Experience of stress in adolescence

This study concerns stress-protective factors-distress relationships with 2 97 adolescents. The first goal was to study if these relationships change d epending on the sex of the participant. The second goal of the present rese arch was to predict stress experience (frequency, intensity, severity) by d epression, self-esteem, social support and coping. Controlling the age of t he participant, the results indicate that female teenagers are more threate ned by chronic stress, more depressive, have more available persons in thei r social network, use social or avoidant coping more often whereas the male adolescents show a better self-esteem. Concerning the second objective, se lf-esteem and avoidant coping can predict stress experience (frequency and severity), while the state of depression is the only factor that can predic t the three aspects of stress (frequency, intensity, severity), as opposed to social support, and social or problem-solving coping.