Over the past few years, research suggests that stress levels in the United States have ________.

• A. remained the same
• B. become negligible
• C. increased
• D. decreased

Answer: (C)

Verified step by step guidance

1. Step 1: Understand the context of the question, which is about trends in stress levels in the United States over recent years.
2. Step 2: Recall or review psychological research findings related to stress trends, focusing on longitudinal studies or surveys conducted by reputable organizations such as the American Psychological Association.
3. Step 3: Recognize that multiple studies have documented changes in stress levels, often showing an upward trend due to factors like economic pressures, social changes, and global events.
4. Step 4: Compare the given answer choices: 'remained the same', 'become negligible', 'increased', and 'decreased', and evaluate which aligns best with the research evidence.
5. Step 5: Conclude that the research suggests stress levels have 'increased' in the United States over the past few years, based on the consistent findings from psychological studies.