DAK study Less stress, more family

DAK Study: 2011 resolutions: A majority of respondents would like less overall stress and time for the family.

17.12.2010

A Forsa survey for the German employees health insurance (DAK) has examined the good intentions of the Germans for the coming year. In the comprehensive survey, the DAK experts determined which are the most popular resolutions for the year 2011 and how realistic the achievement of self-imposed goals is.

Stop smoking, more sports or less alcohol - the range of good intentions of the Germans for the coming year is extremely far. According to the Forsa study for 2011, the most common statement is that it puts less stress on people and more time with the family. However, the prospects for reaching the goals set are very different.

Less stress and more family most common
Most Germans want to reduce their personal stress and spend more time with their family in the coming year. So had 59 percent „less stress“ stated as a good resolution for the year 2011, with the proportion in young families with children under 18 even 68 percent, said the DAK. „Mastering the demands in job, family and household at the same time is often associated with permanent stress“, said the DAK graduate psychologist, Frank Meiners, the particularly high need for stress reduction. Instead of facing the ever-increasing stress in everyday life, 56 percent of respondents want to spend more time with the family in the coming year, so the statement of the Forsa survey. The will to consume less alcohol was expressed in the survey by only 14 percent of respondents. A better diet was nevertheless stated by 44 percent of the respondents as a target for the year 2011.

Good intentions widely spread among young people
Another striking feature of the Forsa survey was that respondents of the younger generation between the ages of 18 and 29 have made a lot of good intentions for the year 2011. Spending more time with family and friends was also high on the list here, but other intentions such as economy, healthier eating, less television and more sports are also relatively widespread in the younger generation, according to the study carried out for the DAK , For example, 53 percent of this generation would have spent less money next year, with only 32 percent of respondents to the DAK study claiming that it was good intentions for the year 2011.

Reaching the goals varies relatively strong
Taking into account the results of last year, the DAK study also makes a statement regarding the achievement of self-imposed goals. According to the DAK, it has been shown that about half of Germans endure their good intentions for more than three months, and especially in the older generation over the age of 60, many respondents would continue their good intentions in the long term. 56 percent of those over 60 years old are therefore adhering to their good intentions. According to the DAK study, 52 percent of female respondents and only 47 percent of men had reached their self-imposed goals. In addition, considerable regional differences in the willpower of people seem to exist, because in Schleswig-Holstein and Brandenburg, the intentions are observed according to the study results above average, whereas the people in Saxony least reach their goals, followed by the residents of Saxony-Anhalt and Bavaria.

Overall, the good intentions for the year 2011 compared to the year 2010 hardly changed. In the past year, 59 percent of those surveyed wanted to put less stress on themselves and spend more time with the family. Although the intentions were still under the direct influence of the economic crisis last year, so that, especially among low-income workers, the fear of financial maladministration and concern for their own health, the targets of the respondents for the year 2010 dominated, but the main intentions remained unchanged. (Fp)

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Image: Angelina Ströbel