What is Stress?
The idea of psychological stress was taken from the field of physics by a physician (Hans Sleye) one of the first stress researchers in the 1920s. He noticed that his patients were all under physical ‘stress’
What are the three approaches to Stress?
- Engineering approach: stimulus-based
- Response based: physiological response
- Transactional approach: interactional appraisal
Describe the engineering approach: stimulus-based to stress (3 points)
- Stress is in the environment
- it is any event that produces strain or pressure
- The larger the strain, the larger the stress response
What does the engineering approach to stress assume (2 points)? And why are they problematic (2 points)?
- Assumes that non-demanding environments are never stressful
- Assumes that stress reactions are ‘automatic’ and ‘unconscious’
These are problematic assumptions because: - Assumption that non-demanding environments are not stressful is wrong
- No consideration of psychological mediation
Describe the response-based approach: physiological response to stress (3 points)
- Considers stress to be the physiological reaction (e.g., increased HR, sweating, etc.)
- Stress has occurred if the person has the response
- What is the problem with this approach? (does not account for psychological mediation)
Describe the transactional approach: interactional appraisal to stress (Lazarus & Folkman)
- Includes an intra-individual (person level) variable:
a. Appraisal - a person has to appraise an environment (or event) as threatening for a stress response
b. No perceived threat – no stress response - Includes a second variable: Coping
a. The kind of appraisal will be linked to the kind of coping
b. Coping strategies are linked to the long-term adaptation of the person to the stressor, including appraisals of future threat - Considers stress as a process: Requires assessment over time
- Considers stress as complex: Interaction of person, environment, appraisal, and coping
What is the general adaptation syndrome
Addressed the stress reaction process first published in 1936
Selye believed the stress reaction was always the same
regardless of the stressor
What are the three types of stressors addressed in the general adaptation syndrome from Selye?
- Alarm: reaction to a threat (fight or flight)
- Resistance: with prolonged exposure to the threat the response is to try to return to homeostasis
- Exhaustion: if the threat is not overcome, physiological resources are depleted
What does the general adaptation syndrome not take into account?
Doesn’t take into account that people may respond differently to the same stressor
Later, he wrote: (Selye 1951) “Anything that causes stress endangers life, unless it is met by adequate adaptive responses; conversely, anything that endangers life causes stress and adaptive responses. Adaptability and resistance to stress are fundamental prerequisites for life, and every vital organ and function participates in them.”
What are the problems with early approaches to stress?
- Primarily physiological
a. Fight or flight (Cannon)
b. General adaptation syndrome (Selye) - Problem with these approaches?
a. ‘Direct effects’ explanations
b. Do not take into account behavioural effects of stress
c. Does not take into account coping efforts or strategies
All stressors do not produce the same process
What is contemporary stress theory? (Allostatic
Load)
When we encounter a stressor we have a physiological
response (i.e., allostasis); when the stressor is gone, the
allostatic response ends.
What is allostasis?
- Allostasis is an adaptive mechanism that helps individuals to cope with stressors through physiological and behavioral
processes - Allostasis is the process by which our HPA axis (which produces cortisol), the autonomic nervous system, and our cardiovascular, metabolic, and immune systems protect our body by adapting to internal and external stress.
What is allostatic load?
The wear and tear the body experiences due to repeated stress exposure
- occurs when the allostatic response remains, even after the stressor is gone.
- a model that tries to quantify the cumulative damage
from physiological stress response in the body
- Stressful life events are positively associated with
allostatic load showing how exposure to stressors can
lead to chronic diseases
- “The physiological costs of chronic exposure to
fluctuating or heightened neural or neuroendocrine
the response that results from repeated or chronic stress” (Taylor & Sirois, 2009, p. 158)
Allostatic load is commonly characterized as including four main biological systems:
- Cardiovascular
- Metabolic
- Immune/inflammatory
- Neuroendocrine
Signs of high allostatic load (6 points)
- Decreases in cell-mediated immunity
- Inability to ‘shut off’ cortisol response
- Lowered HR variability
- Elevated epinephrine levels
- Memory problems
- High blood pressure
Four Situations Associated with Allostatic Load
- Repeated ‘hits’ from multiple stressors - causes ‘wear and tear’ on the stress response system
- Lack of adaptation - the stress response stays continuously
- Prolonged response – the stress response stays continuously on high, long after the stressor is gone
- Inadequate response – too much stress can result in the inability to respond normally to stress in the future – remember, cortisol response is normal and needed.
Ways in which individuals may cope with stressful situations: adopting health-damaging modifiable lifestyle behaviors (3 points)
- Stressors can lead to overconsumption of food high in saturated fat and refined sugar to activate the brain reward system
- Stressed individuals are also likely to smoke cigarette or overconsume alcohol to cope with the negative emotions from stressors
- Individuals who are stressed are often less likely to exercise
Health-damaging modifiable lifestyle behaviors often occur concurrently to form __________ and act synergistically to increase the progression of __________.
behavioral clusters; allostatic load
A recent systematic review (Suvarna, 2020)) found six
unhealthy lifestyle risk factors to be __________ associated with allostatic load. What are the six unhealthy lifestyle risk factors?
Positively.
1. Physical inactivity
2. Alcohol
3. Drug abuse
4. Smoking
5. Poor sleep quality
6. Unhealthy eating habits
What did the longitudinal study report regarding the relationship between allosteric load and low socioeconomic status?
Reported that multiple modifiable lifestyle behaviors (diet, physical activity, smoking, and alcohol consumption) partially mediated the positive association between low socioeconomic status and
allostatic load. This means that the poor lifestyle behaviours were partly responsible for higher allostatic load in people in low SES situations, but not entirely! Low SES can be more stressful (depending on the perception)
What are some examples of poor coping behaviours? (5 points)
- Less physical activity or exercise
- Inadequate nutrition
- High alcohol intake
- Smoking
- Substance use/abuse
All are associated with high reported stress
What is the current stress definition?
Stress is the (negative) emotional experience followed by
biochemical, physiological, cognitive, and behavioural
changes that work toward either changing the stressful
event or adapting to its effects
What is a stressor?
Any event perceived to be stressful.
If a person ruminates this can interfere with physiological
recovery. True or False?
True
