Verified by 
Since 2007, the American Psychological Association has commissioned an annual nationwide survey to examine the state of stress across the country and to understand better its impact. The Stress in America Survey measures attitudes and perceptions of stress among the general public and identifies leading sources of stress, behavior used to manage stress, and the impact of stress on the lives of the American people. Results of this year's survey were released in late January. In the next couple of blog posts, I'll review some of the interesting results and insights gleaned from this survey.
One of the first questions you might ask is: Who is under more stress, men or women? The majority of men and women surveyed indicated that in general they were satisfied with their lives. However, there were certain aspects of their lives that they both find troubling. No surprise, fewer than half of the men and women reported that they are satisfied with their financial security.
As in the past, women report higher levels of stress than men, and this year was no exception. Compared to women, though, men are less likely to say that they are doing an excellent, or very good job, handling the relationships in their family, with their friends and at work, eating healthy meals and getting enough sleep. Men in general reported that they were less concerned about managing stress and were more likely than women to say that they were doing enough to deal with this area of their lives.
Survey results also suggest that the link between stress and physical health and illness is harder for men to recognize. Men are less likely than women to believe that stress can have an impact on their health. This may be one of the reasons why men are less likely to do anything about stress than women. Unfortunately, the consequence of not recognizing the need to address the link between stress and physical health appears to have a negative impact on men's health, with men being more likely than women to report having been diagnosed with chronic diseases, such as high blood pressure, diabetes, and heart disease, all of which have a clear link to lifestyle and stress management.
Another interesting finding from this report is that older adults are less likely than younger generations to report that they experience high levels of stress. This may be in part because they are more likely to recognize the importance of maintaining a healthy lifestyle and they may have also been more likely to have been told by their healthcare provider to reduce the level of stress in their lives. Older adults appear to feel better about what they are doing to cope with stress and feel like they are being more successful than younger adults in managing the stressors that they are confronting.
It is also not surprising that the types of stress that the generations experience are different. Significant stressors for Millennials, GenXers and Boomers are money, work and housing. Older adults are more likely to cite health problems for their families or themselves. Millennials are less likely than older adults to be stressed by the economy, with relationships being particularly problematic for them.
The good news from the survey is that the ability to manage stress appears to improve with age. Boomers indicate that they are much more likely than Millennials to report being flexible and willing to compromise and to say that they adjust their expectations to the challenges that they are facing. Older adults are notably more likely than Millennials to report that they express their feelings rather than keeping them bottled up.
The different generations also appear to deal differently with stress when they are attempting to manage it. Millennials, GenXers and Boomers are more likely than older adults to say that they listen to music in order to manage their stress. Millennials and GenXers are more likely than Boomers and older adults to report playing video games or surfing the Internet in response to stress. GenXers are more likely than Millennials or older adults to report that they smoke as a way of coping with stress. Reading appears to be a stress management strategy for the Boomer generation. Boomers and older adults are notably more likely than younger generations to pray during stressful times. Millennials, on the other hand, are more likely than GenXers and older adults to meditate or do yoga to manage their stress.
Sizable portions of all adults report unhealthy behaviors often being a consequence of stress. These consequences include sleep problems, eating unhealthy foods and skipping meals. There are also some notable differences between the generations, with older adults reporting significantly less irritation and anger as a result of stress and being less likely than other generations to report feeling depressed or sad as a result of stress. Almost half of the GenXers surveyed reported experiencing stress-induced fatigue during the past month. Survey results suggest that stress is even taking its toll on younger adults' sex drive, with feeling nervous and anxious being a particular problem for Millennials.
Even though the stress differential for some generations is decreasing, adults of all generations seem to be struggling with managing stress. All generations said they could do better at managing stress.
