Monitoring Rural Areas - Survey on Quality of Life (General Survey)

The representative population survey in rural areas in Germany was conducted by INFO GmbH Markt- und Meinungsforschung on behalf of the Johann Heinrich von Thünen Institute, Federal Research Institute for Rural Areas, Forests and Fisheries. During the survey period from 14.09.2016 to 03.11.2016, the German-speaking resident population in defined municipalities in Germany with fewer than 50,000 inhabitants aged 18 and over in private households with at least one telephone connection (landline or mobile) was surveyed in telephone interviews (CATI) on the following topics: quality of life, work-life balance and services of general interest in rural areas in Germany, supplemented by statements on residential biography and action areas. The respondents were selected using a multi-stage random sample from ADM selection frames, including landline and mobile phone numbers (dual-frame sample).<br>Household: household size, use of another dwelling and reasons for use; residential status at main residence; assessment of dwelling size; importance of various life goals.

Residential biography: always lived in the municipality or moved to the municipality; year of moving to the municipality; previously lived in this municipality and period (from month/year to month/year); federal state during childhood and adolescence; if Berlin: in former East Berlin or former West Berlin; other country; corresponding information on the residential biography of the partner.

Mobility: personally most important means of transportation from Monday to Friday for everyday trips; if more than two mentions for means of transportation: the two most important means of transportation for everyday trips; car use: self-driver or passenger; frequency of availability of a car from Monday to Friday.

Services and facilities of general interest: Presence of various facilities within a radius of 10 kilometers from the home (e.g. municipal administration, ATM, bank, post office, etc.); use of certain facilities in the last three months (municipal administration, ATM/bank, post office, small grocery store such as a supermarket or discount store). ); use of certain facilities in the last three months (municipal administration, ATM/bank, post office, small grocery store, larger grocery store such as supermarket or discount store, stores for larger household appliances or furniture); facilities used by the respondent or household members in the last three months (crèche, kindergarten, after-school care, childminder, elementary school, secondary school, mobile care service, nursing home for the elderly, youth center, youth club, family or partnership advice center); good or poor accessibility of various facilities without a car; reasons for not using the respective facilities (not needed, used elsewhere, other reasons); everyday life made more difficult by the lack of certain facilities within a radius of 10 kilometers.

Understanding of gender roles: agreement with various statements on women´s employment (pre-school age child is likely to suffer if mother works, what women really want is a home and children, family life suffers if woman works full-time, man´s job is to earn money, woman´s job is to look after household and family, man and woman should both contribute to household income); partner´s opinion on women´s employment.

Childcare: type of care for the youngest child who is not of school age (e.g. daycare center, childminder, grandparents, etc.): Reasons why the child is not cared for by grandparents or extent of care by grandparents; number of hours per week for childcare by grandparents; full-day care of the (youngest) school-age child at school; type of care for the youngest school-age child after school; division of labor in the family regarding care of a sick child, occupation with the child/children, dropping off and picking up the children, for example to daycare, school, leisure activities, appointments.

Family members in need of care: Frequency of support for family members in need of care; caregiver of these family members.

Health: Restrictions in everyday life due to health problems; severity of restrictions due to health problems.

Social network: Support persons outside the household for practical help in everyday life; number of support persons with a maximum travel time of one hour.

Education: highest general school-leaving qualification; vocational training qualification; highest general school-leaving qualification of the partner; vocational training qualification of the partner.

Employment: employment or current situation; part-time job or paid employment; unpaid family helper in the family business; employment or current situation of the partner. Current situation of the partner; self-employment or freelance work of the partner; part-time job or paid employment of the partner; partner works as an unpaid family member in the family business; one or more gainful activities; weekly working hours; professional position; type of work performed (e.g. difficult specialist activities, responsible work, skilled worker); employment in the public sector; company size; activity is a mini-job or midi-job; frequency of employment (regular, seasonal, occasional, irregular, maximum of 70 working days or three months per year); fixed-term employment contract or activity; reasons for part-time work or marginal employment; radius for seeking full-time work; childcare provision has an influence on part-time work or marginal employment; reasons for the influence of childcare provision on part-time work or marginal employment (e.g. existing childcare facilities do not cover the necessary childcare hours, no suitable childcare facilities available, etc.); childcare provision for adults in need of care has an influence on part-time work or marginal employment; reasons for the influence of care provision for adults in need of care.

Full-time and part-time work: place and route of work, flexibility, family-friendliness for respondent: place of work in the municipality of residence; travel time to place of work (minutes, hours); preferred weekly working hours (hours, minutes); type of working time regulation; possibility of short-term leave or taking time off, e.g. due to illness of the child; possibility of parental leave for fathers for longer than two months without jeopardizing the professional career; feeling of disadvantage due to family responsibilities; ability to work from home; frequency of working from home.

Job search: Looking for paid work in the last 12 weeks; looking for full-time, part-time or marginal employment; radius of job search; reason for not looking for paid work; childcare provision influences not looking for paid work; reasons why childcare provision influences job search; care provision for dependent adults has an influence on not seeking paid employment; reasons for the influence of care provision for dependent adults on job search; desire for employment, even if no job was sought due to caring for children or dependent adults or because of the situation on the labor market.

Detailed information on the partner´s employment or job search, such as weekly working hours; reasons for part-time work or marginal employment; area of job search for full-time work; influence of childcare or care for dependent adults on part-time work or marginal employment; flexibility, e.g. due to illness of a child; working from home; desired weekly working hours; information on job search; reason why no paid employment was sought; influence of the availability of childcare or care for dependent adults on part-time work or marginal employment; partner´s desire for gainful employment, even if no work was sought due to caring for children or adults in need of care or due to the situation on the labor market; assessment of the employment combination of both partners.

Income and financial situation: personal net income in the last month (open, grouped); net household income in the last month (open, grouped); assessment of the household´s financial situation; life satisfaction.

Demography: Sex; permanent partner; married or registered civil partnership; living together with partner in an apartment or house; duration of cohabitation (years and months); marital status; age; month of birth; year of birth; German citizenship; Gender of cohabiting partner; age, month and year of birth of cohabiting partner; German citizenship of cohabiting partner; household composition; how many people live together; grandchildren under 12 living nearby; month and year of birth of children.

Additionally coded were: Thünen ID; interview number; weighting factors; interview start; interview end; spatial type: Thünen typology of rural areas; degree of urbanization of the residential area.