2015 Stress in America™

Sample Size

Throughout this report, different segments of adults are discussed. Demographic subgroups of adults (n=3361 total) are defined below and include:

• Gender: Male: n=1104; Female: n=2244
• Race/Ethnicity: White: n=1071; Hispanic: n=813; Black: n=825; Asian: n=416; American Indian or Alaskan Native: n=199
• Generation: millennials (18 to 36 years old): n=1190; Gen Xers (37 to 50 years old): n=649; baby boomers (51 to 69 years old): n=1130; matures (age 70 or older): n=392
• Poverty Level: At or below 200 percent of the annual federal poverty guidelines: n=1168; More than 200 percent of the annual poverty guidelines: n=1897
• Region: East: n=687; Midwest: n=632; South: n=1209; West: n=832
• Urbanicity: Urban: n=1304; Suburban: n=1389; Rural: n= 668
• Emotional Support: Yes: n=2366; No: n=674
• Disability: Persons living with a disability: n=1088; Persons living without a disability: n=2222
• LGBT: LGBT: n=233; Non-LGBT: n=3043

Race/Ethnicity Definition

Harris Poll’s methods for asking about and categorizing race and ethnicity are in accordance with the approach taken by the U.S. Census Bureau which treats race and ethnicity as two separate and distinct categories, examined in two separate questions.¹ Per the Census’ framework, ethnicity is categorized as either “Hispanic or Latino” or “not Hispanic or Latino.” Race comprises five categories: 1) White, 2) Black/African-American - referenced in the report as Black, 3) Asian, 4) Native American/Alaskan Native - referenced in the report as American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN), and 5) Hawaiian Native or other Pacific Islander. The Census further describes that the concept of race reflects self-identification by people according to the race or races with which they most closely identify and that people who report themselves as Hispanic can be of any race.

Using the framework described above and the questions below, if respondents identified as Hispanic in Q1, for the purposes of this research, they were included in the Hispanic subgroup regardless of their responses to the subsequent questions examining race. All other respondents were identified based solely on their answers to Q2. Very few indicated they were of mixed race or some other race. Those who did are included in the total sample, but have been excluded from the racial/ethnic analysis, as there were too few (1 percent of the total sample) to analyze separately.

QUESTIONS TO DEFINE RACE/ETHNICITY

BASE: U.S. RESPONDENTS

Q1: Are you of Spanish or Hispanic origin, such as Latin American, Mexican, Puerto Rican, or Cuban?

1. Yes, of Hispanic origin
2. No, not of Hispanic origin
3. Decline to answer

BASE: U.S. RESPONDENTS

Q2: Do you consider yourself…?

1. White
2. Black
3. Asian or Pacific Islander
4. Native American or Alaskan Native
5. Mixed racial background
6. Some other race
7. African-American
8. Decline to answer

BASE: OTHER RACE

Q3 What other race do you consider yourself?

[TEXT BOX]

BASE: MIXED RACIAL BACKGROUND

Q4: You indicated that you consider yourself of a mixed racial background. With which of the following racial groups do you most closely identify? Please select all that apply.

1. White
2. Black
3. African-American
4. Asian or Pacific Islander
5. Native American or Alaskan Native
6. Some other race
7. Decline to answer

Poverty Level Definition

The proportion of respondents in poverty was calculated based on the 2015 Federal Poverty Guidelines.² The calculation takes into account annual household income, as well as the number of persons living in the household. For the purposes of this research, poverty was defined as being at or below 200 percent of the federal annual poverty guidelines. For example, a family of four is considered to be living in poverty if their annual household income is $48,500 or less.

Emotional Support Definition

Emotional support was defined using the question below from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). Respondents who said “yes” to the question below were categorized as having emotional support, and those who said “no” were categorized as not having emotional support. Those who said “I do not need help” were not included in analyses examining the impact of emotional support.

QUESTION TO DEFINE EMOTIONAL SUPPORT

Q: Is there someone you can ask for emotional support if you need it, such as talking over problems or helping you make a difficult decision?

1. Yes
2. No
3. I don’t need help

Disability Definition

Disability was defined using the question below. Respondents who selected “yes, myself only” or “yes, both myself and someone else” for any of the four conditions listed were qualified as persons with a disability. Respondents who selected “yes, someone else only” or “no” were considered not to have a disability. Respondents who selected “decline to answer” were excluded from the classification.

QUESTION TO DEFINE DISABILITY

Q: Do you, or does anyone in your household, have any of the following conditions?

1. Yes, myself only
2. Yes, someone else only
3. Yes, both myself and someone else
4. No
5. Decline to answer

1. Blindness or a severe visual impairment in either eye
2. Deafness or hard of hearing in either ear
3. A long-lasting condition that substantially limits one or more basic physical activities, such as walking, climbing stairs, reaching, lifting or carrying
4. A long-lasting physical, mental or emotional condition that increases the difficulty of learning, remembering or concentrating

LGBT Definition

Using the questions below, LGBT was defined as those who indicated they were transgender or other (Q1) OR consider themselves to be lesbian, gay, bisexual or other (Q2). Non-LGBT was defined as those who identify as male or female exclusively (Q1) and heterosexual (Q2).

QUESTIONS TO DEFINE LGBT

Q1: Are you…?

1. Male
2. Female
3. Transgender
4. Other

Q2: Of the following, which do you consider yourself to be?

1. Heterosexual (straight)
2. Lesbian
3. Gay
4. Bisexual
5. Other
6. Not sure
7. Decline to answer

The survey measured two types of discrimination: 1) day-to-day, and 2) major forms of discrimination. The questions used in this survey were adapted from The Everyday Discrimination Scale³ and Major Experiences of Discrimination Scale.⁴ The percentage for “experiencing any discrimination” is reflective of the percentage who said they experienced the following:

• At least one of the five day-to-day stressors “less than once a year” or more often (Q1); or
• Ever experienced one of nine major forms of discrimination (Q2).

Similarly, the average number of discrimination experiences was calculated using the sum of the frequency rating of the five day-to-day stressors (Q1) and the sum of the nine major forms of discrimination (Q2). A respondent was categorized as having experienced discrimination if they indicated they experienced at least one day-to-day type of discrimination at least “less than once a year” or more often or at least one of the nine forms of major discrimination ever in their lives.

QUESTION TO DEFINE EXPERIENCE WITH DAY-TO-DAY DISCRIMINATION

BASE: ALL QUALIFIED RESPONDENTS

Q1: In your day-to-day life, how often have any of the following things happened to you?

1. Never
2. Less than once a year
3. A few times a year
4. A few times a month
5. At least once a week
6. Almost everyday

1. You are treated with less courtesy or respect than other people.
2. You receive poorer service than other people at restaurants or stores.
3. People act as if they think you are not smart.
4. People act as if they are afraid of you.
5. You are threatened or harassed.

QUESTION TO DEFINE EXPERIENCE WITH MAJOR FORMS OF DISCRIMINATION

BASE: ALL QUALIFIED RESPONDENTS

Q2: In the following questions, we are interested in the way other people have treated you or your beliefs about how other people have treated you. Can you tell me if any of the following has ever happened to you:

1. Yes
2. No
   1. Have you ever been unfairly fired from a job?
   2. Have you ever been unfairly denied a promotion?
   3. For unfair reasons, have you ever not been hired for a job?
   4. Have you ever been unfairly stopped, searched, questioned, physically threatened or abused by the police?
   5. Have you ever been unfairly discouraged by a teacher or advisor from continuing your education?
   6. Have you ever been unfairly prevented from moving into a neighborhood because the landlord or a realtor refused to sell or rent you a house or apartment?
   7. Have you ever moved into a neighborhood where neighbors made life difficult for you or your family?
   8. Have you ever been treated unfairly when receiving health care? [Note: not from the Major Experiences of Discrimination Scale ]
   9. Have you ever been treated unfairly while using transportation (e.g., buses, taxis, trains, at an airport, etc.)? [Note: not from the Major Experiences of Discrimination Scale]

In order to confirm that the higher reported average stress levels noted for Hispanic Americans was not due to other demographic differences (i.e., age) between racial/ethnic subgroups, two additional analyses were conducted.

1. All data were weighted to reflect the general profile of U.S. adults across races/ethnicities (i.e., racial/ethnic groups were not weighted separately to their own demographic targets).
2. A linear regression.

The outcomes of these two analyses confirmed that Hispanic Americans have higher reported stress levels, on average, than other racial/ethnic groups. After applying the general profile weights to all racial/ethnic subgroups to make them the same demographically for age, gender, income and education, the overall stress level was still significantly higher for Hispanic Americans compared to White Americans, Black Americans, Asian Americans and the total sample. 

The linear regression was conducted using the overall stress rating (Q605) as the dependent variable, with gender, age, income and race/ethnicity as the independent variables. Variables that have a statistically significant linear relationship with stress are determined by significant values equal to or less than 0.05. The analysis revealed that being female, being younger, having a lower income and being Hispanic have significant impacts on overall reported stress level.

1 United States Census Bureau. (n.d.). Hispanic origin. Retrieved from https://www.census.gov/population/hispanic/about/faq.html

2 Medicaid.gov. (2015). 2015 Federal Poverty Guidelines. Retrieved from https://www.medicaid.gov/medicaid-chip-program-information/by-topics/eligibility/downloads/2015-federal-poverty-level-charts.pdfopens in new window

3 Williams, D. R., Yu, Y., Jackson, J. S., & Anderson, N. B. (1997). Racial differences in physical and mental health: socioeconomic status, stress, and discrimination. Journal of Health Psychology, 2 (3), 335–351. 

4 Williams, D. R., González, H. M., Williams, S., Mohammed, S. A., Moomal, H., & Stein, D. J. (2008). Perceived discrimination, race and health in South Africa: Findings from the South Africa Stress and Health Study. Social Science and Medicine, (67), 441–452.