America Is in a Crisis of Connection: What the APA’s 2025 Stress in America Survey Reveals

More than half of Americans say they experience loneliness in their daily lives, and nearly seven in ten report that their closest relationships do not provide enough emotional support, according to the American Psychological Association’s newly released 2025 Stress in America report. Subtitled A Crisis of Connection, this year’s findings point to a pattern with profound emotional and physical consequences: increasing social disconnection, heightened perceptions of societal division, and a growing strain on Americans’ ability to cope with daily stress.

These results arrive in the midst of a decade when national public health leaders—including US government leaders responsible for setting national policies and intervention priorities—have identified loneliness and isolation as a worsening epidemic. The APA survey offers a unique window into how widespread these experiences have become and how deeply they are shaping the emotional lives of U.S. adults.

Launched in 2007, the APA’s annual Stress in America survey has served as a barometer of the pressures facing U.S. adults. Each August, the survey gathers responses from approximately 3,000 people across demographic groups, assessing the emotions, attitudes, and behaviors that contribute to—or result from—stress.

Over the years, the survey has highlighted how economic upheaval, political polarization, and public health crises disrupt daily functioning. Past reports linked financial strain to the housing crash (APA, 2010) and found that rising uncertainty about the nation’s future was tied to increasing political division (APA, 2017). In 2021, younger adults—Gen Z and Millennials—reported significantly higher levels of pandemic-related stress than older generations (APA, 2021).

While empirical studies are needed to probe these findings more deeply, the survey remains one of the clearest ways to describe shifting, nationwide patterns in stress and emotional well-being.

The 2025 report centers on two interconnected forces: persistent loneliness and perceived societal division.

Key findings include:

Respondents who reported low levels of loneliness described family and close relationships as central sources of meaning. Yet across all respondents—regardless of loneliness level—92% agreed that relationships are a primary source of meaning and purpose.

This contrast highlights not only how much Americans value connection, but how painful and destabilizing it is when connection is strained or out of reach.

The 2025 findings echo a central concept in Erikson’s developmental theory: that experiences of closeness, intimacy, and belonging are essential to resilience, identity formation, and the ability to find meaning and generativity. When efforts to form close relationships are disrupted, loneliness emerges—and the capacity to navigate adversity or maintain emotional safety becomes significantly compromised.

The Surgeon General’s 2023 advisory similarly argued that loneliness is not merely an emotional experience but a public-health concern with measurable impacts on physical well-being, cognitive functioning, and long-term mental health outcomes.

Public health initiatives over the past five years have increasingly focused on strengthening the social fabric by:

These efforts reflect a growing recognition that chronic loneliness affects not only individuals but also communities, workplaces, and civic life.

At Austen Riggs, fostering connection and meaning is fundamental to our treatment philosophy. Programs such as the Therapeutic Community Program are designed to build engagement, collaboration, openness, and mutual respect—core components of emotional safety and interpersonal resilience. Our Online IOP for young adults similarly emphasizes group psychotherapy and shared experience as vehicles for understanding, growth, and support.

Our research program has long prioritized studies on the role of social connection in mental health. This work has shown:

Across our clinical, educational, and research efforts, we aim to contribute meaningfully to addressing social disconnection and its cumulative emotional toll—both within the United States and globally.