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APA survey: Money is the biggest stressor for Americans

Despite improvements to the U.S. economy, stress about money and finances weigh heavily on Americans, according to this year’s American Psychological Association Survey, Stress in America: Paying With Our Health.

The survey shows that 72% of adults report feeling stressed about money at least some of the time; 22% reported extreme stress about money during the past month.

“Regardless of the economic climate, money and finances have remained the top stressor since our survey began in 2007. Furthermore, this year’s survey shows that stress related to financial issues could have a significant impact on Americans’ health and well-being,” Norman B. Anderson, PhD, APA CEO and Executive Vice President, said in a press release.

The survey was conducted by Harris Poll on behalf of the APA in August 2014, and included 3,068 U.S. adults.

Results show that 26% of adults reported stress over money most or all of the time; 32% of adults reported their finances or lack thereof prevented them from leading a healthy lifestyle. Specifically, one in five Americans said they have either considered skipping (9%) or skipped (12%) going to the doctor in the past year, even if they required medical health care.

Parents, younger generations (75% of millennials aged 18 to 35 years; 76% of Gen Xers aged 36 to 49 years) and people living in lower-income (less than $50,000 per year) households reported greater stress compared with other Americans overall, according to the report.

One in five Americans (21%) said they had no emotional support, and nearly half (46%) of those said they felt depressed or sad due to stress over the past month, according to the report.

“This year’s survey continues to reinforce the idea that we are living with a level of stress that we consider too high,” Anderson said. “Despite the good news that overall stress levels are down, it appears that the idea of living with stress higher than what we believe to be healthy and dealing with it in ineffective ways continues to be embedded in our culture. All Americans, and particularly those groups that are most affected by stress — which include women, younger adults and those with lower incomes — need to address this issue sooner than later in order to better their health and well-being.” – by Samantha Costa