Financial problems are pushing UK families to breaking point, according to new research from the Scottish Widows think tank, Centre for the Modern Family.

The in-depth study shines a light on the increasingly desperate measures families are being forced to take and how they are trying to cope with the impact of recession.  

On the brink Britons

Almost eight out of ten people (78%) feel family life is tougher now than it was a decade ago and one in five people report that they are struggling to cope financially.  A further two in five (39%) are ‘just getting by' with just 7% of the UK population finding family life comfortable at present.  Increased living costs and falling wages, coupled with the rising cost of childcare and the ongoing economic climate are creating a nation of ‘on the brink Britons'. 

Three times as many families say they are being hit by financial problems as say they are facing challenges bringing up children.  Seven times as many people cite financial worries than cite relationship breakdown as their biggest issue. 

Young families resort to desperate measures

The report uncovers that it is the younger generation who are bearing the brunt of this strain.  Eighteen to 34 year-olds are more likely to have resorted to selling items online in the past 12 months to make ends meet (32%), compared to the UK average (22%).   They are also twice as likely to have taken out a payday loan to tide them over, with one in ten young people taking out this high-interest form of credit, compared to 4% of all UK adults.  One in five young people have been left unable to pay household bills and one in eight (13%) have skipped meals in order to ensure their family eats well.

Family resilience revealed

Through questioning respondents on how well they believe their families are able to cope with ‘life's challenges and crises', the Centre for the Modern Family was able to understand the resilience of families across the UK, finding that families in the South believe they are better able to cope with life's problems than those in the North.   Centre for the Modern Family also found a number of regional ‘hotspots' for certain problems affecting family life.

The importance of family support

Significantly, the report also demonstrates the importance of the family network, in providing both  

financial and emotional support during times of hardship. As money worries loom large, one in five people (19%) have borrowed money from family members in the past year.  One in twenty young people (6%) have moved back in with their family in order to save money. 

Further proving that families remain close in the downturn, four fifths of those in the UK feel that their family is always there for them.  Younger people need more support than most, with three quarters (76%) claiming it is very important that their family provides them with emotional support and over half (55%) looking for ‘unconditional' support.  

Lord Leitch, Chair of Centre for the Modern Family, said:  "These findings paint a stark and in some cases desperate picture of family life in Britain today as families feel the squeeze of these difficult times.  Family life has changed considerably in the last 10 years and families are making real sacrifices just to get by.

"Young people in particular face a very different kind of working life from the one that their parents and grandparents experienced. Affordable housing and a comfortable retirement are just two aspects that can no longer be taken for granted and as a result young people now face an increasingly uncertain future.     The Centre for the Modern Family will use these findings to engage with Government, business and local communities to help them effectively support the families least able to cope." 

Sociologist and Centre for the Modern Family panel member, Professor Laurie Taylor of Birkbeck College, University of London said: "Family still remains the bedrock of our society and not just among the older generations but for young people too who are more and more relying on parents for emotional and financial support.  Times may be tough but we should feel comforted by the fact that family is still seen as a haven in today's society."