Burden of stress 2014 survey
The Burden of Stress in America’s 2014 survey examined the role of stress in different aspects of Americans’ lives, as part of several events sponsored by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
The survey was conducted from March 5 to April 8, 2014 with a sample of 2,505 respondents. The poll was developed by researchers at the Harvard Opinion Research Program (HORP) at the Harvard School of Public Health in partnership with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and NPR.
Some highlights and results from the survey:
— Half of all respondents report a major stressful event or experience in the past year – 49% of the public reported that they did have such an event or experience in the past year.
— One quarter of the people report a great deal of stress in the past month; those in poor health were more than twice as likely to report a great deal of stress.
— Too many overall responsibilities and financial problems were key contributors to stress for those who experienced a great deal of stress.
— About 70 percent of individuals who experienced a great deal of stress in the past month say it affected their family life, health and social life.
— The majority of people who reported a great deal of stress in the last month believe that stress has a major impact on most people’s health (72%) and family life (69%).
— Close to three-fourths of those polled (74%) identified their health as a sphere affected by stress. The most commonly reported effect on health was poor emotional well-being; problems with sleep and difficulty thinking, concentrating or making decisions.
— Only one-third of those polled who reported having a ‘great deal’ of stress within the past month said that they had a great deal of control over the stress in their life.
Read More: media.npr.org
Updates
Stress in America 2023: A Nation Recovering from Collective Trauma examined the lasting psychological impacts of this combination of era-defining crises.
The data reported there suggests the long-term stress sustained since the Covid-19 pandemic began has had a significant impact on well-being, evidenced by an increase in chronic illnesses—especially among those between the ages of 35 and 44, which increased from 48% reported in 2019 to 58% in 2023. Adults ages 35 to 44 also experienced the highest increase in mental health diagnoses—from 31% reported in 2019 to 45% in 2023—though adults ages 18 to 34 still reported the highest rate of mental illnesses at 50% in 2023.
Psychological science has revealed that long-term stress creates risks for a variety of mental health challenges, may make us feel more sensitive even to daily hassles, can have broader impacts on our general life outlook and goals, and affects the body’s physiological response to stressors in ways that have notable implications for our physical health.
When examining this year’s survey data, APA psychologists noted many people had generally positive perceptions of their physical health even when they also reported being diagnosed with a chronic condition. For example, despite high ratings of physical health (81% rated their physical health as good or better), two-thirds of adults (66%) said they have been told by a health care provider that they have a chronic illness—including high blood pressure (28%), high cholesterol (24%), or arthritis (17%).
Further, 81% of adults reported their mental health as good or better, while more than one-third (37%) said they have a diagnosed mental health condition—a 5 percentage point increase from prepandemic levels (32% in 2019). Most cited anxiety disorder (24%) or depression (23%).
According to Sherrie Bourg Carter Psy.D.
- Stress among Americans is at an all-time high.
- From COVID-19 to inflation to mass shootings, a multitude of stressors are affecting our well-being.
- Intentional approaches to stress management can be effective in relieving controllable stress.
The prominent stressors include:
- our nation’s future (68%)
- health-related issues (65%)
- the economy (64%)
- money (63%)
- violence and crime (61%)
- S. debt (57%)
- mass shootings (56%)
- social divisiveness (55%), and
- health care (54%).
In the Stress statistics 2025: How common is stress, and who’s most affected?
The Key takeaways include:
- Stress is a natural reaction to an external stressor that can contribute to various medical and mental health conditions.
- Nearly 90% of U.S. adults reported losing sleep at night because of worries about health and the economy.
- Job stress costs the United States over $300 billion yearly in absenteeism, turnover, diminished productivity, and medical, legal, and insurance costs.
- About 75% of Americans reported experiencing a physical or mental symptom of stress in the last month.
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