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Social Cohesion and Quality of Life
Tony Fahey, Carmel Hannan and Pete Lunn at the launch of "Family Figures: Family Dynamics and Family Types in Ireland, 1986-2006"
Tony Fahey, Carmel Hannan and Pete Lunn at the launch of "Family Figures: Family Dynamics and Family Types in Ireland, 1986-2006"

Social cohesion refers to social connectedness, solidarity and the extent and quality of social participation. Quality of life research focuses on collective as well as individual resources, in addition to the actual choices people make and the observed outcomes.

Current research focuses on:
  • Comparative quality of life in the EU.
  • Time use, work-life balance and quality of life.
  • Participation in sport.
The research programme on sport and exercise, funded by the Irish Sports Council, has generated a range of interesting papers, in what is an expanding international research area. In 2007 the ESRI published work revealing the strong negative link between participation in sport and social disadvantage. A follow-up study, published in early 2008, documents trends in participation in Irish sport over recent generations. The coming year will also see the first results from the Irish Sports Monitor - Ireland's first ongoing survey of grassroots sport.
 
Within the EQUALSOC Network of Excellence, ESRI researchers are editing a special issue on Reconciling Work and Family Life of the leading international journal on quality of life Social Indicators Research. It will make use of the European Social Survey and involves a range of contributors from leading European institutions.
 
Arising from programme of collaborative work funded by the European Foundation for Living and Working Conditions, in which the ESRI has been a leading partner, The Handbook of Quality of Life in the Enlarged European Union was published by Routledge in 2007. It contains a number of contributions arising directly from ESRI research.
 
Future Research
Future research will focus on new and emerging issues including:
  • Environmental factors and quality of life.
  • The role of the built environment in determining health and well-being.
  • The extent and impact of social participation and volunteering.
  • Ethnic and national diversity as a challenge to social cohesion.
  • Civic participation including the participation of migrants in social and political life.
  • The quality of family and partnership relationships and their impact on the provision of care for children and older people.

Programme Coordinator: Helen Russell

Other members of staff who work in this area include: Pete Lunn, Bertrand Maitre, Fran McGinnity and Dorothy Watson.