Section one: how close are British families?

The first part of the YouGov Big Survey on Family explores how close Britons feel to their families, how often they keep in touch, and which relatives they feel closest to - or have strained relationships with.

How similar do Britons feel to their family?

Most Britons (56%) say they feel family to their wider family, including 11% who say they are very similar to their kin.

By contrast, 39% consider themselves to be different to their family, including 14% who feel “very different”.

How close do Britons consider their families to be?

One in five Britons (19%) say they come from a “very close” family, while “fairly close” families are the most common, at 43%.

One in three (36%) say their family isn’t close, including 9% who say their family “isn’t close at all”.

Do Britons want their family to be closer?

One in eight Britons (12%) have a desire for their family to be “much closer”, while 26% would like it to be “somewhat closer”.

However, 53% of people are happy with how close their family currently is, while only 3% want it to be less close.

The less close Britons say their own family is, the less likely they are to be happy with that situation. For instance, while 68% of people who say they come from a “very close” family say they are happy with that level of closeness, this falls to 33% of those who say their family “isn’t close at all”.

Half of this latter group (47%) wish their family was closer, although 10% also want their family to be less close, a notably higher figure than other groups (1-4%).

Likewise, the more similar Britons feel they are to their family, the more happy they are with their family’s closeness. While 59% who are “very similar” to their families are happy with how close their family is, this falls to 44% who feel they are “very different” to their families.

While the 34% of those who feel very different to their family wish they had a closer relationship is broadly similar to the number in other groups who say they same (33-39%), they are notably more likely to say they wish their family was less close (12%, vs 1-3%).

Which family members do Britons feel close to?

When asked which family members have a particularly close relationship with, if any, the public are most likely to say their mother, at 63%. (Please note, this figure and those that follow are as a % of people who have living family members of this kind)

By contrast, only 44% say they are particularly close with their father – about the same number who say they are close to one or more of their siblings (47%).

Half (48%) of parents say they feel especially close to one or more of their adult children.

A quarter of those with grandparents (24%) say they feel particularly close to one or more of them, while roughly similar numbers of Britons say they have a particularly close relationship with one or more of their nieces and nephews (17%), cousins (12%), or aunts and uncles (12%).

Which family members do Britons have a bad relationship with?

Some Britons also have a bad relationship with members of their family.

They are most likely to do so with one of their siblings: 18% of Britons with brothers or sisters say they have a bad relationship with at least one of them.

After that, similar numbers of people say they have bad relationships with a father or stepfather (12%), aunt or uncle (11%), grandparent (10%) or mother or stepmother (10%).

Another 7% say they have a bad relationship with one of their adult children, while 6% have beef with a cousin, and 4% are feuding with a niece or nephew.

How often do Britons keep in touch with their family?

One in seven Britons (15%) say they keep in touch with family (other than those they live with) by email, text or instant message on a daily basis, with 6% saying they speak over the phone or video call daily, and 4% saying they see other members of their family on a daily basis.

Overall, most Britons (64%) message family on at least a weekly basis, with 42% making family calls this frequently, and 33% seeing family every week.

Women are much more likely to be in regular contact with family, with 72% saying they message family on at least a weekly basis, compared to 54% of men. Likewise, 49% of women call family members on a weekly basis, versus 35% of men, while 40% see family at least weekly, compared to 26% of men.

Do Britons want more contact with their family?

Around one in six Britons say they would like to have more contact with family by message (19%) or by phone/video call (17%), however this figure rises to 37% when it comes to seeing loved ones in person.

The less close Britons say their families are, the more likely they are to say they would like more contact by message or by phone. However, regardless of how close they consider their family to be, a consistent 37-38% say they want more in person contact with family.

How willing are Britons to talk about their issues with their family?

Of the issues we asked about, the one that Britons are most likely to be willing to discuss is their physical health, at 75%. This represents a marked difference from the number willing to bring up mental health issues, at 58%.

Seven in ten Britons are willing to raise job or career issues with family, while 52% would be willing to discuss financial matters, although 42% are reluctant.

Of the issues we asked about, Britons are most likely to be reluctant to raise dating or relationship issues with their family. A relatively low four in ten (43%) say they would be willing to discuss romance with their family, slightly lower than the 48% who would be unwilling.

See the full results here

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Photo: Getty