Exam 10 13 Chapters 5 6 and 7 Chapter 5 Defining measuring and managing stress Identify types of stressors 1 Be able to describe different theories of stress 2 3 How health psych measure stress 4 How stress affects health 5 How people cop 6 Behavioral interventions to manage stress 1 What is stress 2 Fight or flight response 3 General Adaptation Syndrome i Organisms perceives threat sympathetic nervous and endocrine systems activated fight attack or confront or flight flee or socially withdraw substance abuse b Major criticism it proposes that you must do one or the other i We might not want to do either c Tend and befriend suggests that in addition to fight or flight many respond to stress through nurturing behavior common in women and social affiliation a Alarm mobilize to meet the threat resistance make efforts to cope with the threat exhaustion when you deplete physiological resources in response to the threat i Allostatic load over time prolonged stress can cause wear and tear on your body the physiological cost of the physiological changes from chronic exposure to stress 1 Can cause health problems 2 Can be measured by increase in weight high blood pressure and elevated levels of epinephrine b Regardless of the cause of the stress stressor you will have the same physiological response c Criticisms of GAS 4 Lazarus and Folkman Model Ignores psychological factors ex appraisal of events i ii Not all stressors produce the same endocrinological hormonal responses a Stress includes 3 stages b Stage 1 Primary Appraisal person is trying to understand the event and what it means i Harm assessment of damage that s already been done ii Threat assessment of potential damage due to the event iii Challenge potential to overcome the event or profit from the event 1 Beneficial c Stage 2 Secondary Appraisal people assess whether their personal resources are enough to meet the demands of the situation i ii iii if it is adequate there is little stress moderately adequate moderate stress don t have adequate resources LOTS of stress 1 d Stage 3 Reappraisal change constantly as new info becomes available can result in more or less stress reassessing stages 1 and 2 in order to update the perception and level of stress 5 What are stressors as per lazarus a Cataclysmic events sudden unique and powerful life changing events requiring major adaptive responses from population groups who share the experience i Natural disasters 9 11 war ii Most are sudden iii Affect a large number of people iv Can be intentional more stressful or unintentional v Create stress grief and fear among survivors 1 PTSD anxiety disorder from traumatic event b Major life events i Graduation moving marriage divorce cancer ii Evolve over time iii Can be negative or positive iv Require change v Only affect 1 or few people c Everyday hassles i Experiences of everyday living that are harmful to someone s everyday being ii Traffic parking weight management iii Physical environment pollution noise crowding fear of crime usually associated with urban living can occur individually iv Psychosocial environment discrimination community workplace family v Create chronic repetitive stress that can wear someone down and cause a build up in allostatic load d Top 5 stressors for college students i Concern over meeting high standards ii Being lonely iii Fear of wasting time iv Thoughts about future v Lack of sleep e Top 5 for adult Americans i Money ii Economy iii Work iv Family 6 How do we measure stress a Undergraduate stress questionnaire b Problems with life events scales and daily hassles scales i Scales should be specific to age group one questionnaire won t work for everyone ii Don t measure severity 7 Hiw dies stress affect health 2 i Elevated lipids elevated blood pressure decreased immunity increased a Stress direct physiological effects hormonal activity b Stress health behavior change i Risky behavior increase in drug use alcohol smoking and unsafe sex ii Not enough sleep iii Poor diet not enough exercise c Stress psychosocial resources i Threatened social support reduced optimism threats to self esteem d Stress health care i Decreased seeking care ii Decreased adherence iii Increased delay in seeking care 8 How do people cope with stress a Coping thoughts and behaviors used to manage the internal and external demands of stressful situations Lazarus and Folkman personal resources that influence coping b i Healthy and energetic cope more easily ii Positive belief people who believe they can bring about particular outcomes cope better iii Problem solving skills know how to solve particular problems iv Material resources people who have access to more resources will be better able to cope with stress v Social skills people who have the ability to get others to cooperate with them vi Social support having good social support is better for coping 1 Social contact social network vs social isolation 2 Who is likely to be socially isolated a The elderly parents siblings friends all dead adult children illness lose social networks b Shy c High in fear of rejection 3 Types of social support a Provide instrumental support labor materials transportation b c Emotional support reassurance comfort expresses concern Informational support provide info to help make decisions 4 Effects Increased recovery from illness or treatment a Decreased likelihood of illness b c Decreased risk of mortality due to serious disease Increased likelihood to adhere to medical regimens d e Increased likely to practice good health habits Internal locus of control believe that things happen because we control them c d External locus of control believe that good and bad outcomes are out of our control i Are more stressed out and don t cope as well in stressful situations 3 e Perceived control belief that we can influence our environment in ways that determine whether we experience positive or negative outcomes i Rodin and Langer enduring control they choose less deaths than comparison control they are told more deaths longitudinal ii Schulz and Hanusa temporary control they choose then comparison control they are told so control was taken away The only ones who died were the temporary control had perceived control and then it was taken away 2 months iii Death is the best dependent variable can t be argued with f Coping style i Problem focused coping attempts to take action to either reduce the demands of the stressor or to increase the resources available to manage 1