Yale University researchers have suggested that while having a higher income is related to greater satisfaction to life, it can also result in higher self -informed stress levels.
In a study, exploring relationships between income, satisfaction with life and stress, focusing on people living in the United States, reported that people living in homes with annual income exceeding approximately $ 63,000 were more likely to experience stress.
His findings, published in Communications Psychology, discovered that people who reported having more favorable lifestyles, for example, satisfying their basic needs, eating healthier, exercising, often socializing and having a good support network, had greater satisfaction with life.
The objective of the new study by Karthik Akkiraju and his colleague Narasimha D. Rao had to deepen the previously informed associations between income, satisfaction with life and stress.
Specifically, researchers wanted to determine if some lifestyle factors could partially explain the highest stress levels experienced by some people, particularly those with better paid jobs.
The data analyzed by Akkiraju and Rao were collected as part of the Gallup daily survey. This is a national survey that collected responses from more than 2.05 million adults living in the United States, for a period of 10 years that covered from 2008 to 2017.
The results of this recent study suggested that once people begin to gain enough to cover their basic needs, socialize and take care of their health, they tend to become more susceptible to stress again when their income increases above a certain level.
This could be associated with work -related factors, such as greater responsibilities and risks, a poorer balance between working life or other lifestyle factors.
Akkiraju, the first author of the document, replied: “Stress is something that we all experience or listen that others complain. It is even frequent among those that would generally be considered rich. Of course, the previous works have suggested that stress is unique in their behavior compared to other positive and negative emotions.
“We discovered that people with lifestyle factors that one could reasonably assume that they are desirable have a turning point with a lower income
“As expected, these living conditions have a lower general stress compared to those without these desirable conditions. However, paradoxically, they are also more likely to see that their stress levels increase before as their income grows.”
For decades, psychologists and social scientists have been trying to understand what contributes to the mental health, happiness and general welfare of people. Their efforts have already helped to design numerous social and therapeutic interventions that support personal growth and positively influence lives.