The study was done to identify the relationship of symptoms of stress, cancer prevention behavior, the quality of life in women, and the factors influencing the quality of life.

The subjects of this study were 210 married women. They were living in Gyeonggi Province and Busan Metropolitan City. Symptoms of stress were measured by the Park's Stress Scale. Cancer preventive behavior was measured by Suh's Korean scale, and Smith Kline Beecham Quality of life' Scale by Dunbar. Data was analyzed with the SPSS program by ANOVA, Pearson's correlation, and Multiple Regression Analysis.

The higher scores of physical stress correlated with lower practice scores of cancer prevention behavior. Psychological and physical stress revealed negative correlations among sub-items of the QOL such as competence, psychological well-being, stability, physical well-being and activity. Multiple regression analysis revealed that the predictor of quality of life in the women was stress. A combination of symptoms of stress and cancer prevention behaviors accounted for 35.3% of the variance in the quality of life in the women.

The most important factor influencing the quality of life of women was stress. Thus the study's findings can be useful in directing a comprehensive nursing care plan to improve the QOL of women.