Stress in America: APA releases new report.

According to the 2014 Stress in America survey by the American Psychological Association, money and finances are the key issues on our minds. This isn’t too much of a surprise since money has been at the top of the list of stressers since the APA began collecing data in 2007.

Stress in America Highlights

• 72% of us feel stress over money at least some of the time.
• 22% experience extreme stress over money.
• 32% of adults say that finances or money prevent them from living a healthy lifestyle.
• 1 in 5 Americans have skipped or considered skipping going to the doctor due to money.
• 31% of spouses and partners say that money is a major source of conflict or tension in their relationship.
• 77% of parents report feeling significant stress over money, with 25% indicating that they have no emotional support.
• Households with lower income nearly twice as likely as higher income (45% versus 24%) to feel money prevents them from living a healthy lifestyle.
• 18% say money is a taboo subject in their family, and 36% say talking about money makes them uncomfortable.

Survey findings show that although overall stress levels appear to be trending downward since 2007, this drop is not shared equally. Women, younger Americans and parents report higher stress levels and are more likely to report have experienced at least one symptom of stress in the past month than Americans overall.

Download the full report: Stress in America-Paying with Our Health.

Stress in America and the importance of emotional support

Based on the study findings, there is an important link between having emotional support and feeling stress. Americans who have someone to turn to for emotional support  report lower stress levels and better related outcomes than those without emotional support.

The Stress in America survey was conducted online on behalf of the APA by Harris Poll. The results include more than 3,000 Americans age 18 and older. The full report is available for download from the APA site.