The Administrative Stress Index, a 35-item questionnaire, was designed, validated, and sent to members of the Confederation of Oregon School Administrators to identify perceived job stress, to establish stress categories, and to discover how administrators cope with stress. Usable responses were received from 1,156 elementary and secondary principals, superintendents, and central office administrators. The typical subject was male, 42 years old, had 9 years of administrative experience, and worked 55 hours per week. Varimax rotation of the data revealed four interpretable dimensions of stress: role-based stress, task-based stress, boundary-spanning stress (arising from relating the school to the external environment), and conflict-mediating stress. Relationships were found between these dimensions and such personal characteristics as age, tenure, and health. Contrary to previous research findings, some stress factors were observed to increase with age and tenure. The data also suggested that despite similarities between their jobs, principals and superintendents experienced widely different degrees of stress. Coping activities fell into three categories: physical activity, mental control, and management skill development. The research indicated previous studies have not been comprehensive enough and that further study is needed. (Author/PGD)