Stress and Sociocultural Factors Flashcards
What are sociocultural factors?
-socioeconomic status
-cross cultural differences
-cultural deprivation
-family structure
-kinship
-child rearing practices
-caregiving
What are the important variables related to stress and SES?
-health outcomes
-subjective SES
-chronic stressors
-ethnicity/race
-perceived control
What is the Whitehall study?
-study done in the 80s/90s
-big epidemiological study of people working in the government in Britain that looked at stress and SES
-results: higher-ranking employees had lower mortality rates than those in lower grades
What is the Glasgow Cemetery study?
-measured the height of tombstones and correlated that with how long the person lived
-there was a direct correlation between the 2 variables
-took this as proof of SES predicting health: more money = big tombstone; which also correlated with how long they lived, higher SES lived longer
In a simple formula format, how does SES/stress effect health?
-Money —> better health
In reality its:
-Money —> less stress —> better health
What can mediate the relationship between SES and stress/health?
-available resources (education, income, employment, status, wealth)
-social status
-environmental aspects (neighborhood, social support)
What is Subjective SES?
-refers to ones perception of social status in comparison to others
-feeling others are better off than you may lead to stress
-subjective SES is more important than objective SES
What did Ayalon’s (2008) study on long-term care staff find?
-nurses had better perceived SES compared to doctors, because compared to other doctors they don’t make as much
-perceived higher SES predicted lower levels of burnout and more positive caregiving experiences
How does SES effect chronic stressors?
-lower SES is related to increased incidence of socioecologic stressors: living situation; financial status; employment
-the worse these factors the greater impact SES has on health (stress as a mediator)
How does ethnicity/race mediate the effect of SES on stress/health?
-disadvantaged minorities tend to be of lower SES
-African-Americans have been found to be at higher risk for hypertension
-however Latin-Americans have not been found to be at higher risk despite low SES
-the effect of discrimination may explain these differences
What did the Grothe et al. (2008) study looking at low SES African-Americans with CHD find?
-CHD linked to higher hostility, increased stress and lower social support
-individuals with a hostile style are more likely to experience: more stressful interpersonal environment; higher degree of social conflict; less social support
-Black individuals that are darker experience more stress and higher blood pressure
How does perceived control and SES effect stress/health?
-low feelings of control have been correlated to stress/negative health outcomes
-work stress more common in lower SES (more chronic stressors)
-the less control I feel I have [most likely less money too], the higher stress I have and lower health
-Why is work more stressful at lower SES levels?
–Less status your job, lower you get paid, lower value to the company, more likely to be fired
[Low SES —> less control —> more stress —> poor health]
What is Karasek’s job strain model?
-high responsibility + low job control = high strain #1 most stressful; ex: nurses
-low responsibility + low job control = passive #2 stressful; ex: blue-collars
-high responsibility + high job control = active #3 stressful; ex: CEOs & Drs
-low responsibility + high job control = low strain #4 stressful; ex: profs [tenure]
[high control jobs have less stress; SES predicts who has control]
How does culture effect stress?
-culture is a group of people with shared values, characteristics, and interests (nationality, sexuality, etc.)
-culture influences the stress response:
A. The types of stressors experienced
B. The appraisal of these stressors
C. The choice of coping strategies
D. The institutional mechanisms for coping with stress
How does culture influence the types of stressors?
-different cultures create different sets of stressors
-social role expectations, geopolitical circumstances
-values and our social expectations
-there are also subcultures within the culture who experience/respond to stress differently
-poverty creates its own stressors
-affluence also has pressures
How does culture effect the appraisal of stressors?
-the meaning of stress is different in many cultures
-what is considered stressful also differs (e.g. looking someone in the eye)
-affected by conscious and unconscious processes
-affected by family and social ties
How does culture influence the choice of coping strategies?
-coping strategies mediated by cultural values
-e.g emotional expression of stress may be less acceptable in Asian cultures
-these cultures may report bodily symptoms instead
-spiritual Coping
-collective vs individualistic coping
What did the O’Kearney & Jobson (2009) study on independent vs interdependent cultures find?
-Western society is independent; Asian cultures is interdependent (groups needs are more important than my own)
-Result: independent group had a lot more defeat statements when they had PTSD;
-in interdependent group there was no difference between the PTSD and no PTSD [theres a lot of social support so they don’t feel as defeated even when they have PTSD]
What are the current sociocultural trends?
-people live longer due to an increase in life expectancy
-marriage is delayed
-couples have fewer children
-more adult children choose to liveat home while pursuing a highereducation
-increased number of adult childrenare returning home after divorce
(“Sandwich generation”: have to be caregiver to parents and kids at the same time [because having kids later])
