A tight work deadline, a clogged toilet, or a disagreement with a loved one can make an ordinary day feel overwhelming. When several of these small frustrations build up, stress can quickly escalate. But according to new research that includes scientists from Penn State, simply feeling more in control might help make those everyday challenges easier to handle.
The study found that on days when people felt they had greater control over their stressors, they were 62% more likely to take action — such as calling a plumber or addressing a difficult conversation — to solve the problem. This effect became even stronger with age. The results suggest that a person’s sense of control can serve as an important psychological resource that can be strengthened over time to help manage stress and improve health outcomes.
The findings were published in the journal Communications Psychology.
Small Boosts, Big Benefits
“This research shows that even small boosts in how much control people feel they have over everyday hassles make it more likely that those hassles actually get resolved,” said David Almeida, professor of human development and family studies at Penn State and senior author on the paper. “Learning to find and act on these pockets of control in daily life may not only reduce stress but also support long-term health and well-being.”
Previous work led by Almeida has shown that stress responses fluctuate over time and that even minor daily inconveniences can affect health when they accumulate. Actively resolving stressors — such as clearing up an argument — is a key part of processing stress and allows emotions to settle more quickly.
Measuring How Control Affects Stress
In this new study, the researchers wanted to know whether a sense of personal control — how much people feel they can influence their daily challenges — affects whether a stressor gets resolved. For instance, does believing you can fix a billing mistake make you more likely to call the company? The team also examined what influences that sense of control, including the type of stress, how often stressors occur, and socioeconomic conditions.
“If perceived stressor control promotes stress resolution, can we leverage that as a modifiable resource to influence stressor resolution and therefore our emotional health and well-being?” asked lead author Dakota Witzel, who was a postdoctoral scholar at the Center for Healthy Aging at Penn State during the time of the research and is now an assistant professor at South Dakota State University.
Tracking Daily Stress Over a Decade
The researchers analyzed data from more than 1,700 adults who took part in the National Study of Daily Experiences, part of the long-running Midlife in the United States Survey (MIDUS), a national study on health and well-being. For eight consecutive days, participants reported any daily stressors they experienced within the previous 24 hours and whether each stressor was resolved by the end of the day. Common sources of stress included interpersonal tensions (arguments or avoided arguments), home or work overload, and “network stress” — problems affecting friends or family that still caused distress for the participant.
Participants also rated how much control they felt over each stressor on a four-point scale (none, a little, some, or a lot of control). The same survey was repeated with these participants 10 years later to see whether the connection between perceived control and stress resolution changed with time.
Control Levels Fluctuate From Day to Day
Results showed that people’s sense of control can shift greatly from one day to the next. In other words, feeling in control is not a fixed personal trait — it’s a daily perception that varies depending on circumstances.
Across all ages, on days when people felt more in control than usual — for instance, feeling “some” control instead of “a little” — they were significantly more likely to resolve the stressor. This pattern held true regardless of the stressor’s type or intensity.
Interestingly, the connection grew stronger with age. Early in the study, participants who felt a higher-than-usual level of control were 61% more likely to resolve their stressors that day. A decade later, the same boost in perceived control raised that likelihood to 65%.
“This work also begins to show that as we get older, not only do we have more control but that control helps us get better at handling stress,” Witzel said.
Building a Sense of Control
The findings suggest that perceived control can serve as a key tool for reducing daily stress.
“It’s encouraging news that daily control isn’t fixed. It can be strengthened through practical strategies such as setting priorities or reframing what’s within reach,” Almeida said. “We need to figure out how we can create the context and setting to allow people to feel more control.”
Practical ways to build control include focusing on what’s within reach, breaking large challenges into smaller steps, and using time blocking or lists to track progress. These small wins can create momentum and reduce stress. Asking for help or delegating tasks can also boost the sense of support and control. Ending each day with a short reflection may help people prepare mentally for the next day.
What’s Next for the Research
The team plans to keep studying how perceived control interacts with long-term or chronic stress.
“In this study, we’re talking about daily stressors, the minor inconveniences that occur throughout the day, but there’s also chronic stress where people are continually impacted by stressors again and again,” Witzel said. “Exploring the idea of whether resolution can be a mechanism that decreases the effect of chronic stress is an interesting area to explore.”
Eric Cerino, associate professor at Northern Arizona University, is co-lead author of the paper. Other authors on the paper include Robert Stawski, professor, Utah State University; Gillian Porter, assistant clinical professor, Raechel Livingston, research coordinator, and Amanda Black from Northern Arizona University; Jonathan Rush, assistant professor, University of Victoria; Jacqueline Mogle, RTI Health Solutions; Susan Charles, professor, University of California, Irvine; and Jennifer Piazza, professor, California State University, Fullerton.
Funding from the National Institute of Aging and the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities supported this work.
