Lecture 5 Stress Flashcards
What is stress?
The process by which a person both appraises and responds to events that are judged to be challenging or threatening
What are stressors?
Demanding events or situations that trigger coping adjustments by a person
What systems are involved in the stress response?
The nervous, endocrine, and immune systems
What are some physiological changes that occur during a stress response?
- Increased heart rate
- Dilated pupils
- Stress hormones released
- Digestion slows
- Increased blood flow to the muscles
- Stored energy converted to a form usable by muscles
True or False: In modern times, many threats are psychological rather than physical.
True
What are the key types of stressors?
- Significant life events
- Daily hassles
- Work
Who conducted the first systematic attempt to link stress to health?
Holmes and Rahe in the 1950s
What are Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs)?
Experiences such as physical, emotional, and sexual abuse, neglect, and parental figures with substance use or mental health problems
How can exposure to early life stress affect health later in life?
It can have adverse consequences on health decades later
What is a significant finding from a 2017 meta-analysis regarding ACEs?
Individuals with 4+ ACEs were at higher risk for substance use, cancer, heart disease, respiratory disease, poor mental health, and violence
What is one reason stress increases during emerging adulthood?
Frequent moves, job changes, and significant life events
What are daily hassles?
Generally the most significant source of stress, influenced by frequency, duration, and intensity
What is the minority stress model?
A framework that examines the impact of microaggressions and chronic stressors on health
What are some sources of work stress?
- Little or no control over job aspects
- Overload
- Shiftwork
- Role conflict or ambiguity
- Lack of fairness
- Inadequate career advancement
- Job loss
What features of stressors can affect how they impact individuals?
- Valence
- Controllability
- Predictability
- Duration
Fill in the blank: The _______ Model of Stress includes biological processes, psychological influences, and sociocultural factors.
Biopsychosocial
What does psychoneuroimmunology study?
The interactions between psychological, neuroendocrine, and immunological processes
What is the direct effect pathway of stress?
Stress directly affects the nervous, endocrine, and immune systems, leading to disease
What is the indirect effect pathway of stress?
Stress encourages maladaptive behaviors that disrupt immune functioning
What is the Weathering Hypothesis?
Long-term exposure to marginalization contributes to accelerated aging
What is Allostatic Load?
Cumulative long-term effects of the body’s physiological response to stress
What are some consequences of reduced immune function due to stress?
- Vulnerability to infections
- Autoimmune disorders
- Cardiovascular disease
Key Points: What characterizes stress?
Stress is characterized by stressors, stress appraisals, and stress response
What is a notable conclusion regarding stress and health?
Chronic stress can be harmful for health
