ABSTRACT
Yetclarifyingwhatwemeanbystressisimportantbecausethedefinition influenceshowweresearchstressandexplainourresults.Thechoiceofa particulardefinitionhastypicallybeendeterminedbytheresearchquestion addressed(ParkerandDeCotiis,1983).Thusstresscontinuestobedefinedas astimulus,responseorasaresultofsomeimbalanceorinteractionbetween theindividualandaspectsoftheenvironment(McGrath,1970;Cox,1978). Thedifferentusesofthetermhavebeenimportantinestablishingastateof knowledgeaboutthevariouscomponentsofthestressprocess,buttheir somewhatartificialseparationhasnotfacilitatedanunderstandingofthe transactionalnatureofstressorthemediatingpsychologicalprocesses throughwhichthetransactiontakesplace(Dewe,1992:96).
