Abstract

Background: Stress is unavoidable, but the way one responds to same stressor depends on the gender. These responses are called coping strategies and broadly it can be either problem or emotion focused. Aim and Objectives: To determine the prevalence of stress in young adults and to determine the common coping strategies used by a male and a female.

Materials and Methods: Cohen’s perceived stress scale to estimate the prevalence of stress and a pre-structured, pretested questionnaire for determining the gender variation in coping strategies.

Results: About 84.7% were under moderate or high stress and coping strategies showed that females used more emotion focused while males had a problem-focused approach.

Conclusion: The institution as well as the mentors should have an idea about the stressors as well as the maladaptive strategies used by a young adult so as they can educate and help them to reduce the stress.

Key words: Stress; Coping Strategies; Emotion Focused; Problem Focused