Field: Disability within the Family

Description

Disability within the individual's family, as reported by FRS respondents, where:

• the definition of an individual's disability has changed over time (see Quality Statement below).
• a family is defined as a single adult or a married or cohabiting couple and any dependent children (see Family Type for more information).

A different category, Disability mix within the Family, defines the mix of disabled adults and children in the family. An additional category, Disabled Children in the Family is also available.

Classification

Applicable to: All Individuals.

• Individuals in families where no-one is disabled.
• Individuals in families where someone is disabled.
• Not available (before 1995/96).

Number of categories: 3

Quality Statement

Information on disability status is not available for 1994/95. From 2012/13, disabled people are identified as those who report any physical or mental health condition(s) or illness(es) that last or are expected to last 12 months or more, and which limit their ability to carry out day-to-day activities a little, or a lot. Caution should be exercised when making comparisons with reports prior to 2012/13. The basis of identifying people with a disability over time is:

• 1994/95: Data is not available.
• 1995/96 - 2001/02: Individuals who reported having a long-standing limiting illness.
• 2002/03 - 2003/04: Individuals who reported substantial difficulties across eight areas of life.
• 2004/05 - 2011/12: Individuals who reported substantial difficulties across nine areas of life.
• 2012/13 onwards: Individuals who reported any physical or mental health condition(s) or illness(es) that last or are expected to last 12 months or more, and which limit their ability to carry out day-to-day activities a little, or a lot (the FRS disability questions were revised to reflect new harmonised standards).

Comparisons over time should be made with caution, as they may be affected by the change in the definition of disability and individuals might have different interpretations of particular health conditions or FRS question wording.

Further information can be found in the FRS Background Note and Methodology here and in the HBAI Quality and Methodology Report here.

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