After a season in which avoiding sickness was on most everyone’s mind, many Americans say their New Year’s resolutions address their health.
More Americans say their past resolutions primarily have focused on their health, their relationship with God, their finances and their relationship with a family member, according to a new survey of 1,005 Americans from Lifeway Research.
“New Year’s resolutions reflect the changes people aspire to make,” said Scott McConnell, executive director of Lifeway Research. “The COVID-19 pandemic may have forced or encouraged more people to make changes outside of the annual reminder a new year brings. But a New Year’s resolution is still something most Americans have made at some point in their lives.”
As people contemplate 2022 resolutions, 44% say previous resolutions have focused on their health, 29% say their relationship with God, 29% their finances and 26% their relationship with a family member.
Fewer say their resolutions have dealt with their use of time (22%), their work (18%) or their relationship with a friend (15%).
More than a quarter of Americans (28%) say they haven’t made resolutions about any of these, while 4% aren’t sure.
The 2022 New Year’s resolutions rankings remained similar to a 2015 Lifeway Research phone survey of 1,000 Americans. Compared to the previous study, finances moved from the fifth most common resolution to third on the list this year. The percentage who selected each of the resolution topics, however, dropped from six years ago.
Young adults (those age 18 to 34) are among the most likely to say they’ve made New Year’s resolutions in the past about each of the topics: health (52%), finances (40%), relationship with God (35%), relationship with a family member (36%), use of time (34%), work (29%) and relationship with a friend (25%). Meanwhile, those 65 and older (54%) are most likely to say they have not made a resolution about any of the topics listed.
Church attendance
Church attendance also seems to have an impact on wanting to make changes in the new year. Among self-identified Christians, those who attend at least monthly are more likely than Christians who attend less frequently to say they’ve made resolutions in each of the options. Those who attend less than monthly (44%) are most likely to say they haven’t made a New Year’s resolution in any of the areas.
“Making a New Year’s resolution doesn’t reveal who or what a person is relying on to make that change in their life, nor how successful such resolutions are,” said McConnell. “But higher numbers seen among younger adults, those who attended at least some college, and church-going Christians indicate they have higher motivation to make such changes at least in the form of New Year’s resolutions.”
Resolutions concerning a relationship with God are more popular among churchgoers, African Americans, young adults and those with evangelical beliefs.
The unaffiliated are among the most likely to have made resolutions addressing their finances (36%), their use of time (29%) and their work (22%).
For more information, view the complete report.
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