Stress

Stress

1. Life changes as stressors

   • Rahe et al: 2664 men on US navy ships kept diary of any illness. small signif +ve correlation between life change units and illness in last 6 mnths
     • this shows that as there are +ve and -ve life event, it is the amnt of energy required to deal with the event that creates stress/illness
   • Michael and BenZur:f/m divorced/widowed. divorced=higher life satisfaction before bereavement than after(able to turn life change in2 +ve experience)
   • AO2
     • A spurious relationship: most studies yield correlation data, which fails to show causal relatnshp/a third variable explanation
     • Individ differences: in impact of life events e.g. pregnancy,retirement. >hard to predict illness from SRRS scores alone
     • Life changes and daily hassles: major are rare, minor=daily hassles. Delongis: signif relatnshp health and daily hassles (not life events)
     • +ve and -ve events: SRRS based research can damage health as it requires signif readjustment= un(controlled/desired/scheduled)

2. Daily hassles as stressors

   • Bouteyre et al: correlation of relatnshp daily hassles and mental health in students from school>uni. 40% new students showed depressive symptoms
   • Gervais et al: nurses kept diaries for a month. hassles=incr jobstrain/decr performance. uplifts=counter stress/improved performance
   • Flett et al: major life events differ from daily hassles in that ppl seek/receive social support. -ve effects may be reduced due to social support.
   • AO2
     • Memory problems: retrospective data recall so accuracy varies. keeping a diary is accurate.
     • Correlation don't show casual relationship between physic/pysch wellbeing but show potential to have effect on our wellbeing.
     • Gulian et al: opts that report hard day at work report higher stress on their drive home. unresolved minor carried forward are interpreted -vely.
     • Pets as daily hassles-Miller: for f=pets associated with uplifts (leisure). m=associated with hassle (e.g. costs)
     • Explaining daily hassles
       • Accumulation effect: chronic stress caused by -ve life events that deplete a person's resources>become more vulnerable to influence of daily hassles.
       • Amplification effect: add up of minor daily stressors>create persistent irritations,frustr,overloads>serious stress reactn (depression/anxiety)

3. Workplace Stress

   • Marmot et al: 7k civil servants did qu'aire tested them on job control, workload and social support received from others and checked for cardiovasc.
     • workload: not a signif factor- no link between high workload and stress related illnesses
     • control: civil servants that report low job control=++likely to get heart disease than those reporting high.
   • AO2
     • Individ diffs-schaubroeck: workers respond diff to lack of control. some people are less stressed and show better immune responses in such situations.
     • Work under load-shultz et al: study across 15 Eu countries found employees report work overload=most stressed than report under load.
     • Workplace stress and mental health: doesn't cause direct health probs, but can incr the likeliness of depression to occur.

4. The body's response to stress

   • Sympathomedullary pathway (acute)
     • ANS = symp branch-returns to relaxatn (incr <3,bp,pupil size, mobilise fat and glycogen) + SNS (prepares body for f/light by relaease of noradrenaline
     • Adrenal medulla: SNS neurones travel to medula causing adren release (boosts supply of o2 and glucose to brain) and suppresses non urgent bodily
     • processes eg digestion. once stressor has passed, parasymp branch of ANS slows heart rate and reduces bp
   • Pituitary adrenal system (chronic)
     • 1 Hypothalamus- when stressor perceived, msg sent to hypoth. activation leads to productn of CRF which is released into bloodstream
     • 2 Pituitary gland- here, CRF causes ACTH release. this is transported via bloodstream to adr cortex in adr glands.
     • 3 Adrenal cortex- this releases cortisol. effects: +low sensit to pain, -low immune response. prolonged ACTH release causes adr cort incre = +cortisol
   • AO2: consequences of the stress response
     • cardiovasc probs: is stress responses are often activated, heart and blood vessels suffer from wear and tear, leads to increased chance of <3 disease
     • immunosuppression: too much cortisol shuts down immune system which shuts down process that fights infection. feedback syst may brkdwn under ++stress
     • Individ differences: males has f/light response, females have tend/befriend response

5. Stress related illness

   • cardiovascular disorders: SNS activation>blood vessels constrict>incr bp,<3(wears lining of bld vessels). stress>incr glucose which blocks bld vessels
   • AO2
     • :) Orth-Gomer et al: found increase in heart attacks as result of marital conflict
   • Role of anger-Williams: 13k did qu'aire, health check 6yrs later. ppts highest on anger scale more likely to have heart attack

6. Stress related illness and immune system

   • Kiecolt Glaser et al
     • on medic students: one month before and during exams. found reduced immune activity from blood sample DURING than before
     • unhappy relatnshps on immune syst: found blister wounds on arm of couples who shows high hostile behav healed at 60% of low hostile.
   • Malarkey et al: found marital conflict caused changes in adren and noradren levels, which could lead to poorer immune functioning
   • AO2
     • Segestrom and Miller: meta- ST acute stressors boost immune cyst to prepare itself for infec/inj and LT chronic lead to suppression of immune syst.
     • Stress can enhance immune system-evans et al: ST stress increases slgA levels, which help protect angst infection
     • Not a simple relationship: health is slow to change, affected by other factors, demo over LT is impractical so only ST research
     • Individual differences: women show more adverse immunological changes in their reactions. with age, stress has created effect on imm system.

7. Type A and Type B personality

   • Friedman and Rosenman: type a are competitive and achievement striving/impatience and time urgency/ hostility and aggressiveness. >raise bp and stress
   • AO2
     • Importance of hostility-Myrtek: meta,found associatn of CHD and hostility(type A) but no association with other components.
     • Research support-Ragland and Brown: followup- 15% of men died of <3 disease, but no relatnshp of type A and death from CHD.
     • Outdated Concept: is a reflection of traditional masculinity in 50s and 60s. hardiness more imp as emphasised in men AND women.

8. Personality factors: hardy personality

   • Kobasa and Maddi- more resistant to harmful effects of stress: Control(of own life) Commitment(involved with world) Challenge(probs to overcome)
   • Maddi et al: measured hardiness in comp reducing its wf. found 2/3 had stress related illness and 1/3 thrived (3 components!)
   • Lifton et al: measured hardiness at 5 US unis to see link with academic life. found students with low hardy score more likely to dropout of uni
   • AO2
     • -ve affectivity: individs with high NA dwell more on failures/-ve aspects of themselves>more likely to report dissatisfaction/distress
     • Problems of measurement: most data is thru self report qu'aires. addresses probs e.g. long/awk and bad wording.
     • Real world application: explains why soldiers remain healthy-able to combat stress>elite milit units screening for hardiness as part of selectn proced

9. Pyschological methods of stress management

   • Stress innoculation training
     • Meichenbaum: conceptualisation(see stressor as prob to be solved) skills acquis(taught coping skills) applic(to increasingly diff situations)
     • AO2
       • :) effective: compared with syst-desens to deal with snake phobias. both effective but SIT helped reduce fear of another yet untreated phobia
       • :) reduces academic stress-Sheehy and Horan: SIT sessions reduce anxiety/stress amongst students over time and improve academic performance
       • preparation for future stressors: gives client necessary skills so they're less adversely affected by stressors in later life
       • :( time consuming/requires high motivation
       • :( unnecessarily complex: is poss that SIT can be achieved with just some of elements. could be better to learn to talk +ve and relax more
   • Hardiness training
     • Kobasa and Maddi: focus(recognise source/phys signs of stress) relive stress enc(to give insight to current methods) selfimprovmt(learn new technique)
     • AO2
       • :) it works: shown to help at risk students to deal with stresses faced during college life
       • :) real world application: used in olympic training by helping to control aspects of daily life that interfere with their training
       • :( overcoming bad habits: some habits are hard to modify so can't be a rapid solution to stress management.

10. Drug therapies

    • (BZs): neurotrans GABA is bodes natural form of relief-has hard effect on neurones in brain>harder for them to be stimul8 by ntrn>slows their activity
    • Beta-blockers (BBs): reduce noradr and adren activity by binding to receptors on heart cell. by blocking receptors=harder to stimul8 cells>low bp/<3
    • AO2
      • :-)
        • Effective-Hildalgo et al: meta and found BZs more effective than other drugs for reducing anxiety
        • Easy to use: require little effort from patient compared to signif time investment and motivation required for psych therapies.
      • :-(
        • Addiction: patients exhibit withdrawal sympts when stop taking BZs hence why intake is limited to 4 weeks.
        • Side effects: BZs increase aggression and impairment of memory>some studies link to incr risk of diabetes.
        • Treats symptom rather than prob: effectiveness lasts as long as drug is taken-prob itself isn't addressed.