Perceptions of Stress in Alberta and Saskatchewan: Part 2

Yang Yang | University of Saskatchewan | yang.yang@usask.ca 

Kirsten Samson | University of Saskatchewan 

Tanya Park | University of Alberta | tmpark@ualberta.ca 

Elaine Hyshka | University of Alberta | ehyshka@ualberta.ca

August 12, 2021

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused significant upheaval in the lives of many Albertans and Saskatchewanians.  These types of changes and events can impact an individual’s perception of stress. Entering the third wave of the  pandemic, vaccinations were not yet widely available, the economy still struggled to address COVID-19, and  many jobs remained impacted by the pandemic. 

While the first brief in the Perceptions of Stress in Alberta and Saskatchewan set reported feelings of stress and  compared stress across demographic groups, this brief analyzes potential factors that influenced the perception  of stress. How did feelings about the economy impact stress? Did changes in household finances contribute to  feelings of stress? Did these feelings vary between participants feeling low and high levels of stress? The results  reveal that Albertans and Saskatchewanians who experienced high levels of stress were more likely to have had  negative effects on their employment, household finances, and expenses. Participants with high levels of stress  were also more likely to perceive their province’s economic future negatively.

Potential Contributions to Perceived Stress

Various life events and situations may contribute to one’s perception of stress. To find connections between  perceived stress and financial situations, a stress index was used to compare different financial and employment  situations of respondents (1). A score of 1.0 indicates very low stress, 3.0 indicates moderate stress, and 5.0  indicates very high stress. 

Level of stress varied among people with different employment situations (Figure 1). In both provinces, level of perceived stress was lower among respondents whose employment was not impacted by the pandemic (Alberta, 2.64; Saskatchewan, 2.59). The highest level of perceived stress was among respondents who reported that the pandemic hurt their employment (Alberta, 3.13; Saskatchewan, 3.02). Surprisingly, Albertans who reported that the pandemic helped their employment (3.06) perceived more stress than Saskatchewanians whose employment had been hurt by the pandemic (3.02) (2).

Figure 1. Level of stress by employment situation

When asked to describe how the pandemic impacted their household finances (Figure 2), Albertans whose finances declined a lot (3.28) or a little (2.91) reported feeling more stress than other Albertans (3). The relationship between perceived stress and household finances was less pronounced in Saskatchewan than Alberta (4). In Saskatchewan, those whose finances declined a lot (3.12) or a little (2.90) were also the most stressed.

Albertans whose finances increased a little due to the pandemic report feeling more stress

than Albertans whose finances remained steady.

Albertans and Saskatchewanians both reported a linear relationship between level of stress and household expenses (Figure 3). As difficulty of meeting household expenses increased, so did feelings of stress.

Figure 2. Level of stress by household finances

Figure 3. Level of stress by difficulty meeting expenses

Perceptions Resulting from Different Levels of Self-Reported Stress

To see how different levels of self-reported stress may be related to perceptions about various political  concerns, such as the economy and the pandemic, we compared the responses of respondents with high and  low perceived stress levels in each province. High and low stress groups were calculated using the median stress  level in each province. In Alberta, the median stress level was 2.9. Albertans with an index score over 2.9 were classified as “high stress” and those with index scores equal to or less than 2.9 were classified as “low stress.”  Saskatchewan’s median stress level was 2.8; therefore, Saskatchewanians with an index score over 2.8 were “high stress” and those with index scores of equal to or less than 2.8 were “low stress” (5).

When asked if respondents felt frightened about their province’s economic future over the next 10 years, high  and low stress Albertans (Figure 4) were more likely than Saskatchewanians (Figure 5) to feel frightened. 

Figure 4. When I think about Alberta’s economic future over the next 10 years, I feel frightened

Figure 5. When I think about Saskatchewan’s economic future over the next 10 years, I feel frightened

Albertans (Figure 6) in both stress groups felt angrier than Saskatchewanians (Figure 7) about their economic future. More than one in two (52.8 percent) high stress Albertans felt angry, while only one-third (32.6) of high stress Saskatchewanians felt angry.

Albertans of both stress cohorts feel angrier than their Saskatchewanian counterparts.

Figure 6. When I think about Alberta’s economic future over the next 10 years, I feel angry

Figure 7. When I think about Saskatchewan’s economic future over the next 10 years, I feel angry

Figures 8 and 9 capture whether stress cohorts felt pessimistic about their provinces’ economic futures. In both Alberta and Saskatchewan, respondents who felt highly stressed were more pessimistic about their provinces’ economic futures than low stress respondents.

Figure 8. When I think about Alberta’s economic future over the next 10 years, I feel pessimistic

Figure 9. When I think about Saskatchewan’s economic future over the next 10 years, I feel pessimistic

Excitement about the economic future of one’s province also varied by stress level. Figure 10 shows that low  stress Albertans (23.9 percent) were more likely to feel excited about their economic future than high stress  Albertans (21.9).  

In contrast to Albertans’ responses, Saskatchewanians seemed moderate in their excitement (Figure 11). A  plurality of low (47.1 percent) and high (46.9) stress respondents said that they their feelings were more neutral.

Figure 10. When I think about Alberta’s economic future over the next 10 years, I feel excited

Figure 11. When I think about Saskatchewan’s economic future over the next 10 years, I feel excited

Low-stress respondents were most likely to feel optimistic about Alberta’s economic future (Figure 12). A full  42.0 percent of low stress Albertans felt optimistic, while only 24.0 percent of high stress Albertans felt this way.  

Saskatchewanians felt similarly (Figure 13). Over half (55.8 percent) of low-stress Saskatchewanians felt  optimistic about their province’s future, compared to 34.9 percent of high-stress respondents.

Figure 12. When I think about Alberta’s economic future over the next 10 years, I feel optimistic

Figure 13. When I think about Saskatchewan’s economic future over the next 10 years, I feel optimistic

The Viewpoint survey asked Albertans (Figure 14) and Saskatchewanians (Figure 15) whether they felt contented about their provinces’ economic futures. Both high- and low-stress Albertans (high = 42.3 percent; low = 33.4) were more likely than Saskatchewanians (high = 29.4; low = 20.8) to report that they did not feel contented.

Figure 14. When I think about Alberta’s economic future over the next 10 years, I feel contented

Figure 15. When I think about Saskatchewan’s economic future over the next 10 years, I feel contented

The Viewpoint survey asked respondents to select the response closest to their view regarding the future of the pandemic. Respondents selected one of three responses indicating if they felt the worst was yet to come, the worst was behind them, or if they were unsure. Figure 16 illustrates Albertan responses to the question. High stress Albertans (20.6 percent) were more likely than low stress Albertans (9.2) to think the worst was yet to come. Saskatchewanians were more likely than Albertans to think the worst was yet to come––23.0 percent of high stress and 15.0 percent of low stress thought the worst was yet to come (Figure 17).

Saskatchewanians were more pessimistic than Albertans about the pandemic’s future.

Figure 16. When it comes to the COVID-19 pandemic...

Figure 17. When it comes to the COVID-19 pandemic…

To find out how preference for different issue types were related to levels of stress, Figures 18 and 19 show which issue each stress cohort believes to be most important. Low stress Albertans thought economic issues  should come first (61.1 percent) while high stress Albertans thought environmental issues should come first (41.5). The opposite was true among Saskatchewanians. High stress Saskatchewanians (56.4 percent) thought economic issues should come first, and low stress respondents (45.6) thought environmental and social issues  should come first.

Figure 18. Stress Levels and Issue Preferences in Alberta

Figure 19. Stress Levels and Issue Preferences in Saskatchewan

Concluding Remarks

This brief found attitudinal differences between respondents who perceived themselves to have high and low stress levels. Overall, Albertans with high and low stress levels appeared to feel more negatively about their province’s economic future than Saskatchewanians. Both high and low stress level Saskatchewanians, however, were more likely to feel that the worst of the pandemic was yet to come than their Albertan counterparts. For more information on feelings of stress in Alberta and Saskatchewan, view the first part of this research brief set here.

Feelings and thoughts about stress can often feel like a lonely experience. If you or anyone you know is  feeling stressed and would like to talk to someone about this, please contact the health line in your  province. 

• Saskatchewan Health Line 811 

• Alberta Health Link 811 

The Saskatchewan and Alberta Health Services websites also provide helpful advice for when you are  feeling stressed. 

• Alberta Health Services https://www.albertahealthservices.ca/ 

• Saskatchewan Health Authority https://www.saskhealthauthority.ca/ 

For direct links to mental health services, follow the links below: 

• Alberta: https://www.albertahealthservices.ca/amh/amh.aspx 

• Saskatchewan: https://www.saskatchewan.ca/residents/health/accessing-health-care services/mental-health-and-addictions-support-services/mental-health-support/mental health-services

Methodology of the Viewpoint Alberta Survey

The Viewpoint Alberta Survey was conducted between March 1 and 8, 2021 (Alberta data) and March 1 and 10 (Saskatchewan data). The survey was deployed online by the Leger. A copy of the survey questions can be found here: http://bit.ly/30VcYEY. Leger co-ordinates the survey with an online panel system that targets registered panelists that meet the demographic criteria for the survey. Survey data is based on 802 responses with a 17- minute average completion time. The Viewpoint Alberta Survey was led by co-principal investigators Loleen Berdahl and Jared Wesley. It was funded in part by a Kule Research Cluster Grant and an Alberta-Saskatchewan Research Collaboration Grant from the Kule Institute for Advanced Study (KIAS) at the University of Alberta and the College of Arts and Science at the University of Saskatchewan.

Endnotes

1. Stress index is constructed by taking the average responses to ten ‘Level of Stress’ questions, with questions  4, 5, 7, and 8 reverse-coded. 

2. Pairwise comparisons reveal that the comparison between Albertans who respond that the pandemic has hurt their employment and Albertans who respond that the pandemic has hurt their employment are not statistically significant. These comparisons also find that the only significant comparison among Saskatchewan data are comparisons between those who respond that the pandemic has not affected their employment and those who respond that the pandemic has hurt their employment.

3. Pairwise comparisons determine that the following Alberta comparisons are significant: ‘declined a lot’ versus ‘declined a  little’; ‘declined a lot’ versus ‘remained steady’; ‘declined a lot’ versus ‘increased a little’; ‘declined a lot’ versus ‘increased a  lot’; ‘declined a little’ versus ‘remained steady’. All other comparisons are insignificant. 

4. Pairwise comparisons determine that the following Saskatchewan comparisons are significant: ‘declined a lot’ versus ‘remained steady’; ‘declined a lot’ versus ‘increased a little’; ‘declined a little’ versus ‘remained steady’; ‘declined a little’ versus ‘increased a little’. All other comparisons are insignificant.

5. PSS used in this report is a measurement of perceived stress or self-reported stress perceptions, and thus is not clinically significant for diagnosis. Alberta high stress, N = 388; Alberta low stress, N = 414; Saskatchewan high stress, N = 392; Saskatchewan low stress, N = 408.