Wave 1 COVID-19 survey content and data
Wave 1 of the COVID-19 Survey in Five National Longitudinal Studies took place in May 2020, collecting information from over 18,000 participants across five longitudinal studies. In this section find out about the content of Wave 1, response rates and how to access the data.
Accessing the data
The data from the four CLS studies taking part (the Millennium Cohort Study, Next Steps, the 1970 British Cohort Study and the National Child Development Study) has been de-identified and is available for researchers to download under End User Licence from the UK Data Service. To download the data (SN: 8658), visit the UK Data Service website. The data are also available from each of the main pages for the four studies on the UK Data Service website: Millennium Cohort Study – Next Steps – 1970 British Cohort Study – National Child Development Study.
Access to responses to the open question (‘Express in your own words the main ways the coronavirus outbreak has affected your life’) is available under secure conditions, on request to CLS. Find out more about how to apply for access.
Wave 1 data from the MRC National Survey of Health and Development are available from the UK Data Service, under Special Licence.
If you are publishing research using our COVID-19 data, please make sure you cite the data and also let us know, so we can make sure we add your work to our online bibliography when published.
Training videos to support researchers using Wave 1 data are available on this page.
Response to Wave 1
|
Study
|
Response
|
|
Millennium Cohort Study (cohort members)
|
2,645
|
|
Millennium Cohort Study (parents)
|
2,831
|
|
Next Steps
|
1,907
|
|
1970 British Cohort Study
|
4,223
|
|
1958 National Child Development Study
|
5,178
|
|
MRC National Survey of Health and Development (1946 British birth cohort)
|
1,258
|
|
Total
|
18,042
|
Further information about response to the survey and the derivation of response weights is available in the User Guide.
For more information about handling missing data in longitudinal studies, see our Handling Missing Data page.
Survey content
The aim of the survey was to collect insights into the lives of study participants including their physical and mental health and wellbeing, family and relationships, education, work, and finances during the first national lockdown. The questions focussed mainly on how participants’ lives had changed from just before the outbreak of the pandemic in March 2020 up until their response to the survey during the height of the lockdown restrictions in May 2020.
Explore the topics covered below and compare them with the content of the Wave 2 and Wave 3 surveys. The complete questionnaire is also available to download from this page as part of the documentation for the survey data.
Physical health
| Topic |
W1 |
W2 |
W3 |
| Whether has had COVID-19 |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Whether has had COVID-19 test and results |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
| Long COVID-19 symptoms |
No |
No |
Yes |
| Symptoms of COVID-19 |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Extent of compliance with social distancing guidelines |
Yes |
No |
Yes |
| Whether has downloaded NHS Track & Trace app |
No |
No |
Yes |
| Whether been offered COVID-19 vaccine; whether received it and date; if not: how likely to have it; if not likely: reasons |
No |
No |
Yes |
| How well government has dealt with pandemic |
No |
No |
Yes |
| Self-rated general health |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Long-standing health conditions |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Disruption to medical appointments |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Difficulty obtaining medication |
Yes (1946 only) |
Yes |
Yes |
| Whether in defined vulnerable category |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Time use
| Topic |
W1 |
W2 |
W3 |
| Time use on typical weekday since outbreak |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
Family and household
| Topic |
W1 |
W2 |
W3 |
| Current household composition (household grid) |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Children who do not live in household |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Changes in household composition |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Change in childcare & schooling arrangements (tailored questions, by age-band) |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Whether in non-cohabiting relationship |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Relationship satisfaction and conflict (current) |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Family conflict (current) |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
| Whether study member or partner is pregnant: week of pregnancy |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Number and age of children live with |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Household care needs and receipt of care |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Housing
| Topic |
W1 |
W2 |
W3 |
| Number of rooms in house |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Postcode |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Access to garden |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Tenure |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Financial situation
| Topic |
W1 |
W2 |
W3 |
| Subjective assessment of how managing financially pre and post outbreak |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Food security, use of food banks |
Yes |
No |
No |
| Receipt of benefits (self and/or partner) in three months before outbreak |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| New claims for benefits since outbreak |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Use of mortgage/rent/debt holidays since outbreak |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Giving /receiving financial help |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
| Amount given /received in financial help |
No |
No |
Yes |
| Total household income (pre-pandemic and current) |
No |
No |
Yes |
Employment & education (FE, HE, apprenticeships)
| Topic |
W1 |
W2 |
W3 |
| Economic activity, pre-COVID and current (cohort member and partner) |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Employment, pre-COVID (cohort member and partner) |
|
|
|
| Occupation |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Hours |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Contract type |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Gross pay |
No |
No |
Yes |
| Employment, current (cohort member and partner) |
|
|
|
| Occupation |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Hours |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Contract type |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Gross pay |
No |
No |
Yes |
| Work location |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Key worker status |
Yes |
No |
Yes |
| Job satisfaction |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
| Home working satisfaction |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
| Education (cohort member only) |
|
|
|
| Subject of study |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Institution name and town |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Course length |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Current year of study |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Disruption of teaching / online learning |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Satisfaction with learning provision / academic progress |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Health behaviours
| Topic |
W1 |
W2 |
W3 |
| Smoking and vaping |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Alcohol consumption |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Physical activity |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Diet (fruit and veg) |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Sleep |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Weight |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Screen time |
No |
No |
Yes |
Social contact, social support and loneliness
| Topic |
W1 |
W2 |
W3 |
| Contact with friends & family in past seven days (telephone, video calls, email, text, electronic messaging) |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Frequency gave help in past seven days to anyone outside household affected by coronavirus |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Participation in online community activity |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Provision of help to others |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Social support |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Loneliness |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Mental health
| Topic |
W1 |
W2 |
W3 |
| Overall life satisfaction |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Self-assessed mental health |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
| Control over life |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
| Mental health and wellbeing scales (capturing depression and anxiety). NB: Scales vary by cohort study |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Optimism, risk, patience and trust
| Topic |
W1 |
W2 |
W3 |
| Optimism |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
| Risk |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Patience |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Trust |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Trust in government and political leaders |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Life events
| Topic |
W1 |
W2 |
W3 |
| Life events |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
Child Loop
| Topic |
W1 |
W2 |
W3 |
| For children aged 4-18 living in household: |
|
|
|
| Education: Whether enrolled in school, school year and school type; extent of in-person schooling; home learning: hours per day, online lesson provision; parental help with home schooling (self/partner); learning resources; effect of pandemic on academic progress |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
| Child’s mental health pre-COVID and current |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
Open
| Topic |
W1 |
W2 |
W3 |
| Open question on impact of COVID |
Yes |
No |
Yes |
Consent to link to symptom tracker app
| Topic |
W1 |
W2 |
W3 |
| Request to download ZOE symptoms tracker app |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Documentation
Questionnaire for Wave 1
Online COVID-19 questionnaire sent out in May 2020 (first wave).
PDF: 556,76 KB
Download
User guide
User guide for Waves 1, 2 and 3 for the COVID-19 Survey in Five National Longitudinal Studies.
PDF: 1,51 MB
Download
