The relationships among demands, coping resources, experienced stress, and well-being were studied in a cross-sectional survey of 210 reentry and 102 traditional women at the University of California, Irvine. The analysis was based on psychosocial stress theory and contextual analysis. Reentry women ranged in age from 26 to 66, with a mean age of 36.2, while tradititional women ranged in age from 18 to 29, with a mean age of 20.9. Several existing measures of stress were used, and two scales were developed to assess the demands respondents experienced across life domains. Additionally, instruments that measured social support, psychosomatic symptomatology, and general well-being were employed. Findings include: reentry women experienced more time constraints than traditional women; reentry women showed significantly less stress in the school domain than did traditional women; there were no significant differences between the two groups on self-reports of overall health, energy, and spirits; and reentry women showed significantly less stress related symptomatology. The findings support use of the contextual orientation to stress theory, which considers both school and nonschool influences. (SW)