? 

Over the years, Next Steps has continued to build a picture of participants’ lives by collecting the same important information about them at each survey. They’ve also been asked to answer new questions appropriate to their stage of life. 

In this latest survey, at age 32, participants answered a series of questions to assess their resilience, and completed a personality questionnaire, measuring their extroversion, agreeableness, openness, conscientiousness, and neuroticism.

For the first time in Next Steps, participants completed a short cognitive assessment to measure their working memory and concentration. They were also asked to complete a task to assess their financial literacy on topics such as inflation and interest. 

In addition, participants provided information about any adverse experiences they may have faced during childhood, such as parental divorce and domestic violence, experiences of homelessness, family financial difficulties and health problems. 

Biosamples and data linkage 

At age 32, Next Steps participants were asked for the first time to provide a saliva sample from which DNA has now been extracted and genotyped. The data will soon be available for genetic research. 

If they had not already given consent during the Age 25 Sweep, participants were also asked for consent for data held by various government departments and agencies, about their health, education, employment and earnings and criminal behaviour, to be linked to their survey information. 

Linking objective administrative data to survey records can expand the scope of research on various key social issues and also help to fill in any gaps in the data provided by the participants themselves.

Dr Morag Henderson is the director of Next Steps and is Professor of Sociology at IOE. Dr Henderson said:  

“I am excited to announce the release of the latest data from the Next Steps study. With the study having already had a major influence on government policy, these new data will allow researchers to generate up-to-date evidence on a wide range of important social issues. 

“Pathways to adulthood are varied and complex for this generation. Rather than making straightforward transitions from education to work, and to independent living and family formation, this generation of adults tend to move between education and work, and between living at home and independently, and they may delay family formation. It will be interesting to see whether this group are reaching these milestones as quickly as previous generations. 

“The millennials also entered employment during the global financial crisis, with many of them experiencing precarious working conditions during their 20s. More recently they have navigated Covid and are now in a cost-of-living crisis. After such an uncertain start to their adult lives, these new data will provide vital new insights about how this generation have coped with these stresses and economic shocks in their early thirties.” 

How to access the data 

Most of the Age 32 Sweep data are available from the UK Data Service under an end user licence agreement, with selected sensitive data available under secure access arrangements: 

• Data available under end user licence. 
• Data available under secure access. 

Further information 

Detailed information on the Age 32 Sweep, including the introductory four-part webinar and user guide is available on the Next Steps Age 32 Sweep webpage. 

The Age 32 Sweep was funded by the Economic and Social Research Council. 

Related links 

• Next Steps 
• Centre for Longitudinal Studies 
• Dr Morag Henderson’s UCL profile 

Media enquiries 

Ryan Bradshaw, Senior Communications Officer
Phone: 020 7612 6516 
Email: r.bradshaw@ucl.ac.uk

Image

Mediteraneo via Adobe Stock.