If so, a new survey released today by American Express and RoperASW brings comforting news: consumers still rate commitment to family and close friends as the most important values of all. This is true around the world and across all income levels.

This third American Express/RoperASW Global Affluent Study focused on the interpersonal/relationship-oriented values ranked by over 11,000 consumers in eleven countries (Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, Japan, Mexico, the UK and the US).

(Note: As its name indicates, the American Express/RoperASW Global Affluent Study series was designed to follow behavior, lifestyle and preferences of affluent consumers. However, in this particular report, the affluent and non-affluent results were very close, so the results have been combined. Any significant differences in specific findings are noted below.)

Overall Findings
The values related to interpersonal relationships fell into three categories: Hearth and Home, Spiritual, and Community. (Note: the full list has 57 values, but not all of them relate to interpersonal relationship issues.

1) The Hearth and Home group (which includes protecting the family, friendship, enduring love, and stable personal relationships) was the top-ranking category.

• Protecting the Family was the highest ranked individual value within Hearth and Home. In fact, it was the highest ranked value on the entire list of 57! And it has held this position for the past five years.
• Friendship was ranked 7 among the full set of respondents (and 10 among affluent).
• Enduring love was 8 among the total (5th among the affluent).
• Stable personal relationships ranked 11 among the total (9 among affluent).

“It is heart-warming and reassuring to see that, in spite of the changes and difficulties people in many countries have faced in the past few years, the value they place on family and friendship endure and predominate across all income levels, cultures and religions,” says Vijay Parekh, president of American Express' international consumer business.

2) Spiritual values (e.g. “spirituality” and “faith”) was the second-highest ranking group.

• Faith was ranked 12 overall and 21 among the affluent.
• Spirituality was ranked 17 overall and 20 among the affluent.

3) Community relationships ranked lowest of the three.

• Social responsibility ranked 37 among the total surveyed in the eleven countries and 29 among the affluent. This 12-point difference may reflect a greater financial ability among those with higher incomes to help others.
• Helpfulness was 27 overall, but 37 among affluent. This may reflect feelings among the less wealthy that the best way to assist others may be through personal outreach.

Country Differences in Interpersonal Values
The priority that people place on relationship-oriented values varies — sometimes dramatically — by country.

• Protecting family ranks first among people's values in ten of the eleven countries surveyed. It ranks second only in Brazil, after honesty, which ranks second nearly everywhere else.
• Enduring love is on consumers' top-ten list of values everywhere except in Brazil (where it ranks 15) and the US (14). It ranks highest in Germany, in third place.
• People in Japan place even greater emphasis than average on friendship and stable personal relationships, ranking them second and fourth, respectively, among 57 values.

“Japanese culture places a strong emphasis on the importance and benefits of mutual interpersonal support,” says Xiaoyan Zhao, director of the RoperASW study.

• Friendship is also very important to people in Australia and the UK, who rank it third.
• In addition, stable personal relationships are critical to the Germans and British, for whom this value ranks fourth and fifth, respectively.

“These developed Western cultures share a focus on the enjoyable aspects of life, such as having fun,” says Zhao. “This extends to the value they place on relationships. In addition, Germans value stability in general, not just in personal relationships, but also in societal and economic terms.”

• In contrast, stable personal relationships ranks 27 for Brazilians, and friendship ranks 23. This may seem odd in the nation of “Carnivale,” but “in this predominantly Catholic nation, Brazilians are in fact a devout and pragmatic group who place high importance on values such as faith and spirituality,” says Zhao.

Faith and Spirituality: Overall Low and Not Increasing, but Among Top Values in the Americas

• Among the eleven countries, only in the Americas does religiosity figure among people's top priorities. Faith and spirituality rank third and sixth in Brazil, respectively. They rank 6 and 11 in the US, and 15 and 16 in Mexico.

“Compared with the other countries in the study, these three share a religious tradition that remains an integral part of the cultural personality,” says Zhao. “They practice what they preach, too; a majority of people in Brazil, Mexico, and the US report praying or meditating at least weekly.”

The 11-market overall rankings in faith and spirituality have not increased in recent years.

• Faith has remained flat over the past few years off a fairly low base. It ranks 44 in Germany, 42 in Japan, and 41 in France. The German and French rankings show a slight decline over the past few years.
• Spirituality is down 3 points. It ranks 41 in the UK and 35 in France and rankings have declined in France and Canada.

“Roper's research indicates that parts of the ‘developed' world have become even more secular in recent years,” says Zhao.

• The exception is the United States, which is the only “developed” nation where faith, which was highly ranked to begin with, has remained stable and spirituality is up three points.

Correlation Between Altruism and Hearth and Home Values

• Helpfulness is a high priority in Japan and Germany, where it ranks 12 and 18, respectively. Both these countries scored high in the Hearth and Home values.

“The focus on helping other people in Japan and Germany is in line with the priority that consumers in both of these countries place on stable personal relationships, as well as the importance of friendship in Japan and enduring love in Germany,” says Zhao.

• Social responsibility ranks highest among the surveyed countries as a personal value in Australia, in 26th place. Australia scored especially high in the Hearth and Home group rankings. It is also relatively more important in the US (30).

“In several of these countries, it's a case of people not just ‘talking the talk', but ‘walking the walk,' ” says Zhao. “Roper data show that Australians and Americans are among those most likely to say they volunteer or help others on a regular basis.”

Tradition Low in Rankings but Up Slightly in US and Brazil

• Relationships of all kinds are of special significance during the holidays, but there is one type that may not be, and that is people's relationship with the past. In fact, tradition ranks 49 out of the 57 values for the affluent and 45 for the non-affluent.

“Tradition for its own sake may not be a highly ranked value in many parts of the world today,” says Parekh. “But relationships with family and friends clearly are. People are looking to the future, while building on the strengths of the past.”

The information in this release is based on the Roper Reports Worldwide 2003 global survey of 1,000 people in each of eleven countries, conducted by RoperASW, an NOP World company. Affluent respondents represent the top earning 10-20% of households surveyed in each country, with incomes varying somewhat from country to country. The margin of error for affluent consumers across the eleven markets is +/-3%.

RoperASW, an NOP World company, is a leading global market research and consulting firm. With headquarters in New York and offices in London, Manila and throughout the U.S., NOP World is the seventh largest market research company in the U.S. and among the top ten globally.

American Express Company is a diversified worldwide travel and financial services company founded in 1850. It is a leader in charge and credit cards, Travelers Cheques, travel, investment products, insurance and international and online banking.