Americans Think About Mental Health More than Inflation, Ethos Survey Finds

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May 02, 2022, 09:00 ET

And, they'd rather talk about mental health than about sex, religion, politics, or death

AUSTIN, Texas, May 2, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- New survey data from Ethos, one of the largest term life insurance providers in the United States, reveals Americans spend more time thinking about their and their family's mental health than about inflation, COVID-19, death, or climate change. Only physical health, personal finance, and the war in Ukraine are more top of mind.

"One of the really positive things we saw was that efforts over the last few years to de-stigmatize mental health seem to be working," said Nichole Myers, Chief Underwriter at Ethos. "Among traditionally 'taboo' topics, more people are willing to talk about mental health than about sex, politics, and religion. I don't think we'd have seen this even a few years ago."

Nearly half (45%) of Americans think about their or their family's mental health every day — more than those who think about inflation (42%), COVID-19 (33%), death (23%) or climate change (19%). Physical health topped the list of concerns — 60% of Americans think about it daily. Personal finance was second at 54% and the War in Ukraine third — 48% think about it daily.

Younger Americans and parents think about mental health on a daily basis more than other generations and those without children. More Millennials (57%) think about mental health daily than other generations (48% of Gen Z, 46% of Gen X and 29% of Boomers). Over half (55%) of American parents with children under 18 think about their or their family's mental health daily, compared to 39% of Americans without children. Women are more concerned about both mental and physical health than men: 53% of women think about their/their family's mental health daily, compared to 35% of men; 66% of women think about their/their family's physical well-being daily compared to 54% of men.

Asked to rank which taboo topics they'd rather discuss, Americans ranked money first (29%), followed by mental health (21%), sex (16%), religion (15%) and politics (14%).

Women are much more comfortable talking about mental health than men (30% ranked it first vs. 12% of men). Gen Z and Millennials are much more comfortable talking about mental health than GenX and Boomers: 32% of Gen Z and 28% of millennials ranked it first, compared to 14% (GenX) and 15% (Boomers).

Death ranked last, with only 6% of people ranking this as the taboo topic they'd be most willing to discuss. "We'd love to see similar progress made in being willing to talk about death," Myers noted. "While 90% of Americans say they think it's at least somewhat important to discuss end-of-life planning with loved ones, less than half (47%) have done so. While these may seem difficult topics to broach, we believe having candid conversations with family members about end of life planning and the tools available to manage them, like wills, advanced health care directives, and life insurance, can ultimately reduce stress and help everyone feel more confident and secure."

May is Mental Health Awareness Month. For tips on creating a family financial plan, visit Ethos.

Ethos has offices in Austin, San Francisco, Seattle, Singapore, India and team members in 35 states and four countries.

Methodology
Ethos conducted this research using an online survey prepared by Method Research and distributed by RepData among n=1,000 adults ages 18+ in the United States. The sample was representative of the national population in geography, age, and gender. Data was collected from March 25 - April 1, 2022.

About Ethos
Ethos is a technology company. We make it easier than ever for everyone to protect their families with life insurance. Ethos has created the insurance industry's most advanced proprietary technology, eliminating the traditional barriers to life insurance by developing instant and accessible products that make it easy for everyone to protect their families with life insurance online, in minutes without any medical exams. We issue billions in coverage each month and an invaluable amount of peace of mind for our families every single day. Ethos is a global company, with team members in Austin, San Francisco, Seattle, India, and Singapore. To learn more, visit www.ethoslife.com.

SOURCE Ethos