This book, which consists of 12 chapters, deals with the crisis of stress in American schools, particularly the stress of students. The book: (1) examines ways of combating the debilitative stress of students; (2) frames the problem of stress in terms of the child, school, family, and community; (3) provides multiple perspectives on the problem of stress; (4) addresses conceptual and practical issues; (5) covers a breadth of school-related stress topics and supplies information on a wide range of stress interventions; (6) considers the stresses of different school subpopulations; and (7) integrates information from research and professional literature. Chapters 1 and 2 of the book review past school reforms and show why an emphasis on stress relief is needed in future school reforms. Chapters 3 and 4 look at the nature of stress, coping, and adaptational outcomes. The role of stress in different behavior settings is the focus of chapter 5, while chapter 6 reviews stress within a developmental framework. Chapter 7 looks at stress in special school populations, such as handicapped and overprivileged children, teenage mothers, and gay youth. Chapter 8 addresses the topic of stress in families with handicapped children. Chapter 9 discusses the stressor of violence in the family, school, and community. Chapter 10 considers what can be learned from children and adolescents who overcome great adversity. The stress of teachers is examined in chapter 11, and chapter 12 discusses key tasks underlying successful stress intervention in schools. A reference list of approximately 600 items is provided. (BC)