170 BRITISH SOCIAL ATTITUDES

There is also a clear cohort effect that can be traced, roughly, to the experiences
of the post-war generation. This group is far more positive than its immediate
predecessor about emotions talk in general and the use of counselling or therapy
in particular. However, this cultural predisposition also appears to be combining
with life-stage effects as the baby-boomers confront the difficulties of middle
and old age. As the current ‘mustn’t grumble’ generation of older people dies
off, will it be replaced by a cohort that places much greater demands on talk-
based therapies? Moreover, those currently aged 60 and over tend to have a very
different relationship to their GP – one characterised by greater continuity and
trust than is perhaps the case for younger generations. Does this mean that the
demands placed on GPs (many of which relate – directly or indirectly – to
emotional difficulties) will lessen as current generations age? Or will younger
generations become more reliant on their GPs as they get older and their health
worsens?
Important questions can also be asked about what lies ahead in terms of the
emotional lives and needs of the youngest age group we studied. Will the gap
between young men and women in terms of their general orientations towards
emotions talk narrow, or is there something about the current generation of
young men that means they will continue to resist such attitudes and practices,
even as they enter long-term relationships and their more emotionally
challenging middle years? To what extent is the very high level of social contact
among young people (relative to older age groups) simply a function of life-
stage and to what extent is it driven by technology? What are the implications of
the development of new communications technologies for the maintenance of
strong informal networks into one’s 30s and beyond?
Finally, it is worth considering the ways in which economic disadvantage and
need intersect in relation to the use of different kinds of formal emotional
support. In general, the clearest predictor of the use of formal emotional support
is need, whether defined in terms of lower levels of ‘well-being’ or actual
experience of serious mental health difficulties. But, despite the fact that poorer
people are much more likely to experience serious mental ill health and lower
subjective well-being, they are more likely to seek support from their GP than
from the ‘talking therapies’ and remain relatively more likely to be offered
drugs than talk.
In summary, our findings suggest that contemporary Britain is now
characterised by a relative openness to talking about emotions and there is a
widespread perception that this is part of a generational or cultural shift. It is
also clear that the attitudes and experiences of those born in the second half of
the last century are very different from those of their predecessors. But the
conclusion that professional emotional support has come to occupy a dominant
or even central role in our lives appears premature. Informal social relationships
continue to occupy a hugely important role in most people’s lives, while formal
emotional support – and especially the use of talk-based therapies – remains
relatively rare. Those who do access such support appear to be driven largely by
experience of significant mental health problems rather than a reflexive and
voluntaristic ‘project of the self’. Most people remain wary of (or oblivious to)
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