Scottish Social Attitudes
The Scottish Social Attitudes (SSA) Survey is an annual survey that has been run since 1999 – this year marked its twentieth anniversary. It is a face-to-face survey that uses a random sample of all those aged over 16 and living anywhere in Scotland, so it provides a robust and reliable picture of changing attitudes over time.
This year 1,022 people took part from across Scotland.
A variety of subjects are covered on SSA, including attitudes towards government and public services, violence against women and girls, how households organise their finances and attitudes towards minimum unit pricing.
Key findings from this year’s Attitudes to government and political engagement report:
- 61% of people said they trusted the Scottish Government to work in Scotland’s best interests, compared with 15% who said they trusted the UK Government to do so
- Views were fairly evenly split on which government had the most influence over the way Scotland is run, with 40% saying that the Scottish Government did, and 42% saying the UK Government did
- More people thought the Scottish economy had grown weaker (42%) over the last 12 months than thought it had grown stronger (17%), while 28% thought it had stayed the same
- The majority of people were satisfied (65%) with how the NHS is running, while one-fifth (20%) were dissatisfied
- Asked to choose what they thought the Scottish Government’s priorities should be in 2019, the three priorities selected most often were: to help the economy to grow faster (23%), improve standards of education (18%), and improve people’s health (17%).
- A large majority thought it was important to vote in Scottish Parliament elections (94%), local council elections (91%) and UK Parliament elections (89%).
Latest reports
Findings from 2019
Attitudes to government and political engagement
Intra-household distribution of resources
Previous findings
Findings from 2017
Attitudes to dementia
Attitudes to government, the economy and public services
Technical report
Findings from 2016
From Indyref 1 to Indyref 2: The State of Nationalism in Scotland
Scottish Social Attitudes 2016 - Attitudes to government and political engagement
Scottish Social Attitudes Technical Report
Findings from 2015
Attitudes to discrimination and positive action
Attitudes to social networks, civic participation and co-production
Attitudes to the role of the Scottish Government presented in data tables.
A report on attitudes to Government, the National Health Service, the economy and standard of living
2014 findings
Attitudes to violence against women in Scotland
Public Attitudes to Dementia (download separate executive summary)
Public Attitudes to Sectarianism in Scotland
Has the Referendum Campaign Made a Difference?
Minding the gap – women’s views of independence in 2014
2013 findings
Attitudes to Mental Health in Scotland (download seperate executive summary)
Core module – attitudes to government, the economy, health and social care services, and social capital in Scotland
Attitudes towards alcohol in Scotland
Who will turn up and who will stay at home?
So where does Scotland stand on more devolution?
The score at half time: Trends in support for Independence
The Undecideds: Don't care or deeply conflicted?
Is it really all about economics? Issues of nationhood and welfare
To view the data for 2013 please visit WhatScotlandThinks.
You can view earlier reports by year and by topic by following the links below.
Funding
Scottish Social Attitudes is run by ScotCen Social Research and is made possible by the funding we receive from a variety of charitable and governmental sources each year.
Methodology
Every year, we ask 1,200-1,500 people to take part in Scottish Social Attitudes on the basis of random probability sampling.
This technique ensures that everyone has an equal chance of being picked to take part, so the results are representative of the Scottish population.
And because we repeat many of the same questions over time, we're able to identify real changes in people's social attitudes.