Scottish Social Attitudes Survey 2017: attitudes data

Introduction

The Scottish Social Attitudes ( SSA) Survey has been conducted annually by the independent research organisation ScotCen since the advent of devolution in 1999 (with the exception of 2008). It is based on face-to-face interviews with between 1,200 to 1,700 people in Scotland drawn using probability sampling.

The SSA interviews in 2017 took place between July 2017 and February 2018. The sample size in 2017 was 1,234. This survey provides an important source of data on attitudes to government, the economy and public services over this period.

This report presents the findings of the Scottish Government funded questions in the SSA 2017, covering:

• trust in government
• perceptions of government influence over how Scotland is run
• views on the effects of the Scottish Parliament
• importance of voting
• attitudes to the economy, living standards and the National Health Service

We explored whether attitudes and experiences varied by social groups. Details of the statistical tests conducted and the full list of variables tested are presented in Annex A. Findings from the 2016 survey are available online. ^[1]

This report was produced by professionally independent statisticians in the Office of the Chief Statistician and Strategic Analysis, in line with the UK Statistics Authority's Code of Practice for Official Statistics. ^[2]

From 1999 to 2015, the survey was conducted with adults aged 18 or over. For the first time in 2016, the age range for the survey was extended to include 16 and 17 year olds to reflect the lowering of the age limit for voting in Scottish elections. Details of the survey methodology are provided in the Technical Annex published alongside this report. ^[3]