Book Description

Stress is a widespread concept commonly associated with psychological and medical problems that may impair an individual's functioning and incur costs on society. Alarming rates of depression, anxiety, suicidal ideation, and other stress-related problems have been found among college students. This study argues that reducing emotional and financial stress-related costs may be possible through increasing public and professional awareness of moderating variables, such as social support and coping resources. 241 college students completed measures about perceived stress, life events, satisfaction with social support, coping strategies, and psychological functioning. Results from correlational, regression, and structural equation modeling procedures indicated that stress, inadequate social support, and escape-avoidance coping were related to higher levels of depression and lower life satisfaction in both males and females. Social support functioned as a moderator of stress in determining negative outcomes, primarily during high stress. Specifically, the interaction between stress and social support predicted depression in the combined sample, anxiety in males, and life satisfaction in females. In addition, the present study highlights the importance of accounting for gender in research concerning stress, social support, coping, and outcomes. Finally, limitations and suggestions for future research will be discussed.