Young Adults More Stressed Out Than Their Parents

A new study has found that young adults are more stressed out than their parents.

Adults often fear that they’ll be hit by life’s emotional and financial crisis when they reach middle age, but a new study has found that young adults are more stressed out than their parents. The survey, conducted by YouGov, discovered that only one in five aged over 50 felt any financial pressure.

The poll of 2,231 men and women, also showed that nearly half of the middle aged people had no worries at all, signifying that the notion ‘mid-life crisis’ is passé.

However, results were quite the opposite in the 18-to-24 age group, with only eight per cent claiming to be just as carefree. For around 60 per cent these young adults, climbing up the property ladder was the top most priority.

Nearly 70 percent said that they student debts of forced them to pursue financially lucrative careers, indicating that there was not much time for committed relationships and marriage thoughts.

The study found that only a third of young women felt pressured into tying the knot, possibly because they are part of the generation which expects to have a successful career and still have time to start a family.

The survey for Saga Health Insurance also revealed that the older generation felt rather sorry for their children and grandchildren; with seven out of ten believing that life these days is a lot more stressful for those starting out. "It's well documented that many of today's baby-boomers have never had it so good, particularly with their finances thanks to soaring property prices. This study clearly shows that they are also the most relaxed and dispels the view that many have a mid-life crisis when they reach their fifties,” the Daily Mail quoted Andrew Goodsell, chief executive of Saga Group, as saying.

"They actually worry less and are happier with their lot in life, which certainly doesn't sound like a generation in crisis!” he added. A spokesman for mental health charity YoungMinds said that more needed to be done to comprehend the extraordinary psychological pressures many young adults face.