Stress, Health & Illness

Question 1

What is stress?

Answer 1

A stimulus involving stressful events and the external environment

Question 2

What are the three primary sources of stress?

Answer 2

Catastrophic events
Major life events
Daily hassles (demanding & enjoyable transactions)

Question 3

How are major life events measured?

Answer 3

In Life Change Units (0-100), regardless of whether the event was desirable or not

Question 4

What are examples of major stressful life events?

Answer 4

Losing/starting a job
Getting married/divorced
Death of a spouse/loved one
Holidays

Question 5

What is the social readjustment rating scale?

Answer 5

A list of 43 common major stressful life events with measures of intensity and length of time necessary to accommodate the event

Question 6

What does the Life Events Theory suggest?

Answer 6

• Naturally occurring life events have cumulative events on a person and the do not just have unitary consequences
• Specific types of stressful events can be weighted against each other

Question 7

What is the relationship between LCU score and risk of ill health?

Answer 7

The higher the LCU score, the higher the risk of ill health

Question 8

What are some of the limitations of the Life Events Theory?

Answer 8

• LCUs assigned regardless of desirability or event
• Age bias in experience of major life events
• Events don’t occur for some people
• Intertwined life events may cancel out a LCU
• Fails to address moderators of stress
• Fails to acknowledge individual appraisal

Question 9

Stress is a result of an interaction between?

Answer 9

An individual’s characteristics and appraisals

Question 10

What are primary appraisal processes?

Answer 10

• Person considers the quality/nature of the event
• Stressors that harm/loss
• Stressors that threaten harm
• Stressors that set a challenge

Question 11

What are secondary appraisal processes?

Answer 11

• When a person assesses their resources/abilities to cope with the stressor
• Internal resources (strength, determination)
• External resources (social support, money)

Question 12

What does the Transactional Model of Stress maintain?

Answer 12

Stress is experienced when someone perceives harm/threat as high, but coping ability as low OR when someone appraises their coping ability as high, causing their stress to be low

Question 13

Why is it important to consider stress as a dynamic process?

Answer 13

Because it arises from a discrepancy between a person’s perceived demands and resources, and both can change over time

Question 14

How did Lazarus modify his Cognitive Appraisal Theory of Stress?

Answer 14

• Moved threat/challenge and harm/loss appraisals from primary appraisal to emotion types
• Made secondary appraisals more complex
• Role of emotions/cognitions acknowledged as intertwined
• Emotional impressions of events are stored in memory, influence how we appraise future events

Question 15

What were the 4 secondary appraisals proposed by Smith?

Answer 15

• Internal/external accountability (blame/guilt/credit)
• Problem-focused coping potential
• Emotion-focused coping potential
• Future expectancy concerning situational change

Question 16

What factors influence appraisal?

Answer 16

• Imminence (due tomorrow)
• Unexpected timing (sudden death)
• Ambiguity (new job)
• Potential risk/harm (surgery)
• Undesirable events (job loss)
• Perceived lack of control
• High amount of life change (childbirth)

Question 17

What are the 3 types of stress?

Answer 17

Stress and resource loss
Acute stress
Chronic stress

Question 18

What is stress and resource loss?

Answer 18

When stress results from actual or threatened loss of resources, or a lack of gain after investing in resources

Question 19

What is acute stress?

Answer 19

Distinguished by rare & catastrophic events

• Little/no preparation time
• Intense physical/psychosocial suffering

Common acute stressors

• E.g. exams
• Impair memory/attention
• Negative impact on QOL, can influence healthy/unhealthy behaviour

Question 20

What is chronic stress?

Answer 20

• Loss of control
• Workplace stress
• Causes changes in eating, sleeping, strain on relationships
• Burnout

Question 21

What are the job features identified as leading to stress?

Answer 21

Demand
Controlability
Predictability
Amiguity

Question 22

What model is used for occupational stress and how does it measure stress?

Answer 22

Job Demand Control model, measures using specific questions

Question 23

How does the General Adaptation Syndrome model consider the response to stress?

Answer 23

As an innate drive to maintain internal balance (homeostasis) in a three stage process

Question 24

What are the 3 stages of the General Adaptation Syndrome stress response?

Answer 24

• Alarm reaction: Downturn in bodily defences & BP, increased HR
• Resistance: Body tries to adapt, arousal reduces but still high
• Exhaustion: Depletion of bodily resources/energy, increased risk of CVD

Question 25

What are the two types of immune cells?

Answer 25

Lymphocytes (T cells, B cells, natural killer cells)

Phagocytes

Question 26

What are the two ways of viewing the relationship between stress and illness?

Answer 26

Direct route: Chronic stress can produce physiological changes in endocrine/immune system function that may lead to illness

Indirect route:

• Behavioural responses to stress (e.g. smoking, eating) predispose people to disease
• Personality traits predispose people to disease
• People experiencing stress are more likely to seek health services (e.g. anxiety, fatigue)

Question 27

What illnesses is stress linked to?

Answer 27

Common colds
Coronary heart disease
Cancer
Bowel disease