2015 Stress in America™

Though adults today report an average stress level only slightly higher than in 2014, significantly greater percentages report experiencing extreme stress levels. In addition, higher proportions of adults report experiencing at least one symptom of stress.

• Adults rate their average stress level as 5.1 on a 10-point scale, where 1 is “little or no stress” and 10 is “a great deal of stress,” slightly up from 4.9 in 2014.
• Adults’ reported stress levels are higher than what they believe is healthy (3.8 on a 10-point scale). The gap between average reported and perceived healthy stress levels is consistent with last year (a gap of 1.3 in 2015 vs. 1.2 in 2014).
• Extreme stress is associated with this slight increase in overall stress. Adults are more likely than last year to report experiencing extreme stress (a rating of 8,9 or 10 on a 10-point scale). Twenty-four percent of adults report these levels, compared to 18 percent in 2014. This represents the highest percentage reporting extreme stress since 2010.
• More than one-third of adults (34 percent) report that their stress increased over the past year. Only 16 percent report decreased stress in the past year.
• In addition, a greater percentage of adults than last year report experiencing at least one symptom of stress (78 percent vs. 75 percent in 2014).
• Along with greater stress, many adults are coping with health and lifestyle challenges. The majority of adults report having at least one chronic illness. In addition, many adults lack exercise and remain sedentary for much of the day. More than 10 percent of adults also report having a mental health-related diagnosis.

• Since the question was first asked in 2010, the percentage of adults reporting that their health is “fair” or “poor” is at its highest — 23 percent — significantly higher than the 19 percent in 2012 and the 20 percent reported in 2014. In addition, while 41 percent report that they are in good health, the percentage reporting excellent or very good health has decreased slightly (35 percent vs. 38 percent in 2014).
• A greater percentage of adults report chronic illnesses than in 2014, with 67 percent reporting that they have received a diagnosis for at least one chronic illness (compared to 60 percent in 2014).
• Many adults report diagnoses of mental health-related chronic illnesses, such as depression (16 percent) and anxiety disorder (13 percent), up from 12 percent and 9 percent in 2014, respectively.
• Physically, adults are faring the same or slightly worse as in 2014. Thirty-two percent report high blood pressure in 2015 (compared to 28 percent in 2014), and 58 percent of adults are overweight or obese (based on body mass index calculated using self-reported height and weight), on par with 2014 (57 percent).
• Although half of adults (50 percent) report engaging in exercise or physical activity that makes them sweat or breathe hard at least a few times a week, 22 percent report never exercising or doing such physical activity.
• In addition, adults spend an average of 6.4 hours a day in sedentary activities — sitting or lying, without much movement — including time spent at a desk, watching TV or on a computer. Forty-five percent of adults report doing so for 6 to 12+ hours a day.

The Stress in America™ survey finds that significantly higher percentages of adults than last year report that stress impacts their physical and mental health. For example, a substantial number of individuals report physical and mental health-related symptoms, such as headaches or feeling anxious or depressed. They also report changes in their behaviors due to stress, such as yelling at their loved ones, ignoring responsibilities and canceling social plans.

• Adults today are significantly more likely than last year to recognize the connection between stress and physical and mental health. Almost one-third report that stress has a very strong or strong impact on their body/physical health and mental health (31 and 32 percent in 2015, compared to 25 and 28 percent in 2014, respectively).
• Significant percentages of adults also report experiencing mental health-related symptoms as a result of stress in the past month, such as feeling nervous or anxious (42 percent vs. 35 percent in 2014), feeling depressed or sad (37 percent vs. 32 percent in 2014) and constant worrying (33 percent vs. 28 percent in 2014). As in 2014, 37 percent report irritability or anger as a result of stress.

• About two in five adults (39 percent) report overeating or eating unhealthy foods in the past month due to stress, compared to 33 percent in 2014. This represents a return to the percentage reporting the same in 2011.
• At the same time, 31 percent of adults admit to skipping a meal in the past month due to stress. Just 25 percent said the same in 2014.
• Adults also are more likely to report changes in sleeping habits (33 percent vs. 27 percent in 2014), headaches (32 percent vs. 27 percent in 2014) and an inability to concentrate (27 percent vs. 23 percent in 2014) due to stress in the past month.
• Sleeping well appears to be on the decline. While adults report sleeping an average of 6.7 hours per night, just 33 percent report their sleep quality as good, which is down from 37 percent in 2014. And nearly half (46 percent) report fair or poor sleep quality — an increase from 41 percent in 2014.
• In addition, nearly half of adults (46 percent) report lying awake at night due to stress in the past month, which is a jump from 42 percent in 2014.
• For many adults, stress affects their behavior toward others. Almost half of adults (47 percent) who have a spouse or partner report losing patience with or yelling at them in the past month when they were feeling stressed. In addition, 46 percent of parents (defined as those with children under 18 living at home) report similar behavior with their children. One-quarter (25 percent) of those employed report snapping at or being short with co-workers because of stress.

Although stress negatively affects several facets of their lives, many adults report active stress management practices, and greater numbers of adults favorably view psychologists’ ability to help with stress management.

• When it comes to managing their stress, a higher percentage of adults than last year say that they feel they are doing enough (63 percent vs. 58 percent in 2014). Despite this, the number of adults saying that they are not doing enough to manage their stress remains consistent at 21 percent, compared to 22 percent in 2014.
• Although the majority of adults in the U.S. report doing enough to manage their stress, many adults rarely engage in stress management activities. About half (49 percent) say that they engage in such activities a few times a month or less. Nearly one in five adults (18 percent) say they never engage in stress relief activities.
• Interestingly, those who say they are doing enough to manage their stress are more likely than those who say they are not doing enough to also say they do not engage in stress management activities (21 percent vs. 13 percent). This may suggest that those who feel they are doing enough may not feel it necessary to engage in specific stress management activities.
• When it comes to stress management, 47 percent of adults engage in active methods, such as exercising or walking, meditation or yoga, and playing sports.
• The six most common stress relief activities include listening to music (46 percent), exercising or walking (43 percent), surfing the Internet/going online (40 percent), watching television or movies for more than two hours per day (39 percent), reading (35 percent) and spending time with family (also 35 percent).
• When it comes to the helpfulness of psychologists, nearly half of adults have positive regard for psychologists in their ability to help manage stress, with 45 percent saying they think a psychologist can help a great deal or a lot. In 2014, just 31 percent said the same.

• In addition, more than half (51 percent) think psychologists can help a great deal or a lot when it comes to coping with mental health issues, up from 43 percent in 2014.
• Four in 10 adults (41 percent) also said they think psychologists can help a great deal or a lot with making lifestyle or behavior changes, up from 28 percent in 2014.

Even while struggling to cope with stress, many adults report optimistic outlooks and findings that point to the power of emotional support. The majority of adults feel confident in their problem-handling skills, and they expect good things to happen to them rather than bad. However, a significantly greater percentage of adults than the previous year report that in the last month, their difficulties were too numerous to overcome, with slightly more than half (55 percent) saying they could have used more emotional support.

• Many adults report feeling positive about their lives and their futures in the last month. Nearly six in 10 (59 percent) report that they felt confident in the last month about their ability to handle personal problems fairly or very often, compared to 52 percent saying the same in 2014. Almost half of adults (46 percent) report feeling fairly or very often that things were going their way, compared to only 38 percent saying the same in 2014.
• Despite increased positivity, one-quarter of adults (25 percent) report feeling fairly or very often in the last month that difficulties were piling up so high that they could not overcome them, compared to 16 percent in 2014 saying the same. The percentage reporting feeling fairly or very often unable to control the important things in their lives remained consistent (24 percent vs. 23 percent in 2014).
• A similar trend appears when examining adults’ levels of emotional support. While seven in 10 (70 percent vs. 66 percent in 2014) report that there is someone they can ask for emotional support if they need it, such as talking over problems or helping make a difficult decision, many adults report that they could have used more emotional support to help them cope with difficulties. More than half (55 percent compared to 49 percent in 2014) report that they could have used at least a little more emotional support than they received in the past 12 months.
• While adults report having fewer close personal relationships (relatives or non-relatives with whom they feel at ease, to whom they can talk about personal matters and upon whom they can call for help) than in 2014 (4.1 in 2015 vs. 4.5 in 2014), the proportion reporting that they had no close relationships at all decreased from 9 percent in 2014 to 6 percent in 2015.
• The power of emotional support can be seen in its association with adults’ stress levels. On average, those adults reporting that they receive emotional support report lower stress levels than those reporting that they receive no emotional support (5.0 vs. 6.3, respectively).

While men experience increased stress, women still largely bear the brunt.

Since Stress in America™ began in 2007 to explore U.S. adults’ experiences with stress, women consistently have reported higher average stress levels than men, and 2015 is no exception. This year, however, it appears that men experienced increased stress compared to 2014, and they also report a higher average stress level than last year. Neither gender is faring much better than last year when it comes to doing enough to manage their stress.

• While women’s reported average stress levels are still higher than men’s (5.3 vs. 4.9 on a 10-point scale) , the gap has closed slightly (in 2014 women reported 5.2 vs. 4.5 for men).
• Men are nearly as likely as women to report that their stress has increased over the past year. While nearly four in 10 women (37 percent compared to 32 percent in 2014) report that their stress has increased over the past year, 31 percent of men report the same (compared to 25 percent in 2014).
• Regardless of gender, both men and women rate money (67 percent and 66 percent, respectively) and work (68 percent and 62 percent, respectively) as significant sources of stress.
• Similar percentages of women and men report engaging in some stress management activities, such as exercising or walking (42 percent vs. 43 percent), going online (40 percent vs. 41 percent), and watching TV or movies for more than two hours a day (40 percent vs. 38 percent).
• However, greater percentages of women than men report engaging in certain activities, such as spending time with friends or family (41 percent vs. 28 percent), reading (41 percent vs. 28 percent), praying (35 percent vs. 25 percent) and eating (32 percent vs. 21 percent) for stress management.
• Despite their stress relief efforts, both genders similarly report feeling that they are not doing enough to manage stress (21 percent of women vs. 19 percent of men).

Younger adults continue to report more stress; money and work are top culprits.

On average, younger adults report higher stress levels, and are more likely than older generations to report that their stress has increased in the past year. While they also are more likely than older generations to report engaging in stress relief activities, they are most likely to say they do not feel they are doing enough to manage their stress.

• On average, Millennials and Gen Xers report higher levels of stress than Boomers and Matures (6.0, 5.8, 4.3 and 3.5 on a 10-point scale, respectively) and have done so since 2012.
• Millennials and Gen Xers are more likely to rate money as a significant source of stress (82 and 73 percent) than Boomers (58 percent) or Matures (41 percent). Millennials also are more likely than Gen Xers, Boomers and Matures to say that work is a significant source of stress (79 percent of Millennials, compared to 67 percent of Gen Xers, 48 percent of Boomers and 37 percent of Matures).
• There appears to be a sharp spike in younger adults saying their stress levels have increased in the past year (45 percent of Millennials and 39 percent of Gen Xers in 2015, compared to 36 percent and 30 percent in 2014, respectively). These percentages represent a return to levels seen in 2013, when 45 percent of Millennials and 36 percent of Gen Xers said the same.
• Younger adults are more likely than older generations to report engaging in certain coping activities to manage stress. Moreover, younger adults are more likely than older generations to report engaging in sedentary activities, such as listening to music (57 percent of Millennials, 49 percent of Gen Xers, 40 percent of Boomers and 25 percent of Matures), going online (48 percent of Millennials, 42 percent of Gen Xers, 36 percent of Boomers and 32 percent of Matures), eating (37 percent of Millennials, 33 percent of Gen Xers, 19 percent of Boomers and 15 percent of Matures) and playing video games (27 percent of Millennials, 20 percent of Gen Xers, 13 percent of Boomers and 11 percent of Matures).
• Despite reporting that they are engaging in various stress management techniques, more than one in four younger adults (30 percent of Millennials and 25 percent of Gen Xers) say they do not feel they are doing enough to manage their stress, compared with about one in 10 older adults (15 percent of Boomers and 6 percent of Matures).

Hispanic adults carry the largest share of stress burden.

Race and ethnicity seem to play a role in overall stress levels. Over the past four years, Hispanic adults have, on average, reported stress levels that are significantly higher than adults as a whole.¹

• On average, Hispanic adults report the highest stress level (5.9 on a 10-point scale vs. 5.1 for all adults), and are more likely than adults as a whole to say their stress has increased in the past year (40 percent vs. 34 percent for all respondents).
• In general, Hispanics, Blacks, Asians and American Indian/Alaska Natives (AI/AN) in the U.S. are most likely overall to report common sources of stress as significant, including:

• Black, AI/AN and Hispanic adults are more likely than adults in general to report that they to listen to music to help manage stress (Blacks: 60 percent; AI/AN: 56 percent; Hispanics: 52 percent; All respondents: 46 percent). Black adults also are significantly more likely than other races and ethnicities to say that they use prayer as a stress management technique (Blacks: 50 percent; Hispanics: 34 percent; AI/AN: 34 percent; All respondents: 30 percent).

Adults who have a disability are nearly twice as likely to experience extreme stress.

This year’s survey findings suggest that adults who live with a disability report higher stress levels and are almost twice as likely as those without a disability to report a stress level in the “extreme” category.² In addition, individuals with disabilities are more likely than those without to cite money, work and health as sources of stress.

• Adults with disabilities report an average stress level of 5.5 on a 10-point scale, while those who do not have a disability report an average stress level of 4.8.
• Delving deeper into the average stress level data shows that almost twice as many adults with a disability as those without report an extreme stress level of 8, 9 or 10 on a 10-point scale (33 percent verusus 18 percent, respectively).
• Money (75 percent) and work (73 percent) are the most commonly reported somewhat or very significant sources of stress for adults with disabilities. Adults without disabilities report money and work as sources of stress to a lesser degree (62 and 63 percent, respectively).
• Moreover, personal health concerns (69 percent) and health problems affecting their family (60 percent) are somewhat or very significant sources of stress for adults with disabilities. For adults without disabilities, these concerns are somewhat or very significant for 41 percent and 45 percent, respectively.

Adults who are LGBT report higher stress levels than their non-LGBT peers.³

Adults who are LGBT report higher stress levels, are more likely to report extreme stress levels and report an increase in stress over the past year, compared to adults who are non-LGBT.⁴

• Adults who are LGBT report higher average stress levels than adults who are non-LGBT (6.0 vs. 5.0 on a 10-point scale, respectively).
• Adults who are LGBT are more likely than adults who are non-LGBT to report extreme stress levels (39 percent vs. 23 percent, respectively).
• Adults who are LGBT are more likely than non-LGBT adults to report experiencing increased stress over the past year (49 percent vs. 34 percent, respectively).
• More than one-third of adults who are LGBT (36 percent) believe they are not doing enough to manage their stress, compared to one-fifth (20 percent) of non-LGBT adults saying the same.
• Job stability is a somewhat or very significant source of stress for 57 percent of adults who are LGBT, compared to 36 percent of adults who are non-LGBT.

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, 3) Asian, 4) Native American/Alaskan Native, and 5) Hawaiian Native or other Pacific Islander.

² This report defines a “disability” as any of the following conditions:

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

³ LGBT was defined as those who indicated they were Transgender (Q268) or consider themselves to be Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, or Other (Q498). Non-LGBT was defined as those who identify as Male or Female (Q268) and Heterosexual (Q498).