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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2021 Apr 1.
Published in final edited form as: Int J Public Health. 2020 Apr 1;65(3):335–344. doi: 10.1007/s00038-020-01354-x

Table 2.

2017 Characteristics of USA adults by serious psychological distress. (USA 2017)

Characteristics n (weighted %) Total SPD1

No Yes
Total 23,317 22,478 (96.4) 839 (3.6)
Race and Ethnicity
 White 16,235 (69.6) 15,673 (63.8) 562 (65.0)
 Black 2,461 (10.6) 2,370 (11.7) 91 (10.7)
 Hispanic 2,868 (12.3) 2,755 (16.2) 113 (16.0)
 Asian 1,164 (5.0) 1,148 (6.1) 16 (1.8)
 Other 589 (2.5) 532 (2.2) 57 (6.5)
Sex
 Female 12,754 (51.6) 12,202 (51.2) 552 (63.6)
 Male 10,563 (48.4) 10,276 (48.8) 287 (36.4)
Income to Needs Ratio
 0.00–0.99 3,129 (11.4) 2,825 (10.8) 304 (31.4)
 1.00–1.99 4,102 (16.6) 3,876 (16.3) 226 (27.0)
 2.00–3.99 7,719 (33.7) 7,512 (33.9) 207 (26.0)
 4.00 and above 8,367 (38.3) 8,265 (39.0) 102 (15.6)
Age
 18–34 6,015 (31.1) 5,823 (31.3) 192 (25.4)
 35–44 3,569 (17.1) 3,433 (17.1) 136 (16.5)
 45–64 7,823 (33.4) 7,447 (33.0) 376 (45.2)
 65–84 5,253 (16.5) 5,126 (16.7) 127 (12.1)
 85 or older 657 (1.9) 649 (1.9) 8 (0.8)
Marital status
 Married/ lives with partner 11,761 (60.5) 11,505 (61.2) 256 (40.1)
 Widowed/ divorced/ separated 6,125 (16.4) 5,783 (16.0) 342 (30.7)
 Never married 5,431 (23.1) 5,190 (22.8) 241 (29.2)
Employment
 Job last week 14,027 (64.5) 13,754 (65.4) 273 (35.7)
 No job last week (job in 12 mo.) 1,409 (6.1) 1,335 (6.0) 74 (8.2)
 No job last week/ never worked 7,881 (29.4) 7,389 (28.6) 492 (56.1)
Educational Attainment
 <high school 2,499 (11.4) 2,339 (11.1) 160 (19.4)
 High school graduate 5,552 (23.9) 5,298 (23.6) 254 (33.0)
 Some college 7,346 (30.7) 7,045 (30.5) 301 (33.2)
 Bachelor’s degree 4,974 (21.6) 4,885 (22.0) 89 (10.7)
 Graduate degree 2,946 (12.4) 2,911 (12.8) 35 (3.7)
Health Insurance Status
 Yes 22,159 (95.0) 21,383 (95.7) 776 (93.6)
 No 1,158 (5.0) 1,095 (4.3) 63 (6.4)
CVD
 Yes 3,436 (12.3) 3,206 (11.9) 230 (26.0)
 No 19,881 (87.7) 19,272 (88.1) 609 (74.0)
Type 2 Diabetes
 Yes 2,032 (7.7) 1,909 (7.5) 123 (13.9)
 No 21,285 (92.3) 20,569 (92.5) 716 (86.1)
Cancer
 Yes 2,126 (7.4) 2,037 (7.4) 89 (8.8)
 No 21,191 (92.6) 20,441 (92.6) 750 (91.2)
Financial worries
 Yes 10,086 (44.8) 9,374 (43.5) 712 (85.5)
 No 13,231 (55.2) 13,104 (56.5) 127 (14.5)
Food insecurity
 Yes 3,247 (14.2) 2,831 (13.0) 443 (50.3)
 No 20,043 (85.8) 19,647 (87.0) 396 (49.7)
Healthcare insecurity
 Yes 3,750 (15.4) 3,325 (14.3) 425 (51.2)
 No 19,567 (84.5) 19,153 (85.7) 414 (48.8)
Number of Stressors
 0 11,816 (25.4) 11,732 (50.4) 84 (8.9)
 1 7,160 (52.6) 6,955 (32.6) 205 (26.8)
 2 3,073 (16.5) 2,798 (12.8) 275 (32.6)
 3 1,268 (5.5) 993 (4.2) 275 (31.7)
1

chi-square test was estimated to compare proportions. All categories except cancer were significant at p<0.01.