Den här studien undersökte effekter av en stresshanteringsintervention, som genomfördes med åtta elever på en svensk gymnasieskola under hösten 2015. Hypoteserna inför projektet var att interventionen som varade under åtta veckor skulle ha en positiv effekt på användandet av adaptiva copingstrategier samt reducera upplevd stressnivå och öka självskattad hälsa. De utfallsmått som användes var Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-14) och fem delskalor från COPE (Positiv omtolkning, Acceptans, Planering, Socialt instrumentellt stöd och Socialt emotionellt stöd). Deltagarna fick också skatta sin egen hälsa. Resultaten visade att det skett en signifikant minskning i upplevd stress och en signifikant ökning i användandet av copingstrategier som Positiv omtolkning, Acceptans och Planering. Frivilligt deltagande betonades i utvärderingen från deltagare att ha varit avgörande för närvaro och engagemang. Sammanfattningsvis visar studiens resultat att det går att utveckla användandet av copingstrategier i unga år, vilket kan ha varit den bidragande orsaken till minskad stressupplevelse. Betydelsen av upplevd kontroll och att känna tilltro till sin egen förmåga bedöms vara viktiga komponenter i arbetet med stresshantering för ungdomar.This study examined the effects of a stress management intervention that was carried out with eight Swedish high school students (Swedish gymnasium) during the fall semester of 2015. The hypotheses were that the eight week intervention would have a positive impact on the usage of adaptive coping strategies, reduce perceived stress for the participants and increase self-estimated overall health. The outcome measures were Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-14) and five subscales from COPE (Positive reinterpretation and growth, Acceptance, Planning, Seeking social support for instrumental reasons and Seeking of emotional social support). The participants were also asked to estimate their overall health. The results showed a significant reduction in perceived stress and a significant increase in usage of coping strategies such as Positive reinterpretation and growth, Acceptance and Planning. Voluntary participation was emphasized to be crucial for attendance and commitment by the participants. In conclusion, the results of this study show that it’s possible to develop and elaborate coping strategies in adolescence, which could have been a contributing factor to the decrease in perceived stress. The significance of perceived control and intern locus of control were considered to be important components in working with stress management for adolescents
