Trend, gender, and status differences in Americans' perceived stress

It is widely believed that the pace of life has sped up and, as rushing has increased, North American society has become more stressed. The present st udy utilized stress related data collected as part of the National Populati on Health Interview Surveys in 1985, 1990, 1993 and 1995, to examine change s in the levels of perceived stress over this period. Additionally, various demographic and role factors were examined to determine their effects on p redicting levels of; stress.Results showed that there has been a highly sig nificant decline of reported stress levels in 1995, compared to the levels reported in 1993 and 1990. Such decline was found in virtually all populati on groups, that is among men and women, old and young, affluent and less af fluent. Comparatively high stress levels were reported by working people, t hose who were divorced and separated, those between the ages of 35 and 44, women, and those with high incomes and education levels.