Worrying about one's job, family, financial situation and health - results of a population-representative study.

Abstract

Objective: Worrying about one's job, family, financial situation and health is distressing. How intense are these worries in the general population?

Methods: An inquiry representative of the German population (N=2473, age>14 years) was performed. The total score of the "Questionnaire for Assessing Subjective Physical Well-Being" (FEW) and the screening scale of the "Trier Inventory for the Assessment of Chronic Stress" (TICS) were correlated with the four above mentioned items addressing worries (range 1-4).

Results: Worries about one's financial situation were scored highest (mean=2.04, SD=0.92), followed by worries about one's health (mean=1.94; SD=0.87), one's family (mean=1.85; SD=0.86) and worries about one's job (mean=1.69; SD=0.92). Health worries increased with age. Those without a job and single parents showed the highest grades of solicitude. Increasing income decreased worrying. The correlations with chronic stress were moderate (.24

Conclusions: The general population's concerns are relatively low. Using normative data, people can be screened for psychosocial distress and possibly referred to a relevant form of psychosocial support.