The emotional well-being of U.S. adults has been on a roller coaster ride since the start of the year. May was no exception, as ongoing weekly tracking by the CivicScience Well-Being Index shows. Well-being dipped after starting off strong, but is now trending upward as the final week of the month comes to a close.
As we near the mid-year mark, well-being appears to be improving little by little. Starting January at 56.9%, the collective monthly score climbed to 57.1% in March and April, then continued upward to 57.5% for the month of May. Americans show an increase in feelings of happiness from last month, and a decrease in feelings of stress, worry, and fear.
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But the positive spring vibes aren’t necessarily being felt by everyone. U.S. adults who lean Democrat saw a noteworthy drop in well-being from April, falling 1.7 points and resting well below the monthly average. On the other hand, Republicans and Independents saw monthly increases in well-being ultimately driving up the collective monthly average, with Independents seeing a large spike of 2.8 points.
Democrats and liberals typically register lower on the Well-Being Index, although their reported well-being had been improving over the last few months. Democrats may be feeling more concerned over the upcoming presidential election as of late. For example, concern over reproductive rights has grown as an election issue month over month. The drop in well-being for these Americans also occurred alongside biweekly declines in economic sentiment, although the two indexes do not always correlate.
To learn more about emotional well-being and its effect on consumer behavior, get in touch.
What is the CivicScience Well-Being Index?
Attitudes change before behaviors do. That’s why the CivicScience Well-Being Index captures the collective emotional well-being of the population on a daily basis, by asking thousands of survey respondents to report on how strongly they feel different emotions. Through living indexes like the Well-Being Index, CivicScience helps businesses and organizations better understand what’s driving consumer choices, empowering them with the data-driven insight needed to navigate our rapidly changing times.
