, as well as gaps between men and women

A new study has examined Americans' stress levels and the causes behind them - with money taking the top spot.

The results were published in 'Stress in America: Paying with Our Health' by the American Psychological Association (APA) and released on Wednesday.

To gather information, Harris Poll spoke with 3,068 American adults in August 2014.

Americans' were most stressed by money, followed by work, family duties, and health issues, according to the data.

The report said that the average stress level is lower than what was reported in first 'Stress in America' study published in 2007 - and now stands at 4.9 out of a possible 10 points.

Issues: A new study has found that money is main cause of stress for Americans (file photo)

Concerns: Work, family, and health issues trailed money as the issues that most stress out Americans

Gap: Lower-income households had a stress level of 5.2 - while higher-income households had a lower stress level at 4.2. Ten was the highest possible level in the study

According to the study, 'But it seems that parents, younger generations and those living in lower-income households (making less than $50,000 per year) have a different experience — they report higher levels of stress than Americans overall, especially when it comes to money, and those who have particularly high stress about money are more likely to say they engage in unhealthy behaviors to manage their stress.

'Women, who consistently report high levels of overall stress and unhealthy behaviors to manage stress, also report high levels of stress about money. What’s more, the gap between the percentage of those who appear to be doing well when it comes to managing their stress and the percentage of those who are not is growing.'

The study found 72 percent of adults said money stressed them out sometimes, and that 26 percent of adults said they were stressed most or all the time due to money.

What's more, 'Nearly 1 in 5 Americans say that they have either considered skipping or skipped going to the doctor in the past year when they needed health care because of financial concerns,' the report said.

Needing a break: Millenials had the highest generational stress level, followed closely by Gen Xers

Gender gap: Women also said they felt more stress than men in the study

Habits: Pollsters found that parents had a higher chance of reporting they certain behaviors exhibiting than childless individuals

Wiped out: Millenials feeling a greater amount of financial stress were much more likely than peers with low money stress to browse online

36 percent of lower-income household adults said money stressed them most or all the time - while just 18 percent of higher-income household adults did so, the study found.

Out of 10 points possible, parents, millenials and Gen Xers also reported high levels of overall stress, with levels of 5.7, 5.5 and 5.4, respectively.

When it came to money, parents had a 5.8 stress level, millenials had 5.4, and Gen Xers had 5.5.

Non-parents, however, had a 4.4 stress level for money. Overall Americans had a 4.7 money stress level.

Breaking down money stress by gender, woman had a 5.0 level and men had 4.3. 30 percent of women said money stresses them out all or most the time. 21 percent of men said the same.

The report also discussed the role of finding emotional support for talking about money.

It stated 'One in five Americans (21 percent) say they have no one to rely on for emotional support. A similar percentage of Americans (18 percent) say money is a taboo subject in their family and more than one-third (36 percent) say that talking about money makes them uncomfortable.'

For the report's full findings, you can visit the APA's website.

Choices: Women with higher financial stress also had higher participation rates in certain leisure activities

Decisions: Low-income Americans who said they felt extreme financial stress also had high participation in leisure activities as a way of coping