Americans Age 50 and Stress An AARP Bulletin Poll Health and Health Care

Americans Age 50 and Stress An AARP Bulletin Poll

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(Full Report, PDF) AARP polled Americans age 50 and over in order to discover how much stress older adults feel on a regular basis as well the major causes of their stress and how they cope with it. Learn: Key findings include: Only a small percentage—11%—of adults age 50+ said their stress is pretty high or out of control on the day we asked them. The majority (81%) were either stress free or under only a little stress. Money problems (40%), health (31%), and children/grandchildren (17%) top the list of the main causes of people’s stress. Thirty-five percent of adults age 50+ say they have been stressed at least a few times a week or more in the last year. Younger adults are more likely to be frequently stressed than older adults (44% vs. 23%). Nearly four in 10 (37%) of adults 50+ have had a major stressful life event in the last year. Top stressful life events among those who cited a stressor include death of a loved one (31%), chronic illness (28%), caregiving (19%), moving (12%), and job loss (12%). Top ways respondents manage their stress include exercise (47%), prayer (41%), talking to friends (41%), talking to spouse/partner (30%), and eating favorite foods (22%). One in ten (11%) say they have no management options. Among the bad habits people fall into while stressed, adults 50+ say they are more likely to sleep less than usual (42%), lose their temper (37%) and eat more (34%) under stress. Data were collected from 1,000 Americans age 50 and older via online survey using an e-Rewards online panel. Data were weighted to represent the US population of adults age 50+ by age, gender, ethnicity, and region using the Census’ Current Population Survey. Data were collected August 8-August 14, 2014. For more information, contact G. Oscar Anderson at . Suggested Citation: Anderson, G. Oscar. Americans Age 50 and Stress An AARP Bulletin Poll. Washington, DC: AARP Research, November 2014.

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