Abstract: Every day a person experiences tension and perceives various situations as stressful. Stress is known to have an impact on mental and physical health. There is evidence that women experience more distress than men. In this regard, it becomes relevant to study the factors and mechanisms associated with distress in women. Coping strategies and anticipatory consistency can be attributed to such variables. An analysis of the literature revealed a shortage of studies that would examine the relationship between anticipatory well-being, coping behavior, and perceived stress. The aim of the current study is to determine how anticipatory well–being affects perceived stress of women, and whether coping strategies are involved in this relationship. It is assumed that anticipatory consistency is negatively related to perceived stress, and coping strategies mediate the relationship between anticipation and stress. The study involved 305 female respondents. The following psychodiagnostic methods were used: the scale of perceived stress 10, the questionnaire "Strategies of coping behavior", a short version of the test of anticipatory consistency. Statistical methods: correlation analysis, simple mediation analysis, multiple mediation analysis. The result is a model of multiple mediation. Anticipatory well-being of women is negatively related to the level of perceived stress. This relationship is not direct, but is mediated by coping strategies. Coping methods such as "escape-avoidance" and "problem-solving planning" mediate the relationship between anticipatory well-being and the level of perceived stress. The higher the level of anticipatory ability, the higher the probability of using the "problem solving planning" strategy, which reduces the level of perceived stress, and the lower the probability of actualizing the "escape-avoidance" coping strategy, which is associated with increased stress. Anticipatory consistency makes it possible to predict the results of coping behavior even before the actualization of a specific activity, and coping strategies act as specific efforts that affect stress. The main limitations of the current work are also briefly considered.

Keywords: distress, perceived stress, stress, anticipatory consistency, anticipation, coping mechanisms, coping strategies, coping behavior, coping, adaptation