Stress

Stress

Life changes as stressors
1. 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
  1. 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
2. Michael and BenZur:f/m divorced/widowed. divorced=higher life satisfaction before bereavement than after(able to turn life change in2 +ve experience)
3. AO2
  1. A spurious relationship: most studies yield correlation data, which fails to show causal relatnshp/a third variable explanation
  2. Individ differences: in impact of life events e.g. pregnancy,retirement. >hard to predict illness from SRRS scores alone
  3. Life changes and daily hassles: major are rare, minor=daily hassles. Delongis: signif relatnshp health and daily hassles (not life events)
  4. +ve and -ve events: SRRS based research can damage health as it requires signif readjustment= un(controlled/desired/scheduled)
Daily hassles as stressors
1. Bouteyre et al: correlation of relatnshp daily hassles and mental health in students from school>uni. 40% new students showed depressive symptoms
2. Gervais et al: nurses kept diaries for a month. hassles=incr jobstrain/decr performance. uplifts=counter stress/improved performance
3. 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.
4. AO2
  1. Memory problems: retrospective data recall so accuracy varies. keeping a diary is accurate.
  2. Correlation don't show casual relationship between physic/pysch wellbeing but show potential to have effect on our wellbeing.
  3. Gulian et al: opts that report hard day at work report higher stress on their drive home. unresolved minor carried forward are interpreted -vely.
  4. Pets as daily hassles-Miller: for f=pets associated with uplifts (leisure). m=associated with hassle (e.g. costs)
  5. Explaining daily hassles
    1. Accumulation effect: chronic stress caused by -ve life events that deplete a person's resources>become more vulnerable to influence of daily hassles.
    2. Amplification effect: add up of minor daily stressors>create persistent irritations,frustr,overloads>serious stress reactn (depression/anxiety)
Workplace Stress
1. 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.
  1. workload: not a signif factor- no link between high workload and stress related illnesses
  2. control: civil servants that report low job control=++likely to get heart disease than those reporting high.
2. AO2
  1. Individ diffs-schaubroeck: workers respond diff to lack of control. some people are less stressed and show better immune responses in such situations.
  2. Work under load-shultz et al: study across 15 Eu countries found employees report work overload=most stressed than report under load.
  3. Workplace stress and mental health: doesn't cause direct health probs, but can incr the likeliness of depression to occur.
The body's response to stress
1. Sympathomedullary pathway (acute)
  1. 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
  2. Adrenal medulla: SNS neurones travel to medula causing adren release (boosts supply of o2 and glucose to brain) and suppresses non urgent bodily
  3. processes eg digestion. once stressor has passed, parasymp branch of ANS slows heart rate and reduces bp
2. Pituitary adrenal system (chronic)
  1. 1 Hypothalamus- when stressor perceived, msg sent to hypoth. activation leads to productn of CRF which is released into bloodstream
  2. 2 Pituitary gland- here, CRF causes ACTH release. this is transported via bloodstream to adr cortex in adr glands.
  3. 3 Adrenal cortex- this releases cortisol. effects: +low sensit to pain, -low immune response. prolonged ACTH release causes adr cort incre = +cortisol
3. AO2: consequences of the stress response
  1. cardiovasc probs: is stress responses are often activated, heart and blood vessels suffer from wear and tear, leads to increased chance of <3 disease
  2. immunosuppression: too much cortisol shuts down immune system which shuts down process that fights infection. feedback syst may brkdwn under ++stress
  3. Individ differences: males has f/light response, females have tend/befriend response
Stress related illness
1. cardiovascular disorders: SNS activation>blood vessels constrict>incr bp,<3(wears lining of bld vessels). stress>incr glucose which blocks bld vessels
2. AO2
  1. :) Orth-Gomer et al: found increase in heart attacks as result of marital conflict
3. Role of anger-Williams: 13k did qu'aire, health check 6yrs later. ppts highest on anger scale more likely to have heart attack
Stress related illness and immune system
1. Kiecolt Glaser et al
  1. on medic students: one month before and during exams. found reduced immune activity from blood sample DURING than before
  2. unhappy relatnshps on immune syst: found blister wounds on arm of couples who shows high hostile behav healed at 60% of low hostile.
2. Malarkey et al: found marital conflict caused changes in adren and noradren levels, which could lead to poorer immune functioning
3. AO2
  1. 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.
  2. Stress can enhance immune system-evans et al: ST stress increases slgA levels, which help protect angst infection
  3. Not a simple relationship: health is slow to change, affected by other factors, demo over LT is impractical so only ST research
  4. Individual differences: women show more adverse immunological changes in their reactions. with age, stress has created effect on imm system.
Type A and Type B personality
1. Friedman and Rosenman: type a are competitive and achievement striving/impatience and time urgency/ hostility and aggressiveness. >raise bp and stress
2. AO2
  1. Importance of hostility-Myrtek: meta,found associatn of CHD and hostility(type A) but no association with other components.
  2. Research support-Ragland and Brown: followup- 15% of men died of <3 disease, but no relatnshp of type A and death from CHD.
  3. Outdated Concept: is a reflection of traditional masculinity in 50s and 60s. hardiness more imp as emphasised in men AND women.
Personality factors: hardy personality
1. Kobasa and Maddi- more resistant to harmful effects of stress: Control(of own life) Commitment(involved with world) Challenge(probs to overcome)
2. Maddi et al: measured hardiness in comp reducing its wf. found 2/3 had stress related illness and 1/3 thrived (3 components!)
3. 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
4. AO2
  1. -ve affectivity: individs with high NA dwell more on failures/-ve aspects of themselves>more likely to report dissatisfaction/distress
  2. Problems of measurement: most data is thru self report qu'aires. addresses probs e.g. long/awk and bad wording.
  3. Real world application: explains why soldiers remain healthy-able to combat stress>elite milit units screening for hardiness as part of selectn proced
Pyschological methods of stress management
1. Stress innoculation training
  1. Meichenbaum: conceptualisation(see stressor as prob to be solved) skills acquis(taught coping skills) applic(to increasingly diff situations)
  2. AO2
    1. :) effective: compared with syst-desens to deal with snake phobias. both effective but SIT helped reduce fear of another yet untreated phobia
    2. :) reduces academic stress-Sheehy and Horan: SIT sessions reduce anxiety/stress amongst students over time and improve academic performance
    3. preparation for future stressors: gives client necessary skills so they're less adversely affected by stressors in later life
    4. :( time consuming/requires high motivation
    5. :( 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
2. Hardiness training
  1. Kobasa and Maddi: focus(recognise source/phys signs of stress) relive stress enc(to give insight to current methods) selfimprovmt(learn new technique)
  2. AO2
    1. :) it works: shown to help at risk students to deal with stresses faced during college life
    2. :) real world application: used in olympic training by helping to control aspects of daily life that interfere with their training
    3. :( overcoming bad habits: some habits are hard to modify so can't be a rapid solution to stress management.
Drug therapies
1. (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
2. 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
3. AO2
  1. :-)
    1. Effective-Hildalgo et al: meta and found BZs more effective than other drugs for reducing anxiety
    2. Easy to use: require little effort from patient compared to signif time investment and motivation required for psych therapies.
  2. :-(
    1. Addiction: patients exhibit withdrawal sympts when stop taking BZs hence why intake is limited to 4 weeks.
    2. Side effects: BZs increase aggression and impairment of memory>some studies link to incr risk of diabetes.
    3. Treats symptom rather than prob: effectiveness lasts as long as drug is taken-prob itself isn't addressed.

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	Created by raid001 about 11 years ago