This paper presents findings of a study that examined the effects of age and gender on the ways in which students in The Netherlands coped with academic and interpersonal stressors. Two types of coping strategies were examined--problem-focused and emotion-focused. Problem-focused coping refers to attempts to alter the stressor through confrontation or planful problem solving. Emotion-focused coping involves attempts to regulate negative emotional reactions to the stressor. The methods used included administration of the Stress and Coping Inventory (SCI) to 1,638 students (418 fifth-graders and 1,265 students in the second grade of secondary education). Interviews were also conducted to determine the extent to which students experienced psychosomatic symptoms. Findings showed that the girls reported more stress than did boys. Students reported more problem-focused coping in response to academic stressors and more emotion-focused coping in response to interpersonal stressors. In addition, emotion-focused coping increased with age. Girls and boys used similar coping strategies in response to academic stressors. However, girls tended to adopt a double-focused approach to interpersonal stressors. These findings indicate that the conflict of interest between allocating resources to gain mastery and maintaining emotional well-being may be stronger in females than in males. In some stressful academic situations, an ambivalent coping strategy may chronically tax personal resources for marginal benefits. In situations involving interpersonal stressors, active coping, coupled with self-management techniques, may enhance female students' stress resistance. Five tables are included. Contains 22 references. (LMI)