II-5 Stress and Illness

Question 1

Describe the effects of stress on health behaviors

Answer 1

People who report being under stress sleep less, are less likely to eat breakfast, consume more alcohol, and use more recreational drugs.

Question 2

Discuss the effects of negative affectivity on stress and illness

Answer 2

People high in negative affectivity are more prone to: express distress; drink heavily; engage in suicidal gestures; have elevated levels of cortisol and catecholamines; and show symptoms of asthma arthritis, ulcers, headaches, and CHD.

Question 3

List the three elements of a pessimistic explanatory style

Answer 3

Pessimistic explanatory style interprets and explains negative events in terms of factors that are internal (“It is my fault”), global (“I can’t do anything right”), and stable (“This is going to screw up everything”).

Question 4

Compare the effects of optimism and pessimism on health.

Answer 4

Pessimists have poorer health overall, reduced cell-mediated immunity, higher blood pressure, more depression, and higher cancer mortality. Optimists have less stress, less depression, more social support, more problem-focused coping strategies, higher levels of pulmonary function, faster recovery rates from surgery, and less risk of CHD.

Question 5

stress moderators

Answer 5

Internal and external resources and vulnerabilities that modify how stress is experienced and its effects.

Question 6

coping

Answer 6

The process of trying to manage demands that are appraised as taxing or exceeding one’s resources.

Question 7

negative affectivity

Answer 7

A personality variable marked by a pervasive negative mood, including anxiety, depression, and hostility; believed to be implicated in the experience of symptoms, the seeking of medical treatment, and possibly illness