Abstract: The response of SARS stress of 1016 persons in 17 provinces in China was investigated. Comparing the difference between the high incidence district and others, we found that the two districts had significant difference in the SARS stress structural equation model, while the emotion handicap structural equation model had no significant difference. The theoretical SEM of SARS stress had good fit indexes, which suggested that the panic and the defence were the most important contents, and the cognition played an adjusting role in the response. On the other hand, depression and anxiety, as an index of psychological health, influences the response of stress, but the response of stress influences depression and anxiety much more. The social support is a variable of suffer or mediator, it had a noticeable impact on the SARS stress. The results indicated the characters on the higher stress subjects. Firstly, the persons with higher panic showed higher anxiety and depression and more social support. Secondly, the persons with higher defence had more depression and anxiety than the lower subjects, while the significant difference of social support was not found. Thirdly, the character of lower depression and higher social support appeared on the subjects with higher cognition.

Key words: SARS, stress, Structural Equation Modeling