Stress, Coping, and Social Support Flashcards
1
Q
Stress and coping in community psychology
A
- The aim of community psychology is “undermining the process whereby stress generates psychopathology”
- Considers both community and clinical individual perpectives as intertwined in stress and coping
2
Q
Risk process
A
- Factors correlated with problematic individual outcomes
- Ex: Distress, mental disorders, behaviour problems
3
Q
Protective processes
A
- Strengths or resources associated with positive individual outcomes
- Ex: coping temperament, supportive relationships
4
Q
Distal Factors
A
- Predisposing processes that indirectly shape stressors, resources, coping processes and outcomes
- Personal Factors: Gender, personal temperament, genetic or other biological factors
- Contextual Factors: Economic trends, neighbourhood characteristics, family conflict, racism, poverty
5
Q
Stressors
A
- Circumstances that represent a threatened or actual loss or scarcity of resources
6
Q
Resources
A
- Material, social, and personal factors that promote health and personal well-being
- Material: money, employment, housing
- Social: support from friends, social status
- Personal: competencies or skills
7
Q
Proximal Stressors
A
- Precipitating, relatively direct relationship to stress and coping
- Directly trigger or contribute to a problem
- Represent a threatened or actual loss or scarcity of resources
- May arise from distal factors
8
Q
Types of stressors
A
- Major life events: job loss, death of a friend, etc.
- Life transitions: entry into college, retirement, etc.
- Daily hassles: traffic, family conflict, microagressions, etc.
- Ambient/chronic stressors: poverty, pollution, etc.
- Disasters: Hurricanes, floods, terrorism, war, etc.
9
Q
Stress reactions
A
- Personal experience of stress may include physiological, emotional, behavioural, cognitive, and social components
- Appraisal: the process of constructing the meaning of a stressful situation or event, depends on how we assess a situation
10
Q
Primary appraisal
A
- Estimation of the strength or intensity of the stressor
- Ex: Not stressed about a test because Tom is smart and he will help me or very stressed about my exam because Tom can’t help
11
Q
Secondary appraisal
A
- Estimation of the resources and coping options for responding to the stressor
- Ex: Tom can’t help me so now I need to increase my primary stress level or Tom can help so I need to adjust my primary and not be so stressed
12
Q
Reappraisal
A
- Changing perception of stressor’s intensity, identifying unrecognized resources, or finding meaning in the situation
- Ex: Adjusting stress levels if Tom can or can’t help you study for a test
13
Q
How do primary and secondary appraisal work together
A
- Both are necessary as they work together to know how high or low our stress levels should be
- The processes of reevaluating your primary because of the secondary is called reappraisal
14
Q
Coping resources
A
- Material resources: money, employment, housing, food, transportation, etc.
- Social Emotional Competencies: Connect with others to make use of resources they offer
- Social, cultural, and spiritual: Cultural traditions, rituals, beliefs, meaning
15
Q
Coping
A
- Efforts to manage environmental and internal demands and conflicts among them
16
Q
Emotion Focused vs Problem Solving Focused Coping
A
- Emotion focused = lessen or strengthen the emotion
- Problem focused = change the environment
- We want a mix of both
- Usually the more we do to fix a problem the better, but when the problem isn’t changeable we should use emotion based coping
17
Q
Coping outcomes
A
- Distress
- Dysfunction
- Clinical Disorders
OR
- Resilience!
18
Q
Risilience
A
- Positive adaptation even with significant threat or severe adversity
- Two key criteria need to be satisfied:
1. Positive adaptation, including development of competence
2. Significant risk or adversity - It is a protective processes
19
Q
Protective factors promoting resilience in youth - within the child
A
- Good cog. abilities like problem solving and attention
- Easy temperament, adaptable personality
- Positive self-perception and self-efficacy
- Faith and a sense of meaning in life
- Positive outlook on life
- Good self regulation of emotional arousal and impulses
- Talents valued by self and society
- Good sense of humour
- General appeal or attractiveness to others
20
Q
Protective factors promoting resilience in youth - within the family
A
- Close relationships with caregivers
- Authoritative parenting (high warmth/responsiveness/monitoring/supervision
- Organized home environment
- Post secondary education of parents
- Parents with protective qualities
- Parent’s involvement in child’s education
- Socioeconomic advantages
21
Q
Protective factors promoting resilience in children and youth - within interpersonal environments
A
- Close relationships to competent, prosocial, and supportive adults
- Connections to prosocial and rule-abiding peers
22
Q
Protective factors promoting resilience in children and youth - within the community
A
- Effective schools
- Ties to prosocial organizations (Schools, clubs, etc.)
- Neighbourhoods with high “collective efficacy”
- High levels of public safety
- Good emergency social services (911, child protection, etc.)
- Good public health and health care services
23
Q
Interventions to promote resilience
A
- Vary in timing, ecological level, and content
- Social policy and advocacy
- Organizational consultation
- Alternative settings
- Community coalitions
- Prevention and promotion programs
- Crisis intervention
- Case management
24
Q
The triad of resilience
A
- Within the kid
- Within the family
- Within the environment/community
- You don’t need all of these elements to be resilience but the more the better
25
Social support
- A collection of social, emotional, cognitive, and behavioural processes occurring in personal relationships that provide aid that promotes adaptive coping
26
Types of social support
- Emotional: Expressing compassion
- Instrumental: Physical or substantive assistance is provided
- Informational: Helpful information is provided
27
Specific Support
- Enacted Support: how much help you get when you are stressed
- Behavioural help provided to people coping with a particular stressor
- Emotional encouragement, information, advice, tangible assistance
- Support is tailored to a specific stressor
28
Generalized support
- Occurs in interpersonal relationships sustained over time
- Provide a secure base for living and coping
- Does not necessarily involve behavioural helping in a specific situation
- Perceived support: how much support you think/know you are getting
29
Social Support: Specificity Hypothesis
- Social support will be effective in so far as it is matched to the particular needs for support which exist
- Ex: Material support in face of poverty or informational support in face of uncertainty
- Outcomes are are always better with perceived and generalized supports
- There is a big difference in stress levels when getting and not getting enough perceived support support
30
Link between social support and health
- The more social support the less likely you are to get mental health problems
31
Families as social supports
- Sources of both generalized and specific
- Involve greater commitment and personal knowledge
- Can be limited by greater obligation for reciprocity and potential for conflict
32
Natural Helpers - Mentors
- Sources of informal support in a community
- In positions were conversations can become personal and emotional
- Mentors: older, more experienced person who provides support and guidance
- Naturally occurring or available through programs like big brothers/big sisters
33
Relationships as stressors
- Conflict
- Criticism
- Misunderstandings
- Can mitigate support that is expressed
34
Social support network map
- A map of the people you know and the people they know and the people they know, etc.
- Ex: Homeless people can have big social networks, but their networks typically don't know where the support is leading to restricted social networks
35
Ecological-Context Coping Framework
1. Distal contextual factors (SES factors, etc.) or Distal personal factors (personality, etc.)
2. Proximal stressors (car accident, etc.)
3. Stress reaction
4. Resources activated for coping
5. Coping processes
6. Outcomes
