A media-based stress management intervention

From May 5th to May 16th. 1986, WGN Channel 9, a Chicago-based television station, joined with the Chicago Lung Association, Pru-Care Health Maintenance Organization, and True Value hardware stores in producing a stress management program. The program was aired daily for 2 weeks on both the noon and 9:00 p.m. news. One hundred-seventy thousand manuals entitled “Success Over Stress” were distributed to the public. The manuals could be obtained for free at any of the over 300 True Value hardware stores in the Chicagoland area. The manuals were designed to help viewers follow the day-to-day TV broadcasts and to provide supplementary exercises and activities. The daily broadcasts featured the following components: defining stress; describing the body's response to stressors; identifying major life stressors; assessing one's social support network; and showing a variety of behavioral, cognitive, and psychological coping strategies for dealing with stress. Data from a sample of viewers interviewed before and after the broadcast indicated that many of the modeled coping strategies were tried and that significant improvements in several adjustment measures were achieved. Those viewers who experienced more serious life stressors benefitted most from the program.