The holiday season is fast approaching, which means many people are preparing to get together with their family to celebrate.
However, family dynamics and the weight of expectations during Christmas can also bring unwanted stress.
According to a survey conducted by Statista, some adults aren’t looking forward to Christmas this year.
UK adults were most stressed about the holiday season, followed by respondents from the US and Germany.
The survey, which featured over 1,000 respondents aged 18-89 years old in each country, asked people to agree or disagree with various statements about Christmas.
In all three countries, adults cited the amount of expectations linked to Christmas as the most significant cause for stress over the holidays.
Here are the highlights from the survey:
- 62% of UK Adults Are Not Looking Forward To Christmas
- ‘Too Many Expectations’ Cited As Biggest Cause Of Christmas Stress
- Americans 80% More Likely To Fight Over The Holidays Than UK Families
62% of UK Adults Are Not Looking Forward To Christmas
With prices rising due to inflation, some people are starting to feel the pressures mount during the holiday season.
Per the survey, 62 percent of UK adults agreed with at least one of the statements that indicated that they were not looking forward to Christmas.
That compared to about 52 percent of American adults and 49 percent of adults from Germany that agreed Christmas was a stressful time.
The data serves as confirmation to another survey done by the American Psychological Association that found that 38 percent of people believed their stress levels went up during the holiday.
’Too Many Expectations’ Cited As Biggest Cause Of Christmas Stress
In all three countries, more adults cited the weight of expectations on Christmas as the biggest cause of stress over the holidays.
Statista reported that 39 percent of UK adults agreed that there are too many expectations linked to Christmas. In the US, 27 percent of adults agreed with the statement while 28 percent of German adults shared the same sentiment.
For others, the holiday season is nothing but pure stress. According to the research, 18 percent of UK adults agreed that Christmas was pure stress for them while 16 percent of Americans and 14 percent of German adults also agreed with the statement.
Family fighting rounded out the top three causes of holiday stress.
Americans 80% More Likely To Fight Over The Holidays Than UK Families
Christmas can bring about a number of different family stresses that can lead to tension during the holiday season.
However, it appears that family fighting is more likely to happen in some countries than others.
In the study, about 9 percent of Americans agreed that their family always fights over the holidays, more than any other country.
Despite the fact that most adults are not looking forward to Christmas, only 5 percent of UK adults said their families always fight over the holidays.
That means American families are actually 80 percent more likely to fight over the holidays than families in the UK.
In German, 7 percent of respondents said their family always fights over the holidays.
