PowerPoint Presentation
Chapter 5 Stress and Adjustment Disorde
Chapter 5 Stress and Adjustment Disorde
Alice Cheng, Ph.D.
University of Hartford
Stress, Psychological Factors, and Health
Stress - A demand made on an organism to adapt or adjust.
Stressor - A source of stress.
*
What Is Stress?
Stress refers to both
The adjustive demands placed on an organism (a.k.a. stressors)
The organism’s internal biological and psychological responses to such demands
Both eustress (positive stress) and distress (negative stress) tax a person’s coping skills
*
0
*
Types of Stress: Distress
“A condition characterized by emotional upset and/or physical strain.”
Distress appears to be the type of stress most people refer to in everyday conversation.
“I’m stressed out.”
0
*
Types of Stress: Eustress
“Pleasurable stress although physical and mental stress is placed on the body, it seems to have a positive effect.”
Brisk exercise
Successful completion of a large task.
0
*
Categories of Stressors
*
0
*
Factors Predisposing a Person to Stress
The nature of the stresso
The experience of crisis
Life changes
A person’s perception of the stresso
The individual’s stress tolerance
A lack of external resources and social supports
*
0
*
A person’s perception of the stressor is define by each individual. E.g. having a baby can be a good stress but if its unplanned and a teen mom, this can be a distress.
Stress and the Endocrine System
Endocrine system – The system of ductless glands that secrete hormones directly into the bloodstream.
Hormones – Substances secreted by endocrine glands that regulate body functions and promote growth and development.
The endocrine system consists of glands distributed throughout the body.
*
Stress and the Immune System
Immune system – The body’s system of defense against disease.
Leukocytes are white blood cells that systematically envelop and kill pathogens such as bacteria, viruses, and fungi, worn-out body cells, and cells that have become cancerous.
Leukocytes recognize invading pathogens by their surface fragments, called antigens, literally antibody generators.
*
Copyright (c XXXXXXXXXXPearson Education. All rights reserved.
*
Adjustment Disorder: Reactions to Common Life Stressors
A person is said to have an adjustment disorder if the person’s response to a common stresso
is maladaptive
occurs within 3 months of the stressor
Stressors that typically cause adjustment disorder include
unemployment
ereavement
divorce or separation
*
0
*
Adjustment disorders
Adjustment disorder - A maladaptive reaction to an identified stressor, characterized by impaired functioning or emotional distress that exceeds what would normally be expected.
According to the DSM, the maladaptive reaction is characterized by significant impairment in social, occupational, or academic functioning or by states of emotional distress that exceed those normally induced by the stressor.
Prevalence estimates of the rates of the disorder in the population vary widely (5-20%).
*
Subtypes of Adjustment disorders
*
*
The Effects of Severe Stress
The effects of severe stress include:
Lowered efficacy
Depletion of adaptive resources
Wear and tear on the biological system
Severe personality and physical deterioration
Death
0
*
Stress and illness
Psychological sources of stress not only diminish our capacity for adjustment, but also may adversely affect our health.
Stress is associated with an increased risk of various types of physical illness, ranging from digestive disorders to heart disease.
The field of psychoneuroimmunology studies relationships between psychological factors, especially stress, and the workings of the endocrine system, the immune system, and the nervous system
*
The General Adaptation Syndrome
General adaptation syndrome (GAS) - The body’s three-stage response to states of prolonged or intense stress.
Alarm reaction - The first stage of the GAS, characterized by heightened sympathetic activity.
Fight-or-flight reaction - The inborn tendency to respond to a threat by either fighting or fleeing.
*
The General Adaptation Syndrome
Resistance stage - The second stage of the GAS, involving the body’s attempt to withstand prolonged stress and preserve resources.
Exhaustion stage - The third stage of the GAS, characterized by lowered resistance, increased parasympathetic activity, and eventual physical deterioration.
The exhaustion stage is characterized by dominance of the parasympathetic
anch of the ANS.
*
Acculturative Stress: Making It in America
One of the primary sources of stress imposed on immigrant groups, or on native groups living in the larger mainstream culture, is the need to adapt to a new culture.
We can define acculturation as the process of adaptation by which immigrants, native groups, and ethnic minority groups adjust to the new culture or majority culture through making behavioral and attitudinal changes.
Acculturative stress - Pressure to adjust to a host or mainstream culture.
*
Acculturative Stress: Making It in America
Research with Hispanic (Latino) Americans that highlight psychological risks associated with acculturation:
Increased risk of heavy drinking among women.
Increased risk of delinquency, smoking, and sexual intercourse among adolescents.
Increased risk of distu
ed eating behaviors.
*
Psychological Factors That Moderate Stress
Stress may be a fact of life, but the ways in which we handle stress help determine our ability to cope with it.
Individuals react differently to stress depending on psychological factors such as the meaning they ascribe to stressful events.
For example, whether a major life event, such as pregnancy, is a positive or negative stressor depends on a couple’s desire for a child and their readiness to care for one.
*
Styles of Coping
Emotion-focused coping - A coping style that attempts to minimize emotional responsiveness rather than deal with the
stressor directly.
Problem-focused coping - A coping style that attempts to confront the stressor directly.
Self-efficacy expectancies - Beliefs in one’s ability to accomplish particular tasks.
*
Coping with Stress
*
0
*
Coping with Stress
*
0
*
Psychological Hardiness
Psychological hardiness - A cluster of stress-buffering traits characterized by commitment, challenge, and control.
Three key traits distinguished the psychologically hardy executives :
1. Commitment.
2. Challenge.
3. Control over their lives
*
Optimism
Among heart disease patients, optimistic attitudes are associated with less emotional distress.
Among cancer patients, optimism is associated with lower levels of emotional distress, better psychological adjustment, and lower levels of reported pain.
Among pregnant women, it is linked to better birth outcomes, such as higher infant birth weights.
*
Optimism
Positive psychology - A growing contemporary movement within psychology that focuses on the positive attributes of human behavior.
The developers of this movement believe that psychology should focus more of its efforts on the positive aspects of the human experience, rather than just the deficit side of the human equation, such as problems of emotional disorders, drug abuse, and violence.
*
Social Support
The role of social support as a buffer against stress is well documented .
In one study, having a
oad network of social contacts was associated with greater resistance to developing an infection following exposure to a common cold virus.
The investigators believe that having a wide range of social contacts may help protect the body’s immune system by serving as a buffer against stress.
*
Ethnic Identity
African Americans, on the average, stand a greater risk than Euro Americans of suffering chronic health problems, such as obesity, hypertension, heart disease, diabetes, and certain types of cancer.
The particular stressors that African Americans often face, such as racism, poverty, violence, and overcrowded living conditions, may contribute to their heightened risks of serious health-related problems.
Ethnic identity is associated with perceptions of a better quality of life among African Americans and appears to be more strongly related to psychological well-being among African Americans than among White Americans.
*
Psychological Factors and Physical
Psychosomatic is defined as pertaining to a physical disorder in which psychological factors play a causal or contributing role.
The term psychosomatic is derived from the Greek roots psyche, meaning “soul” or “intellect,” and soma which means “body.”
The field of psychosomatic medicine explores the health-related connections between the mind and the body.
*
Headaches
Headaches are symptoms of many medical disorders.
When they occur in the absence of other symptoms, however, they may be classified as stress-related.
By far the most frequent kind of headache is the tension headache.
*
Cardiovascular Disease
Cardiovascular disease – A disease or disorder of the cardiovascular system, such as coronary heart disease or hypertension.
Coronary heart disease (CHD) – is the major form of cardiovascular disease, accounting for about 500,000 deaths annually, mostly from heart attacks.
CHD is the leading cause of death for both men and women, claiming even more women’s lives than
east cancer.
*
Negative Emotions
Frequent emotional distress in the form of anger, anxiety, and depression can have damaging effects on the cardiovascular system.
Type A behavior pattern (TABP) – A behavior pattern characterized by a sense of time urgency, competitiveness, and hostility.
Evidence indicates that episodes of acute anger can actually trigger heart attacks and sudden cardiac death in some people with established heart disease.
*
Social Environmental Stress
Social environmental stress also appears to heighten the risk of CHD.
Such factors as overtime work, assembly-line labor, and exposure to conflicting demands are linked to increased risk of CHD.
Researchers in Sweden find that among women, marital stress triples the risk of recu
ent cardiac events, including heart attacks and cardiac death.
*
Ethnicity and CHD
Coronary heart disease is not an equal opportunity destroyer.
European Americans (non-Hispanic Whites) and African Americans (non-Hispanic Blacks) have the highest rates of death due to coronary heart disease.
Factors such as obesity, smoking, diabetes, and hypertension play important roles in determining relative risks of CHD and the rate of CHD-related deaths.
*
Coronary heart disease death rates in relation to race and ethnicity
Copyright (c XXXXXXXXXXPearson Education. All rights reserved.
*
Asthma
Asthma is a respiratory disorder in which the main tubes of the windpipe—the
onchi—constrict and become inflamed, and large amounts of mucus are secreted.
During asthma attacks, people wheeze, cough, and struggle to
eathe in enough air.
According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC, 2009b), an estimated 16 million adults and 7 million children in the United States are affected by asthma.
*
Theoretical Perspectives
Many causal factors are implicated in asthma, including allergic reactions; exposure to environmental pollutants, including cigarette smoke and smog; and genetic and immunological factors.
Asthmatic reactions in susceptible people can be triggered by exposure to allergens such as pollen, mold spores, and animal dander; by cold, dry air; and by emotional responses such as anger or even laughing too hard.
Psychological factors such as stress, anxiety, and depression can increase susceptibility to asthmatic attacks.
*
Cance
The word cancer is arguably the most feared word in the English language, and rightly so: One of every four deaths in the United States is caused by cancer.
Cancer claims about half a million lives in the United States annually, one every 90 seconds or