The 'Private Household' as a Standard Socio-demographic Variable.

In survey research, 'household' plays a number of different roles: First, it is used in many surveys as a sampling unit. Household addresses are drawn from lists of households; interviewers then visit the selected households to establish Second, as a social institution, the household has the function of imposing social order on the individual behaviour and personal orientations or attitudes of social actors. Third, in survey research, it is established practice to assume that respondents' characteristics can be influenced by characteristics of the household community of which he is a member. For example, the socio-economic status of the respondent is derived from the social status of the member of the household who enjoys the greatest social prestige. The personal lifestyle and the life chances of the respondent are determined by the social and economic resources of the household as a whole, for example by the total net household income.