What makes a good life? Lessons from a longitudinal study

Last Updated on July 6, 2018 by

The Harvard Study of Adult Development may be the longest continuous longitudinal study in the world.

For 75 years it has tracked the lives 724 men, year after year asking them about the their health, their home-life and the their work, with around 50 of the original participants still alive, now in their 80s, and continuing to study their more than 2000 children.

Since 1935 they studied two groups of men: one group from Harvard University and another groups from the poorest sectors of Boston, who typically lived in Tenements in the 1930s.

On of the key findings is that being in close relationships is the best predictor of leading a long, happy, health, life.

The findings of the study are many varied, but the video above outlines some of the most interesting which are relevant to the families and households modules in A-level sociology.

Key Findings from the Harvard Study

The lessons are not about fame, or wealth, or working harder and harder, the clearest message of this 75 year study is that it’s mainly good relationships which keep us happy and healthier.

Firstly, social connections are really good for us and loneliness kills: those people who are more socially connected to family, friends and family are happier, physically healthier, and they live longer than those who are less well connected. People who are more socially isolated than they want to be are less happy, their health declines earlier in mid-life, as does their brain function, and they die younger.

The sad fact is that at any given time, 1 in 5 Americans will report that they are lonely.

Secondly, it’s the quality of the relationships you have that matter, not the type of relationship or the number of relationships, it’s the quality of your close relationships that matters most. Healthy longevity is not (surprisingly?) associated with being in a committed relationship, or having lots of friends,

In fact, being in a ‘toxic relationship’ where you’re constantly facing conflict is perhaps worse for your health than getting divorced! And living in the midst of warm relationships is protective of health.

The level of satisfaction with one’s relationship at age 50 is a better predictor than cholesterol levels of being in good physical and mental health at the 80: those who were most satisfied in their relationships at age 50 were the ones most likely to go to become healthy octogenarians.

Good close relationships also seem to buffer us from physical problems related to ageing: those who experienced physical pain in their 80s reported better mood levels if they were in good quality relationships.

A third lesson is that good relationships don’t just protect our bodies, they protect our brains. People in close relationships have sharper memories, and vice versa for those experiencing

A couple of qualifications

Being in a ‘good relationship’ doesn’t mean couples don’t argue and bicker, that’s just part of any relationship!

All of the above only applies to people who want relationships.

Just for emphasis – in the above study, a ‘good relationship’ doesn’t exclusively mean being in a committed long term relationship with one person: it might mean having close friends.

Relevance to A-level sociology

This is great material to evaluate various aspects of the families and households module.

You could also use it to criticise the obsession some of us have with gaining followers on social media…. judging by this study, this doesn’t seem like such a good way to achieve health, happiness and longevity.

A-Level Sociology is Becoming Increasingly Popular!

Last Updated on July 5, 2018 by Karl Thompson

There’s been a 16% increase in A-Level Sociology Exam Entries between the 4 years 2014-2018, according to the latest data on GCSE, AS and A-level entries from Ofqual.

A level entries 2014 to 2018

Here’s a print version of the stats in case the above isn’t that legible! (If it’s not, I might try and sort it out laters!).

how many students study A-level sociology

 

What’s particularly encouraging about this is that this in the context of declining numbers of 17-18 year olds in the corresponding birth years stretching from 1996-2000, and the corresponding decrease in overall A-level entries.

It’s also interesting to note that more traditional subjects such as History and English are losing out to ‘newer’ more critical subjects such as Sociology. Psychology also saw a similar trend.

Just a quick one today!

 

An Introductory Session for A-Level Sociology

A brief outline of how I introduce A-level sociology to students unfamiliar with the subject…

Last Updated on July 4, 2018 by Karl Thompson

A-level sociology is a new subject for most students as the vast majority have not studied it as a GCSE option. This means that most colleges and schools offering the subject will need to run some kind of ‘information session’ covering what A-level sociology is all about.

Below is an outline of the 25-30 minute ‘information session’ which I’ve used to introduce sociology to students for the last several years.

NB despite the fact that there’s a little ‘warm up quiz’ at the beginning, this isn’t a ‘teaching session’, or a ‘taster session’, these come before and after, this is more of a ‘here’s the information about the subject to get it clear in your head whether you’re choosing the right course for you’ session. 

  1. Intro Quiz

The questions have been selected to cover some of the topics we teach, I simply hand out a sheet with a few ‘pop questions’ – and it gets students talking to each other, and allows time for late-comers (if your ‘intro day’ is anything like my college’s quite a few students’ previous sessions overrun, or they get lost en route, so there’s lateness.

Sociology quiz.png

A section of the ‘pop questions’ I use…

  1. What is the current population of the United Kingdom?
  2. What percentages of marriages end in divorce in the UK?
  3. What percentage of children achieved 5 GCSEs grades A-C last year?
  4. Is the crime rate in Britain going up or down?
  5. In 1993 there were roughly 45 000 people in jail, what is the prison population today?

There’s actually eight questions in total, see the Word doc below for the full, and modifiable version!

2. Answers to intro quiz – on ppt

I Q and A through the answers, sometimes doing the old ‘hands up if you think crime is going down’ technique – which works great for that particular question when you get to congratulate the one or two people who got the ‘right answer’.

intro sociology quiz answers.png

This can actually take up to 15 minutes, as there’s plenty of scope to use Q and A to tease out most of the main themes in the A level sociology specification…. E.G. how do we actually know how many people are in the UK, where does the data come from? (At which point you get to smugly say ‘OK and where does Google get the information from’)

3. Lightening speed run through of the options we do 

A-level sociology content.png

NB – I’ve actually got further slides covering some of the main questions under most of the above headings, except methods, I’m supposed to be selling the subject at this stage!

4. Lip service mention of the skills required for A-level sociology

Skills for A-level sociology.png

NB – I could add on a slide about ‘careers’, but frankly, I was never worried about this when I chose my degree let alone my A-levels (although in my state grammar school as a non-science students I was pretty much limited to English Literature, Economics and History), and so I say give the kids a break!

And that, my friends is that!

Resources (gift to teachers, modify as you wish!)