Stress and Gender

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Abstract
Research on stress and gender carried out in the author's laboratory over two decades is reviewed. Problems related to stress in women's and men's everyday life have been approached by combining concepts and methods from the behavioural, social and biomedical sciences, using neuroendocrine and cardiovascular measurements as indices of the pressures to which women and men are exposed. Special attention has been given to men and women in leadership roles. Results are reported from studies concerned with balancing demands from work and family, the dilemma of the dual-career couple, and women managers' difficulty unwinding after work. On the basis of the results it is suggested that while women in high-grade positions have higher stress levels than their male counterparts, they have a wider repertoire of stress-management strategies and, hence, cope more effectively.