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General Social Survey (GSS) – Family

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.

This survey monitors the changes in the structure of families with respect to marriages, common-law unions, children and fertility intentions.

Note
  • Content from this cycle is related to content from previous cycles of the General Social Survey Cycles 5, 10, 15, 20 (Family).
  • For more information, consult the Integrated Metadata base (IMDB) number: 4501.

Major topics and subtopics

Families and households

  • Conjugal history: marriages, common-law unions
  • Fertility intentions
  • Adopted children, stepchildren, biological children
  • Family history
  • Leaving parental home
  • Child custody and financial support
  • Employment and education history
  • Parental/maternity leave

Secondary topics

Aboriginal Peoples
Education
Ethnic diversity and Immigration
Income and earnings
Labour
Language
Place of work and commuting to work
Religion

Limited topics

Housing and shelter costs
Mobility and migration

Type

Cross-sectional (retrospective survey suited for longitudinal analysis)

Sample size

Target sample 25,000

Frequency

Every 5 years

Lowest levels of geography

Provinces and selected census metropolitan areas

Products and services

  • Basic standard products
  • Public use microdata file
  • Customized tabulations
Related links
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