Health psychologists have begun to examine the mediating effect of gender roles in stress-distress relationships. One particular area in which attention has been focused concerns the impact of "stereotypic" beliefs about women on the distress that individuals experience in response to stressful life experiences. The present investigation examined the extent to which the gender stereotypes measured by the Beliefs About Women Scale (BAWS; Belk & Snell, 1986) intensify the impact of stressful life experiences. The results indicated that among individuals with a recent history of stressful experiences in their lives, a personal adherence to the gender stereotypes assessed by the BAWS was associated with elevated distress.