A new survey conducted by The Harris Poll on behalf of the American Psychological Association found that stress levels are holding steady from recent years, and despite many struggles, U.S. adults retain a positive outlook. Most (70%) were confident that everything will work out after the coronavirus pandemic ends, and more than three-quarters (77%) said, all in all, they are faring well during the coronavirus pandemic.
However, behind this professed optimism about the future, day-to-day struggles are overwhelming many. Prolonged effects of stress and unhealthy behavior changes are common. Daily tasks and decision-making have become more difficult during the pandemic, particularly for younger adults and parents. As each day can bring a new set of decisions about safety, security, growth, travel, work, and other life requirements, people in the United States seem to be increasingly wracked with uncertainty.
U.S. adults are struggling with daily decisions, especially millennials
For many, the pandemic has imposed the need for constant risk assessment, with routines upended and once trivial tasks recast in light of the pandemic. Many people ask, “What is the community transmission in my area today and how will this affect my choices? What is the vaccination rate? Is there a mask mandate here?” When the factors influencing a person’s decisions are constantly changing, no decision is routine. And this is proving to be exhausting.
According to the survey, nearly one-third of adults (32%) said sometimes they are so stressed about the coronavirus pandemic that they struggle to make basic decisions, such as what to wear or what to eat. Millennials (48%) were particularly likely to struggle with this when compared with other groups (Gen Z adults: 37%, Gen Xers: 32%, Boomers: 14%, older adults: 3%).
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More than one-third said it has been more stressful to make day-to-day decisions (36%) and major life decisions (35%) compared with before the coronavirus pandemic. Younger adults were more likely to feel these decisions are more stressful now (daily decisions: 40% of Gen Z adults, 46% of millennials, and 39% of Gen Xers vs. 24% of boomers, and 14% of older adults; major decisions: 50% of Gen Z adults and 45% of millennials vs. 33% of Gen Xers, 24% of boomers, and 6% of older adults). And slightly more than three in five (61%) agreed the coronavirus pandemic has made them rethink how they were living their life.
More than three in five (63%) agreed that uncertainty about what the next few months will be like causes them stress, and around half (49%) said that the coronavirus pandemic has made planning for their future feel impossible.
When it comes to overall stress, it is not surprising to find that younger generations, who were more likely to say they struggle with basic decisions, also reported generally high stress levels. Gen Z adults (5.6 out of 10 ), millennials (5.7), and Gen Xers (5.2) reported higher average stress levels over the past month related to the coronavirus pandemic than boomers (4.3) and older adults (2.9). This pattern was mirrored in the groups’ respective ability to manage stress; around half of Gen Z adults (45%) and millennials (50%) said they do not know how to manage the stress they feel due to the coronavirus pandemic, compared with 32% of Gen Xers, 21% of boomers, and 12% of older adults.
1On a scale of one to 10 where one means “little to no stress” and 10 means “a great deal of stress.”
More dependents, more decisions—pandemic parenting stress persists
Decision-making fatigue is having a disproportionate impact on parents, given changes to work, school, and everyday routines during the pandemic. Many are struggling to manage households divided by vaccination status, with one set of rules for vaccinated adults and kids over age 12 and another for younger unvaccinated children—not to mention varying health conditions that may exist.
The ongoing uncertainty and changes seem to be compounding struggles for parents, especially for those with younger children. For instance, parents with children under age 18 were more likely than those without children to say that both day-to-day decisions and major life decisions are more stressful than they were pre-pandemic (daily: 47% vs. 30%; major: 44% vs. 31%), with 54% of those with young children ages zero to four reporting that day-to-day decisions have become more stressful.
Moreover, almost half of parents reported that sometimes they are so stressed about the coronavirus pandemic that they struggle to make basic decisions (e.g., what to wear, what to eat) (47% vs. 24% of non-parents). Meanwhile, the majority made at least one major life decision during the coronavirus pandemic (62% vs. 35% of non-parents), illustrating a decision-making paradox that seems to have emerged: despite uncertainty and decision difficulty, major life changes still occur.
All of this is wearing on parents as the pandemic persists. And while most parents said they are faring well during the coronavirus pandemic, they were less likely to say so than non-parents (71% vs. 80%). Further, compared with 2020, parents were:
- More likely to say family responsibilities (75% vs. 70% of parents in 2020) and relationships (68% vs. 64%) are significant sources of stress in their lives.
- More likely to feel they could have used more emotional support than they received over the past year (79% vs. 71%).
- Less likely to feel they are doing enough to manage their stress (58% vs. 67%).
- More likely to nap (35% vs. 30%) to manage their stress but less likely to spend time with friends or family (35% vs. 42%).
- Less likely to say their mental health is very good or excellent (47% vs. 52%).
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Pandemic stress among people of color is still elevated, especially for Hispanic adults
Hispanic and Black adults were less likely to say they are faring well during the coronavirus pandemic than non-Hispanic White adults, though the levels still speak to an overall positive outlook (81% of non-Hispanic White adults vs. 68% of Hispanic adults and 72% of Black adults). Still, in line with the overall survey findings, this optimistic finding stands in contrast to the reality of compounding pandemic-related stressors bearing down on marginalized communities, especially Hispanic adults.
For example, Hispanic adults were more likely than non-Hispanic White adults to say decision-making has become more stressful compared with before the pandemic (day-to-day decisions: 44% vs. 34%; major decisions: 40% vs. 32%), and Hispanic and Black adults were more likely than non-Hispanic White adults to say sometimes they are so stressed about the coronavirus pandemic that they struggle to make even basic decisions (e.g., what to wear, what to eat, etc.) (38% and 36% vs. 29%, respectively).
Hispanic adults reported the highest levels of stress, on average, over the past month related to the coronavirus pandemic (5.6 vs. Black adults: 5.1; Asian adults: 5.1; non-Hispanic White adults: 4.8). Moreover, Hispanic adults were most likely to say they are struggling with the ups and downs of the coronavirus pandemic (61% vs. 51% of non-Hispanic White adults and 51% of Black adults) and that they don’t know how to manage the stress they feel due to the pandemic (43% vs. 33% and 34%, respectively).
This unequal burden of stress on Hispanic adults was not surprising, considering findings from the survey that shine a light on racial and ethnic disparities in relation to the impact of the pandemic. Specifically, Hispanic adults were more likely than non-Hispanic White adults to know someone who had been sick with or died of COVID-19 (sick: 64% vs. 46%; died: 42% vs. 25%).
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Stress levels remain higher than pre-pandemic levels, work- and housing costs-related stress on the rise
The average reported level of stress during the past month among all adults was 5.0, which has held steady from 2020. Still, this level is slightly elevated from pre-pandemic levels (2021: 5.0; 2020: 5.0; 2019: 4.9; 2018: 4.9; 2017: 4.8; 2016: 4.8).
And while a year over year comparison of significant sources of stress shows a downward trend across most factors, work- and housing costs-related stress slightly increased from 2020. Additionally, all sources of stress remain somewhat higher than pre-pandemic levels, with the economy, housing costs, personal safety, and discrimination representing more dramatic spikes.
Significant sources of stress: 2019–2021
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Many are suffering from the impacts of stress, younger adults and parents continue to bear the brunt
As a result of stress, nearly three-quarters of U.S. adults (74%) have experienced various impacts in the last month, such as headaches (34%), feeling overwhelmed (34%), fatigue (32%), or changes in sleeping habits (32%). Again, younger adults and parents were more likely to report this, with 86% of millennials reporting impacts of stress, closely followed by Gen Z adults (84%) and Gen Xers (77%); only 59% of boomers and 57% of older adults said the same. Parents were also more likely than non-parents to report experiencing impacts of stress in the last month (83% vs. 69%).
Further, the majority of adults (59%) said they have experienced behavior changes as a result of stress in the past month. Most commonly, the changes had been avoiding social situations (24%), altering eating habits (23%), procrastinating or neglecting responsibilities (22%), or altering physical activity levels (22%). In conjunction with changes in eating habits and physical activity, more than one-third said they eat to manage their stress, which remains elevated after increasing during the first year of the pandemic (25% in 2019, 37% in 2020, and 35% in 2021).
- Percent of adults reporting they have experienced behavior changes as a result of stress in the last month:
- Gen Z adults: 79%; millennials: 74%; Gen Xers: 64% versus boomers: 37%; older adults: 17%
- Parents: 75% vs. non-parents: 50%
Resilience among populations varies, some are faring better than others
Generally speaking, U.S. adults are adjusting through the pandemic, but some show fewer signs of resiliency than others. More than half of U.S. adults (53%) agreed they are struggling with the ups and downs of the coronavirus pandemic. Further, slightly more than one-quarter (26%) have low resilience, as determined by a score of 1.00 to 2.99 on the Brief Resilience Scale. Fifty-eight percent had average resilience (a score of 3.00 to 4.30) and 16% had high resilience (a score of 4.31 to 5.00), the survey found.
Younger adults, parents, and those with an annual household income of less than $50K were more likely than their respective counterparts to have a low resilience score. Those with low resilience scores were more likely than those with average or high resilience to say:
- Their stress level, on average, over the past month related to the pandemic has been higher (average: 6.3 vs. 4.9 and 3.3).
- The level of stress in their life increased compared with before the pandemic (53% vs. 43% and 24%).
- Making decisions has become more stressful compared with before the pandemic (day-to-day decisions: 55% vs. 33% and 16%; major decisions: 54% vs. 32% and 13%).
- Sometimes they are so stressed about the coronavirus pandemic that they struggle to make even basic decisions (50% vs. 31% and 5%).
Further, those with low resilience scores were around three times as likely to have experienced negative impacts of stress in the last month (94% vs. 75% and 38%), particularly feeling overwhelmed (57% vs. 29% and 12%) and behavior changes as a result of stress (85% vs. 56% and 25%), particularly avoiding social situations (41% vs. 20% and 10%).
Speaking to the struggles of this group, those with low resilience scores were more likely to be taking actions to manage their stress (98% vs. 92% and 80%), but also to feel they could have used more emotional support than they received over the past year (88% vs. 60% and 25%).
Methodology
The August/COVID Resilience Survey was conducted online within the United States by The Harris Poll on behalf of the American Psychological Association between August 11 and August 23, 2021, among 3,035 adults age 18+ who reside in the United States.
Related resources
- Report document (PDF, 4.48MB)
- Survey questions (PDF, 222KB)
- Press release: Pandemic impedes basic decision-making ability
- Contact: Sophie Bethune (email)
Telephone: (202) 336-6134