General Social Survey - Family
Networks
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Datasets
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Variables
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The two primary objectives of the General Social Survey (GSS) are to gather data on social trends in order to monitor changes in the living conditions and well-being of Canadians over time and to provide information on specific social policy issues of current or emerging interest. Canada’s General Social Survey (GSS) program was designed as a series of independent, annual, voluntary, cross-sectional surveys, each covering one topic in-depth.
The objective of the General Social Survey on families is to monitor changes in Canadian families. The information collected will impact program and policy areas such as parental benefits, childcare strategies, child custody, and spousal support programs.
Information on the study description is adapted from Statistics Canada, General Social Survey - Family, 2022-05-09. This does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada of this product.
- Start Year
- 1985
Visit GSS-F
| Investigators | Contacts |
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Design
- Study design
- Cross-sectional
- Follow Up
- Supplementary Information
- The General Social Survey (GSS) only selects one eligible person per household to be interviewed.
Recruitment
- Recruitment Target
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- Individuals
Number of Participants
- Number of Participants
- No Limit
- Number of Participants with Biological Samples
- Supplementary Information
Access
Availability of data and biosamples
| Possible Access to Data | |
| Possible Access to Biosamples | |
| Other |
Timeline
GSS-F population
The target population is all non-institutionalized persons 15 years of age or older living in a Canadian province.
Selection Criteria
- Minimum age
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15
- Newborns
- Twins
- Countries
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- Canada
- Territory
- Ethnic Origin
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- Health Status
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- Other Criteria
- Participants are non-institutionalized persons living in the 10 provinces of Canada. Residents of the three Canadian territories (the Yukon, Northwest Territories, and Nunavut) are excluded.
- Supplementary Information about selection criteria
- Proxy responses on behalf of the participants are not permitted. The participants also includ special population groups such as disabled persons and seniors.
Recruitment
- Sources of recruitment
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- General population
- Participants from existing studies
- General Population
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- Random digit dialing
- Supplementary Information
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Respondents of the Family History Survey were participants in rotation group 3 and 6 of the Labour Force Survey.
- Participants from Existing Studies
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- The Labour Force Survey
Number of Participants
- Number of Participants
- No Limit
- Number of Participants with Biological Samples
- Supplementary Information about selection criteria
- Until 1998, the target sample of respondents was approximately 10,000 persons per reference year.
Data Collection Events
| # | Name | Description | Start | End |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 |
GSS-F - Cycle 1 Family History Survey
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Information is collected about families (type and composition), family history (ie. marriage, birth or adoption of a child, separation from spouse, etc.), household and housing characteristics, ... | 1984 | 1984 |
| 1 |
GSS-F - Cycle 5
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Information is collected about families (type and composition), family history (ie. marriage, birth or adoption of a child, separation from spouse, etc.), household and housing characteristics, ... | 1990 | 1990 |
| 2 |
GSS-F - Cycle 10
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Information is collected about families (type and composition), family history (ie. marriage, birth or adoption of a child, separation from spouse, etc.), household and housing characteristics, ... | 1995 | 1995 |
| 3 |
GSS-F - Cycle 15
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Information is collected about families, family history (ie. marriage, birth or adoption of a child, separation from spouse, etc.), family type and composition, household and housing ... | 2001 | 2001 |
| 4 |
GSS-F - Cycle 20
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Information is collected about families (sociodemographic characteristics), family history (ie. marriage, birth or adoption of a child, separation from spouse, child custody etc.), family type and ... | 2006 | 2006 |
| 5 |
GSS-F - Cycle 25
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Information is collected about family, family origins and sociodemographic background, household composition, marital status and history, living situation, fertility intentions/adoption, children ... | 2011 | 2011 |
| 6 |
GSS-F - Cycle 31
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Information is collected about family, family origins and sociodemographic background, household composition, marital status and history, living situation, fertility intentions/adoption, children ... | 2017 | 2017 |
Classifications
- Socio-demographic and economic characteristics
- Lifestyle and behaviours
- Birth, pregnancy and reproductive health history
- Perception of health, quality of life, development and functional limitations
- Diseases
- Symptoms and signs
- Medication and supplements
- Non-pharmacological interventions
- Health and community care services utilization
- Death
- Physical measures and assessments
- Laboratory measures
- Cognition, personality and psychological measures and assessments
- Life events, life plans, beliefs and values
- Preschool, school and work life
- Social environment and relationships
- Physical environment
- Administrative information
Socio-demographic and economic characteristics
Age/birthdate
Sex/gender
Marital/partner status
Family and household structure
Education
Residence
Birthplace
Citizenship and immigrant status
Ethnicity, race and religion
Language
Labour force and retirement
Income, possessions, and benefits
Other socio-demographic and economic characteristics
Lifestyle and behaviours
Tobacco
Nutrition
Sleep
Leisure activities
Other and unspecified lifestyle information
Birth, pregnancy and reproductive health history
Contraception
Pregnancy, delivery and birth
Fertility and sexual health
Perception of health, quality of life, development and functional limitations
Perception of health
Quality of life
Functional limitations
Diseases
Neoplasms (C00-D48)
Mental and behavioural disorders (F00-F99)
Diseases of the eye and adnexa (H00-H59)
Diseases of the ear and mastoid process (H60-H95)
Diseases of the circulatory system (I00-I99)
Diseases of the respiratory system (J00-J99)
Injury, poisoning and certain other consequences of external causes (S00-T98)
Diseases without precise specification or falling into multiple categories
Symptoms and signs
Symptoms and signs involving nervous and musculoskeletal systems (R25-R29)
General symptoms and signs (R50-R69)
Symptoms related to multiple categories
Non-pharmacological interventions
Surgical interventions
Educational and health promotion interventions
Health and community care services utilization
Visits to health professionals
Community and social care
Other health and community care
Death
Vital status
Other end of life or death-related information
Cognition, personality and psychological measures and assessments
Personality
Psychological distress and emotions
Life events, life plans, beliefs and values
Life plans
Beliefs and values
Other life events, plans and beliefs
Preschool, school and work life
Preschool life
School life
Work life
Other preschool, school or work life-related information
Social environment and relationships
Social network
Social participation
Social support
Parenting and familial environment
Other social environment characteristics
Physical environment
Housing characteristics
Built environment/neighbourhood characteristics
Chemical exposure
Administrative information
Identifiers
Questionnaire and interview-related information
Other administrative information