New MetLife Study Reveals a 72% “Confidence Gap” in Ability to Recover from Life's Setbacks

A new multinational study from MetLife reveals a striking “confidence gap”: while most adults describe themselves as resilient, their confidence drops by 72% when faced with real-life setbacks. The Confident Pathways Report, conducted across the United States, United Kingdom, Japan, and Mexico, was designed to better understand how confidence is built and sustained throughout life.

The findings underscore the role of opportunity, preparedness, and support in building confidence - factors that help people navigate uncertainty, recover from setbacks and pursue their goals.

At a time when soccer is bringing people and communities together around the world, the findings also highlight how early childhood experiences such as sports, education, and mentorship can help foster resilience and gain confidence from a young age.

Key findings across the four countries surveyed include:

• Confidence drops by 72% when adults consider their ability to recover from setbacks. Respondents were far more likely to describe themselves as resilient than to feel confident in their ability to bounce back from financial, emotional, or personal challenges.
• Early experiences help build confidence and resilience. More than half of adults who participated in sports as children say those experiences helped build confidence (56%) and persistence (52%). Parents overwhelmingly believe sports and tutoring and mentorship programs boost children’s resilience and confidence, with team sports ranking highest at 65%, individual sports at 55%, and tutoring and mentorship programs at 51%.
• Preparedness is critical to confidence. Adults who take proactive steps such as budgeting, saving, or maintaining life insurance coverage are 20 times more likely to feel confident they can bounce back from setbacks.
• Social connection remains a challenge. Less than half of adults feel supported by friends (41%) or a sense of belonging in their community (31%), showing that they lack strong support systems.

Across markets, the drivers of the confidence gap vary, revealing how local behaviors, attitudes, and financial habits shape resilience differently around the world:

• Mexico: Leads among the four markets on resilience and optimism. Yet fewer than 2 in 10 feel confident they could recover from a setback, reinforcing that lasting confidence depends also on preparedness, support and opportunity.
• Japan: Lowest expressed confidence, but among the strongest in preparedness. Only about 1 in 10 adults describe themselves as resilient, while 67% have life insurance and 65% consistently save money.
• United States: Widest confidence gap, with relatively strong self-belief but the highest stress levels: 46% report ongoing stress, anxiety or burnout, and 40% report significant financial strain.
• United Kingdom: A steadier profile, marked by strong financial habits. About 3 in 10 adults describe themselves as resilient with 81% regularly checking their finances.

To learn more about the Confident Pathways Report and explore the full research findings, visit: MetLife Confident Pathways Report.

How MetLife Helps Build More Confident Futures

MetLife helps people build confidence at every stage of life by expanding access to preparedness, protection, opportunity, and support.

In the U.S. MetLife helps close the confidence gap by strengthening financial well-being by delivering employee benefits and retirement solutions. In Latin America, the digital platform MetLife Xcelerator democratizes financial protection by making insurance more accessible. MetLife’s wellness solution 360Health provides protection, health and savings products in Asia, while EMEA maintains a diverse portfolio of protection and financial products in 23 markets to build confidence for what is ahead.

“This research reinforces something we've long believed at MetLife – confidence is built through access to opportunity, preparedness, and support systems and social connection,” said Michael Roberts, Chief Marketing and Communications Officer, MetLife. “Whether it’s helping children build confidence through sports and education, supporting families as they strengthen their financial preparedness, or expanding access to the protection and resources people need to navigate life’s key moments, we’re focused on helping people move forward with confidence at every stage of life.”

The importance of sports, education and mentoring revealed in the study underpins why MetLife and MetLife Foundation are supporting initiatives like the FIFA Global Citizen Education Fund. They are actioning these insights by expanding access to sports and education programs for children around the world. Grants from the Fund, which aims to raise $100 million by the FIFA World Cup finals, directly support local programs that are already helping young people build the resilience, confidence, and skills needed to thrive.

About the Confident Pathways Report

The Confident PathwaysReport was conducted by MetLife across the United States, United Kingdom, Japan, and Mexico to better understand how confidence is built, maintained, and regained through life stages. The study consisted of a 15-minute online survey of 4,000 adults ages 18 and older across four markets, including the United States, United Kingdom, Japan and Mexico. The survey included 1,000 adults aged 18 and older in each market. Fieldwork was completed between April 14 and May 4, 2026. Samples were nationally representative by age and gender in all markets, and by region and ethnicity in the U.S. The study included a natural fallout of parents and non-parents.

About MetLife

MetLife, Inc. (NYSE: MET), through its subsidiaries and affiliates (“MetLife”), is one of the world’s leading financial services companies, providing insurance, annuities, employee benefits and asset management to help individual and institutional customers build a more confident future. Founded in 1868, MetLife has operations in more than 40 markets globally and holds leading positions in the United States, Asia, Latin America, Europe and the Middle East. For more information, visit www.metlife.com.

About MetLife Foundation

At MetLife Foundation, we are committed to driving inclusive economic mobility. We collaborate with nonprofit organizations and provide grants aligned to three strategic focus areas – economic empowerment, financial health and resilient communities – while engaging MetLife employee volunteers to help drive impact. MetLife Foundation was established in 1976 and for 50 years has continued MetLife’s long tradition of community engagement and involvement. Since its inception, MetLife Foundation has contributed over $1 billion to strengthen communities where MetLife has a presence. To learn more about MetLife Foundation, visit www.metlife.org.

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