Ch. 5 Stress and Mental Health

Question 1

What is Stress?

Answer 1

external demands placed on an organism;
organism’s internal biological and psychological responses to such demands

Question 2

Stress is a ____________ component of multiple DSM diagnostic disorders

Answer 2

significant

Question 3

6 Factors Predispositioning a Person to Stress

Answer 3

1) Nature of stressor
2) Experience of crisis
3) Life changes
4) Individual perception of stressor
5) Individual stress tolerance
6) Lack of external resources and social supports

Question 4

Characteristics of Stressors

Answer 4

1) Severity
2) Chronicity (how long)
3) Timing
4) Degree of Impact
5) Level of knowing what to expect
6) Controllability (unpredictable? unanticipated?)

Question 5

What is a crisis?

Answer 5

When stress exceeds adaptive capabilities of a person or group

Question 6

How does crisis differ from stress?

Answer 6

Stress does not necessarily overwhelm someone’s ability to cope

Question 7

What is resilience?

Answer 7

the most common reaction to loss or trauma
no one factor that determines resilience

Question 8

5 Factors linked to resilience

Answer 8

1) Older age
2) higher education
3) economic resources
4) positive life outlook (post-traumatic growth)
5) self-confidence

Question 9

Some DSM disorders are triggered by exposure to major life stressors like…

Answer 9

Adjustment disorder

Question 10

Some DSM disorders are triggered by exposure to a traumatic event (acute or chronic) like…

Answer 10

acute stress disorder or post-traumatic stress disorder

Question 11

Trauma and stressor related disorders characterised as

Answer 11

psychological disorders resulting from stress or trauma

Question 12

Stress/ trauma is a _______________ cause for diagnosis, but it is not a ______________ cause, because not everyone who experiences stress/ trauma will develop a stress- related disorder

Answer 12

necessary; sufficient

Question 13

What is adjustment disorder and how is it characterized?

Answer 13

-a psychological response to a major common stressor (e.g unemployment)

“Experiencing more stress than would normally be expected in response to a stressful life event and/or having stress that causes significant problems in relations, at school, or work”

Question 14

When does adjustment disorder occur?

Answer 14

within 3 months of the stressor occurring

Question 15

Symptoms of adjustment disorder disappear when stressor __________ or person ____________.

Answer 15

ends; adaps

Question 16

There are also important qualifiers of adjustment disorder, such as “______ ___________ _________”, “_________ ____________”, and “_____________ ____ ___________.”

Answer 16

with depressed mood; with anxiety; with disturbance of conduct

Question 17

How does the DSM-5 define and characterize a traumatic event?

Answer 17

*exposure to actual or threatened death, serious injury, or sexual violence
-a direct experience or witnessing it happen to
someone else, in person
-learning that something traumatic happened to a
loved one (e.g. murder), but does not include natural/
medical death
- repeated or extreme exposure to details of
traumatic events (e.g. first responders; combat
nurses; trauma therapists/ case workers; crime scene
cleaning)
** does not include electronic media or pictures,
unless work-related and frequently

Question 18

What is acute stress disorder?

Answer 18

a diagnostic category for use when symptoms develop shortly after traumatic even and last from 3 days to a month

Question 19

When can people receive treatment for acute stress disorder?

Answer 19

immediately

Question 20

Diagnosis of acute stress disorder may evolve to PTSD if symptoms persist past ______ ___________.

Answer 20

one month

Question 21

What is the clinical description of PTSD?

Answer 21

persistent post-traumatic stress causing distress and/or impairment
symptoms have been going on for at least one month

Question 22

What are the four PTSD symptom categories that must be present for diagnosis?

Answer 22

1) Re-experienceing
2) Avoidance
3) Negative changes in cognitions and mood
4) Arousal and reactivity

Question 23

1) Re-experiencing (four PTSD symptom categories)

Answer 23

-nightmares, intrusive images, physiological reactivity to trauma reminders
-flash backs

Question 24

2) Avoidance (four PTSD symptom categories)

Answer 24

-efforts to avoid thoughts, feelings, or reminders of trauma
-avoiding benign people, places, situations

Question 25

3) Negative alterations in cognitions and mood (four PTSD symptom categories)

Answer 25

-detachment, shame, anger, distorted blame of self/ others
-overgeneralized beliefs about danger

Question 26

4) Arousal and reactivity (four PTSD symptom categories)

Answer 26

-hypervigilance, excessive responses when startled, aggression, reckless behavior

Question 27

Must have at least _____ of the PTSD symptoms from ____ _________ categories for daignosis.

Answer 27

9; all 4

Question 28

PTSD is commonly misperceived as ____________ reactions to traumatic experiences.

Answer 28

common

Question 29

PTSD is a disorder of _____-___________ from trauma.

Answer 29

non-recovery

Question 30

Originally ____________ psychological effects after trauma persist and become ______________ and cause significant distress and/or impairment (e.g ducking for cover at the sound of any loud noise is adaptive in combat, but likely maladaptive for the 4th of July).

Answer 30

adaptive; maladaptive

Question 31

For acute stress disorder, you must have ____+ symptoms total which are consistent with PTSD

Answer 31

9+

Question 32

For PTSD, you must have at least ___ or ___ symptoms in each of the 4 symptom categories.

Answer 32

1 or 2

Question 33

Treatment for acute stress disorder are…

Answer 33

short-term psychotherapy and/or antidepressants

Question 34

Treatment for PTSD is…

Answer 34

longer, yet time-limited, psychotherapy and/or antidepressants

Question 35

The lifetime prevalence rate of PTSD in the US is ___%

Answer 35

6.8% (7%)

Question 36

There are higher rates of PTSD in ___________ despite finding that ________ are more likely to be exposed to violent events and serious accidents.

Answer 36

women; men

Question 37

Comparing natural and human disasters, there is higher risk of developing PTSD if…

Answer 37

human intention caused the event

Question 38

WWI: PTSD was known as…

Answer 38

“shell shock”

Question 39

WWII: PTSD was known as…

Answer 39

“operational fatigue” & “war neuroses”

Question 40

In Korean and Vietnam Wars, PTSD was known as…

Answer 40

“combat fatigue”

Question 41

Rates of PTSD (7-13%) for Afghanistan and Iraq wars were similar to…

Answer 41

Gulf & Vietnam wars

Question 42

Sociocultural factors for PTSD

Answer 42

-membership in minority groups
-socioeconomic inequalities likely a major factor
-returning to a negative and unsupportive social environment
-many vietnam vets