Country: United Kingdom

Study Design: Observational cohort with repeated measurements over time

Participant age range:​ 

• Children / adolescents at enrollment

• Early adulthood or midlife

• Aging adults

Number of participants at baseline: 10,300 (BHPS); 40,000 households (UKHLS)

Year of initial enrollment: 1980

Number of data collection waves: 18 (BHPS), 10 (UKHLS); data collection ongoing

Measures of well-being:

• Positive psychological well-being (overall / multidimensional)

• Positive affect

• Life satisfaction

• Subjective happiness

• Social support / integration / cohesion

• Prosocial behavior or attitudes (e.g., volunteering, helping others)

Quantity of well-being measures (e.g., number of constructs, number of times of well-being was assessed: High

Quality of well-being measures (e.g., were measures reliable and valid in the study population): High

Measures of physical health: ​

• Self-rated / questionnaire-based health

• Self-report medical history or medication use

• Measured anthropometrics, e.g., weight

• Biomarkers

• Genetics

• Linked medical records

• Adjudicated health outcomes

Access information:

This dataset is available to all researchers.

Researchers are required to submit an application to access this data. No fees are required to access this dataset.

Notable Citation: Tabassum F, Mohan J, & Smith P. (2016). Association of volunteering with mental well-being: a lifecourse analysis of a national population-based longitudinal study in the UK. BMJ Open, 6(8), e011327.