Psychosocial stress, symptoms, and anxiety of male and female teachers in Greece

Psychosocial stress as measured by a Greek adaptation of the Schedule of Recent Experiences (SRE) constructed by Holmes and Rahe was studied in relation to symptoms, manifest anxiety, visits to doctor, and health concerns using 129 male and female Greek elementary school teachers. Psychosocial stress was related to number of symptoms and to level of manifest anxiety only with women. Although no sex differences were found in average psychosocial ratings, males and females reported different stressful life events. Females reported more symptoms than males, and had higher manifest anxiety. Relationships of sex differences to cultural norms are discussed.