A population-based study on ways of dealing with daily stress: comparisons among individuals with mental disorders, with long-term general medical conditions and healthy people.

Objective: Stress plays an important role in the etiology of mental and physical disorders. The effect of stress on health may be moderated by how people deal with stress. The objectives of this analysis were to (1) estimate the population proportions using various ways of dealing with stress in healthy people, in people with mental disorders and substance dependence and in individuals with general medical conditions only, and (2) identify factors associated with ways of dealing with stress.

Methods: Data from the Canadian Community Health Survey, Mental Health and Well-being (CCHS-1.2) were used (n = 36,984). This was a national mental health survey which used a probability sample and incorporated a version of the Composite International Diagnostic Interview.

Results: Participants with mental disorders differed from healthy people in ways of dealing with stress. Among participants with mental disorders, women were more likely to report that they "talk to others" and "eat more/less" to deal with stress. Men were more likely to use "avoid people" and "drink alcohol" to deal with stress than women. Age differences within groups in ways of dealing with stress were found and having a history of mental disorders was also associated with reported ways of dealing with stress.

Conclusions: Ways of dealing with stress differ by gender and age, but there is no over-arching pattern of maladaptive coping associated with mental disorders that applies across illness, age and gender categories. Healthy behaviors should be promoted as ways to relieve stress, leading to better self-care skills.