Americans are less stressed now than before, according to a new study. Major stress factors for people living in the United States are mainly centered on concerns about money and children, researchers concluded.
The Stress in America survey was recently released by the American Psychological Association. This report is produced by the group once a year. Young people, parents and women were found to be among the groups who reported the highest levels of stress.
"On average, Americans rate their stress level as a 4.9 on a 10-point scale, where 1 is 'little or no stress' and 10 is 'a great deal of stress,' down from 6.2 in 2007. Yet reported stress levels remain higher than what Americans believe to be healthy - 3.7 on a 10-point scale," the Stress in America survey concluded.
Roughly 64 percent of respondents in the survey report money concerns bring stress into their lives, making it the top factors leading to mental distress. The next two top concerns among people studied for the report were work and the economy. These are both related to the issue of money, further enhancing the role money plays in the stress among Americans.
People who make less than $50,000 were found to be most stressed over financial worries. This is a change from the first report, conducted in 2007, when concerns over money were spread equally among all financial brackets. Those with lower incomes were twice as likely as others to report money kept them from living a healthy lifestyle.
The Stress in America report revealed that 72 percent of Americans feel stressed over money at least some of the time. Specifically, Americans are most concerned over basic costs of life, saving for retirement, and unexpected expenses, such as medical bills.
Extreme stress over financial issues was reported by 22 percent of the people surveyed. Around 26 percent of participants in the surveyed said they feel stress over financial concerns most or all of the time. Roughly 12 percent of Americans skipped needed medical care during the last 12 months due to the cost, the study revealed.
Parents were more likely than those without children to engage in unhealthy stress-management techniques, including alcohol and tobacco consumption.
Spouses and live-in romantic partners can often be the targets of stress, the survey reveals. About 41 percent of respondents said they yelled or otherwise lost patience with their other half during the 30 days before the survey. Just 18 percent of people reported that same behavior against co-workers.
Emotional support systems, such as close friends or family, help people reduce levels of stress. The survey showed those without such outlets in their lives suffer from higher stress levels than those who have such people surrounding them.
Although overall stress is down in the United States, money and children continue to be major issues.
