Younger Americans Bearing the Brunt of Pandemic Financial Stress

Tue, 27 April 2021  |  pandemic demographics 

In the year since the COVID-19 Pandemic began impacting all facets of American life, new data shows young adults are three times more likely to say they are experiencing pandemic financial stress compared to older adults. Three in four younger Americans ages 18 through 34 (75 percent) say they have been at least somewhat stressed about their financial situation since the pandemic began, compared with about 1 in 4 (27 percent) older Americans ages 65 and up. This according to new research conducted by The Harris Poll on behalf of the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA).

“Financial stress at any age can have a negative impact on a person’s wellbeing. For many younger Americans, this is the first time they have experienced this level of economic uncertainty, whereas older generations have already lived through recessions and depressions,” said Gregory J. Anton, CPA, CGMA, chairman of the AICPA’s National CPA Financial Literacy Commission. “Keeping perspective and finding comfort with what you can, and can’t, control is a good starting point to help alleviate financial stress.”

Financial Stress Impacting Mental Wellbeing

Since the start of the pandemic, Nine in ten young adults who have experienced stress about their financial situation (91 percent) say it has had a negative impact on their mental wellbeing, including 3 in 5 (59 percent) who say the negative impact has been major or moderate. For older adults, the prevalence of financial stress having a major or moderate negative impact on their mental wellbeing is less by nearly half (33 percent).

The study found that among young adults who said that they experienced stress about their financial situation, nearly all of them (91 percent) have had it impact their everyday life. This most commonly manifested itself as feeling sad or down more often than normal (52 percent), frustrated more often than usual (49 percent), or having trouble sleeping at night (48 percent). Lack of interest or enjoyment in normal hobbies (45 percent) and changes in eating patterns (44 percent) are also prevalent symptoms of financial stress in young adults.

Younger Americans consistently show higher rates of psychosomatic symptoms, like feelings of sadness and frustration, or lack of interest in normal hobbies, compared to older Americans. Among older adults who have experienced stress about their financial situation, about two-thirds (68 percent) have had it impact their everyday life, most commonly having trouble sleeping at night (41 percent), feeling frustrated more often than normal (40 percent), or feeling sad or down more often than normal (31 percent).

Additional Survey Findings:

• Financial stress is much higher for renters (72 percent at least somewhat stressed) than it is for homeowners (52 percent).
• Overall, since the start of the pandemic more than half of Americans (57 percent) indicate that they have been at least somewhat stressed about their financial situation, including a quarter of Americans (27 percent) who have been extremely or very stressed.
• Nearly all who have experienced stress about their financial situation (89%) have had it impact their everyday life, most commonly feeling frustrated more often than normal (50%), feeling sad or down more often than normal (48%), or having trouble sleeping at night (47%). Lack of interest or enjoyment in normal hobbies (39%) and changes in eating patterns (34%) are also concerningly prevalent impacts financial stress brings to daily life.
• Nearly nine in ten of Americans who have experienced stress about their financial situation since the start of the pandemic (88%) say it has had at least some negative impact their mental wellbeing, including more than half (53%) say the negative impact has been major or moderate.

Source: AICPA