Stress is such an epidemic in America today, that it has begun to hit children as well as adults.U.S. children as young as age 8 are reporting physical and emotional health consequences often associated with stress, psychologists say.The American Psychological Association's Stress in America survey, conducted by Harris Interactive, indicates 32 percent of U.S. parents say their stress levels are extreme -- an 8 on a 10-point scale.
Sixty-nine percent say managing stress is extremely or very important, but 32 percent say they think they are doing an excellent or very good job of managing their stress.
Thirty-one percent of overweight children are more likely to report they worry a great deal or a lot compared with 14 percent of normal weight children.
"Stress is hurting our physical and emotional health and contributing to some of the leading causes of death in this country," Norman B. Anderson, chief executive officer of the APA, says in a statement.
"People are also saying they have difficulty implementing the changes they know will decrease their stress and improve their health."
The survey of 1,134 U.S. adults was conducted Aug. 3-27, including 100 adults who are parents of children ages 8-17. An oversample of 937 adults who are parents of children ages 8-17 also were interviewed for a total of 1,037 parents. A survey was conducted Aug. 18-24 among 1,136 youth ages 8-17.
