Showing papers on "Stressor published in 2001"

Gender Differences in Depression

Abstract: From early adolescence through adulthood, women are twice as likely as men to experience depression. Many different explanations for this gender difference in depression have been offered, but none seems to fully explain it. Recent research has focused on gender differences in stress responses, and in exposure to certain stressors. I review this research and describe how gender differences in stress experiences and stress reactivity may interact to create women's greater vulnerability to depression.

Stressor specificity of central neuroendocrine responses: implications for stress-related disorders.

Abstract: Despite the fact that many research articles have been written about stress and stress-related diseases, no scientifically accepted definition of stress exists. Selye introduced and popularized stress as a medical and scientific idea. He did not deny the existence of stressor-specific response patterns; however, he emphasized that such responses did not constitute stress, only the shared nonspecific component. In this review we focus mainly on the similarities and differences between the neuroendocrine responses (especially the sympathoadrenal and the sympathoneuronal systems and the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenocortical axis) among various stressors and a strategy for testing Selye's doctrine of nonspecificity. In our experiments, we used five different stressors: immobilization, hemorrhage, cold exposure, pain, or hypoglycemia. With the exception of immobilization stress, these stressors also differed in their intensities. Our results showed marked heterogeneity of neuroendocrine responses to various stressors and that each stressor has a neurochemical "signature." By examining changes of Fos immunoreactivity in various brain regions upon exposure to different stressors, we also attempted to map central stressor-specific neuroendocrine pathways. We believe the existence of stressor-specific pathways and circuits is a clear step forward in the study of the pathogenesis of stress-related disorders and their proper treatment. Finally, we define stress as a state of threatened homeostasis (physical or perceived treat to homeostasis). During stress, an adaptive compensatory specific response of the organism is activated to sustain homeostasis. The adaptive response reflects the activation of specific central circuits and is genetically and constitutionally programmed and constantly modulated by environmental factors.

Relaxing music prevents stress-induced increases in subjective anxiety, systolic blood pressure, and heart rate in healthy males and females

Abstract: Previous research suggests that while subjective anxiety is reduced by relaxing music, the effect of music on physiological stress indices is less consistent. In the current study, the effect of relaxing music on participants' subjective and physiological response to stress was explored, with attention paid to methodological factors and mediating variables that might have contributed to inconsistencies in previous studies. Undergraduate students (43 females & 44 males) were exposed to a cognitive stressor task involving preparation for an oral presentation either in the presence of Pachelbel's Canon in D major, or in silence. Measures of subjective anxiety, heart rate, blood pressure, cortisol, and salivary IgA were obtained during rest and after presentation of the stressor. The stressor caused significant increases in subjective anxiety, heart rate, and systolic blood pressure in male and female controls. These stress-induced increases were each prevented by exposure to music, and this effect was independent of gender. Music also enhanced baseline salivary IgA levels in the absence of any stress-induced effects. These findings provide experimental support for claims that music is an effective anxiolytic treatment, the robustness of which is demonstrated by retention of the effect in the presence of a range of potentially mediating variables.

Effects of suckling on hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis responses to psychosocial stress in postpartum lactating women.

Abstract: In several studies lactation has been shown to be associated with a hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis hyporesponsiveness to physical and psychological stressors. As it is not known whether the marked blunting of endocrine stress reactivity in women can be ascribed to suckling as a short-term effect or to lactation in general, the acute effects of suckling on the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and the sympathetic-adrenal-medullary system responses to mental stress were investigated in lactating women. Forty-three lactating women were randomly assigned either to breast-feed or to hold their infants for a 15-min period with the onset 30 min before they were exposed to a brief psychosocial stressor (Trier Social Stress Test). Both breast-feeding and holding the infant yielded significant decreases in ACTH, total plasma cortisol, and salivary free cortisol (all P < 0.01). There were no significant differences in baseline hormone levels between the groups 1 min before the stress test. In response to stress exposure, ACTH, total plasma cortisol, salivary free cortisol, norepinephrine, and epinephrine were significantly increased in all lactating women (all P < 0.001). However, total cortisol and free cortisol responses to stress were attenuated in breast-feeding women (P = 0.001 and P = 0.067, respectively), who also showed significantly decreasing PRL levels during the stress test (P = 0.005). In addition, there was no change in plasma oxytocin or vasopressin in response to the stressor. Breast-feeding as well as holding led to decreased anxiety (P < 0.05), whereas, in contrast, stress exposure worsened mood, calmness, and anxiety in the total group (all P < 0.001). From these data we conclude that lactation in women, in contrast to that in rats, does not result in a general restraint of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis response to a psychosocial stressor. Rather, suckling is suggested to exert a short-term suppression of the cortisol response to mental stress.

Stress and development: Behavioral and biological consequences.

Abstract: Childhood abuse is an important public health problem; however, little is known about the effects of abuse on the brain and neurobiological development. This article reviews the behavioral and biological consequences of childhood abuse and places them in a developmental context. Animal studies show that both positive and negative events early in life can influence neurobiological development in unique ways. Early stressors such as maternal separation result in lasting effects on stress-responsive neurobiological systems, including the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and noradrenergic systems. These studies also implicate a brain area involved in learning and memory, the hippocampus. in the long-term consequences of early stress. Clinical studies of patients with a history of abuse also implicate dysfunction in the HPA axis and the noradrenergic and hippocampal systems; however, there are multiple questions related to chronicity of stress, developmental epoch at the time of the stressor, presence of stress-related psychiatric disorders including posttraumatic stress disorder and depression. and psychological factors mediating the response to trauma that need to be addressed in this field of research. Understanding the effects of abuse on the development of the brain and neurobiology will nevertheless have important treatment and policy implications.

Community noise exposure and stress in children

Abstract: Although accumulating evidence over the past two decades points towards noise as an ambient stressor for children, all of the data emanate from studies in high-intensity, noise impact zones around airports or major roads. Extremely little is known about the nonauditory consequences of typical, day-to-day noise exposure among young children. The present study examined multimethodological indices of stress among children living under 50 dB or above 60 dB (A-weighted, day-night average sound levels) in small towns and villages in Austria. The major noise sources were local road and rail traffic. The two samples were comparable in parental education, housing characteristics, family size, marital status, and body mass index, and index of body fat. All of the children were prescreened for normal hearing acuity. Children in the noisier areas had elevated resting systolic blood pressure and 8-h, overnight urinary cortisol. The children from noisier neighborhoods also evidenced elevated heart rate reactivity to a discrete stressor (reading test) in the laboratory and rated themselves higher in perceived stress symptoms on a standardized index. Furthermore girls, but not boys, evidenced diminished motivation in a standardized behavioral protocol. All data except for the overnight urinary neuroendocrine indices were collected in the laboratory. The results are discussed in the context of prior airport noise and nonauditory health studies. More behavioral and health research is needed on children with typical, day-to-day noise exposure.

A General Measure of Work Stress: The Stress in General Scale

Abstract: The present study focused on the development and validation of scores on the Stress in General scale. Three diverse samples of workers (n = 4,322, n = 574, n = 34) provided psychometric and validity evidence. All evidence converged on the existence of two distinct subscales, each of which measured a different aspect of general work stress. The studies also resulted in meaningful patterns of correlations with stressor measures, a physiological measure of chronic stress (blood-pressure reactivity), general job attitude measures, and intentions to quit.

Racial Discrimination as a Moderator of the Links Among Stress, Maternal Psychological Functioning, and Family Relationships

Abstract: This study focuses on the links between social contexts and normative family patterns to identify factors at the societal, community, family, and individual levels that enhance African Americans' ability to overcome stressful life events and foster positive family relationships. The Mundane Extreme Environmental Stress Model was used to explore these links. From urban and rural areas in Iowa and Georgia, 383 families with 10- or 11-year-old children were recruited. Structural equation modeling was used to test the hypotheses. Maternal psychological distress was linked with parent-child relationship quality both directly and indirectly through its association with intimate partnership quality. When racial discrimination was greater, stronger links emerged between stressor pileup and psychological distress, as well as between psychological distress and the quality of both intimate partnerships and parent-child relationships. Future research on African American family processes should include the effects of racial discrimination.

Análise Fatorial de Uma Medida de Estratégias de Enfrentamento

Abstract: The goal of this study was to investigate the factorial structure of the Brazilian version of the Ways of Coping Scale (Gimenes & Queiroz, 1997) that measures coping strategies people use when facing specific stressors. The sample of 409 male and female adults was divided into two groups: 252 reported one major stressor related to a real problem in their everyday activities and the other 157 reported and described the suffering of a chronic disease. A factor analysis with principal axis method and orthogonal rotation, extracted four factors: coping strategies based on the stressor, coping strategies based on the emotion, religiosity/fantasy thinking and search for social support. Comparisons between the two samples suggested different possibilities for the development of research and intervention in the clinical work aimed at the management of stress by different type of patients.

Gender Differences in Causes of Depression

Abstract: This study adopts a stress process perspective to analyze gender differences in the causes of depression. The stress process links psychological well-being to position in the social structure via the mediating and moderating effects of stressors and resources. The study examines stressors and resources as mediators of the SES/depression relationship, and resources as moderators of the stressor/depression relationship. Furthermore, it tests the hypotheses that women are more exposed and more vulnerable to stressors than are men, that women benefit more psychologically from socially supportive relationships, and suffer more from conflict-ridden relationships than men. The analysis utilizes survey data of urban Nevadans age 45-74, collected in the Fall of 1997, and employs ordinary least squares regression to test the stress process model. The results indicate that financial strain and perceptions of danger in one's neighborhood mediate the relationship between SES and depression, but resources do not moderate the effects of stressors on depression. Women are more exposed to stressors than men, but are not more vulnerable to them. Positive social relationships do have more beneficial psychological effects for women than for men, but the effects of marital conflict do not vary by gender. Implications for social policy and treatment for depression are discussed.

Appraised control, coping, and stress in a community sample: a test of the goodness-of-fit hypothesis.

Abstract: Lazarus and Folkman proposed one of the most comprehensive theories of stress and coping in the psychology literature, but many of their postulates have received little empirical attention, and some of the existing research has yielded contradictory findings. This longitudinal study sought to clarify the associations among control appraisal, coping, and stress within this theoretical framework. The theory postulates that coping strategies used tend to match the level of appraised controllability of the stressor (matching hypothesis). It further states that the effects of problem-focused versus emotion-focused coping are moderated by the appraised controllability of the stressor (goodness-of-fit hypothesis). An alternative to the latter is the main-effects hypothesis, which states that problem-focused coping is generally more effective in reducing distress regardless of appraisal. These hypotheses were tested on 72 adults who completed questionnaires on coping and control appraisal. Stress was assessed using self-report (Symptom Checklist-90-Revised) and a behavioral measure (proofreading task) at two times approximately 2 months apart. Appraised control significantly predicted type of coping such that greater control was associated with more problem-focused and less emotion-focused coping. Although the main-effects hypothesis was not supported, the goodness-of-fit hypothesis was partly confirmed by a significant control by emotion-focused coping interaction predicting both self-report and behavioral measures of stress.

Chronic and acute stressors among military personnel: do coping styles buffer their negative impact on health?

Abstract: This study examined the moderating impact of positive and negative coping styles on the relationship of acute and chronic job stressors with self-reported health symptoms of 521 military personnel. The number of acute work-related events was associated with a high frequency of self-reported symptoms. Similarly, role ambiguity, overload, and lack of job stimulation were associated with increased symptoms. Only the negative coping styles (i.e., venting of negative emotions and denial/disengagement) were uniquely associated with symptoms. Only 5 of the 13 proposed Stressor x Coping interactions were significant, and they all involved the negative coping styles. That is, instead of alleviating the negative outcomes of work stressors, these coping styles were associated with high strain, regardless of the amount of stressor, and, in some cases, these coping styles exacerbated the negative effect of the stressor on the strain outcomes.

Violence : An unrecognized environmental exposure that may contribute to greater asthma morbidity in high risk inner-city populations

Abstract: In the United States, rising trends in asthma prevalence and severity, which disproportionately impact minorities and the urban poor, have not been fully explained by traditional physical environmental risk factors. Exigencies of inner-city living can increase psychosocial risk factors (e.g., stress) that confer increased asthma morbidity. In the United States, chronic exposure to violence is a unique stressor existing in many high-risk urban neighborhoods. In this paper, we describe a series of cases that exemplify a temporal association between exposure to violence and the precipitation of asthma exacerbations in four urban pediatric patients. In the first three cases, the nature of the exposure is characterized by the proximity to violence, which ranged from direct victimization (through either the threat of physical assault or actual assault) to learning of the death of a peer. The fourth case characterizes a scenario in which a child was exposed to severe parental conflict (i.e., domestic violence) in the hospital setting. Increasingly, studies have begun to explore the effect of living in a violent environment, with a chronic pervasive atmosphere of fear and the perceived or real threat of violence, on health outcomes in population-based studies. Violence exposure may contribute to environmental demands that tax both the individual and the communities in which they live to impact the inner-city asthma burden. At the individual level, intervention strategies aimed to reduce violence exposure, to reduce stress, or to counsel victims or witnesses to violence may be complementary to more traditional asthma treatment in these populations. Change in policies that address the social, economic, and political factors that contribute to crime and violence in urban America may have broader impact.

The Finnmark Study. A prospective population study of the social support buffer hypothesis, specific stressors and mental distress.

Abstract: Background According to the buffer hypothesis, social support or social network may affect mental health by buffering the negative effect of stress on mental health. Previous studies have mostly been cross-sectional or have been done on selected populations, and the results have been conflicting. Methods The buffer hypothesis was tested in three population-based health surveys which took place in 1987, 1990 and 1993 in five coastal municipalities in Finnmark, Norway. All persons aged 40–62 years and a random sample of those aged 20–39 years were invited, and 77 %, 74 % and 70 % attended the three health surveys, respectively. Those who had attended the health surveys more than once and had answered the key questions about mental health and social network, social support (measured both as instrumental support as well as emotional support) and stress were included in the analyses. Stress was divided into acute stress, (somatic stress, civil stress and work stress) and chronic stress (having a chronic disease, disability pension, being a single parent or providing long term nursing care for someone in the family). Growth curve analyses using mental distress as the dependent variable were used, analysing the interactional effects of various types of stressors and social network or social support. Results When all possible stressors and the sum of social network/social support were taken into consideration, total social support/network buffered the deteriorating effect of total stressor score upon mental health. The effect was weak but significant, and stronger for women than men. When each stressor was analysed separately, only a significant buffer effect of social network could be detected for work stress. For one of the chronic stressors, receiving a disability pension, a buffer effect could be demonstrated for both social network and instrumental support. Conclusion The results provide some support for the buffer hypothesis, and indication of specificity in the interactions between stressor and social network/social support was found. Women, in general, had a larger buffering effect from their social network than men.

Stressors and coping methods among chronic haemodialysis patients in Hong Kong.

Abstract: The purpose of the study was to determine the stressors and coping methods of chronic haemodialysis patients in Hong Kong. Relationships among treatment-related stressors, coping methods and length of time on haemodialysis were explored. Fifty subjects completed the Haemodialysis Stressor Scale (HSS) and Jalowiec Coping Scale (JCS). Results revealed that limitation of fluid was the most frequently identified stressor, followed by limitation of food, itching, fatigue and cost. The most common coping methods are 'accepted the situation because very little could be done', followed by 'told oneself not to worry because everything would work out fine' and 'told oneself that the problem was really not that important.' It was found that the traditional philosophies of the Chinese--Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism--share an approach to the understanding and management of life stressors as different from that adopted by Western philosophies. The findings of this study can further facilitate nurse practitioners in providing support, information, and alternative solutions when assisting patients in coping with long-term haemodialysis.

Caregiver depression following traumatic brain injury (TBI): a consequence of adverse effects on family members?

Abstract: Many studies have demonstrated that the behaviour of individuals with traumatic brain injury (TBI) predicts the emotional adjustment of their caregivers. The primary objective of the present study was to obtain an understanding of potential moderating and mediating variables between carer depression and analogous stressors. Seven sets of predictor variables (demographic variables, concurrent stressful life events, behavioural problems, social role problems, extent of adverse effects on family members, appraisal, and support) and the criterion variable of depression in caregivers were examined. Fifty-eight carers participated in the study at 6 months, 1 year, 2 years, or 3 years following injury. The number of adverse effects on family members (other than the informant) was the only stressor significantly related to carer depression. However, carer appraisal of adverse family effects was found to mediate the relationship between stressor and depression, and carer perception of support effectiveness was found to moderate the effect of adverse family effects on depression. Forty-six per cent of the variance in caregiver depression was accounted for by carers appraisal of adverse family effects and the interaction of adverse family effects and support effectiveness. These findings highlight the importance of supporting families as a whole in the rehabilitation of persons with TBI.

Evidence that a single exposure to aversive stimuli triggers long-lasting effects in the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis that consolidate with time.

Abstract: Because of its use as a negative reinforcer in animal studies and its potential pathological impact (e.g. post-traumatic stress disorder and depression), exposure to aversive stimuli is a relevant model for studying CNS plasticity. We present evidence that a single exposure to two predominantly emotional stressors [restraint in tubes and immobilization on wooden boards (IMO)] can modify the response of the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis to a subsequent exposure to the same stressor days later in that a more rapid return to the baseline was observed in the poststress period. In addition, the effect was greater with IMO, the more severe stressor. Using IMO, we have further demonstrated that the effect of a previous single exposure to the stressor (i) increased with days elapsed between the two exposures; (ii) was specific for the previously experienced stressor; and (iii) was mediated via central-mediated effects [corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) mRNA in the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus]. These data suggest that animals retain memory about a single experience with stressors, resulting in an acceleration of the poststress recovery of the HPA axis that enhances progressively over a period of weeks. The extent to which the present data are relevant regarding post-traumatic stress disorders is unclear, but the study of the HPA response to severe stressors may be suitable for the study of the neurobiological basis of the progressive consolidation of learning over a long period of time (days to weeks).

Stress and preterm delivery: a conceptual framework.

Abstract: Numerous epidemiological studies of various kinds of stress and preterm delivery have produced either negative or weakly positive results. Those inconclusive findings could be either because of the absence of an association or because of recognised methodological problems that may have masked an association. The biological plausibility of the stress hypothesis provides one rationale for continuing stress research, using better study designs. To further this agenda, we propose an epidemiological model, based on the classic "host, environment, agent" triangle of epidemiological causality. The host is the individual woman, more or less susceptible to stressor-induced pathology. The environment includes the social and cultural conditions that are ongoing stressors as well as social and cultural modifiers of stress e.g. those factors that may influence how a particular stressor is experienced or what the physical response to it may be. The agent is the immediate emotional or physical stressor requiring her response. We draw from recent literature, published principally since 1990, to illustrate this model. This epidemiological model posits that whether the individual is overwhelmed by stressors depends not only on the strength of the agents but also upon host susceptibility to stress, as well as the background level of acute, environmental and contextual stressors, and the moderating influence of host, environmental and contextual resources for handling stress. Future research needs to be based on stress hypotheses that include all sides of the triangle, data collection instruments that adequately capture relevant stressors and stress responses, and analytical techniques capable of handling complex, multilevel relationships.

Activation of the arousal response and impairment of performance increase with anxiety and stressor intensity

Abstract: The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of trait anxiety and stressor intensity on arousal and motor performance during a pinch task. We examined the steadiness of a precision task in the presence and absence of an imposed stressor on subjects with moderate and low trait anxiety. Subjects with the 26 highest and 14 lowest anxiety scores were assigned to one of three groups: a control group (5 women, 5 men), a moderate-anxiety group (8 women, 8 men), or a low-anxiety group (7 women, 7 men). Subjects in the anxiety groups received electric shocks and experienced significant increases in cognitive and physiological arousal compared with baseline and control subjects, especially subjects in the moderate-anxiety group. Heart rate, systolic blood pressure, and electrodermal activity were elevated during the stressor, whereas diastolic blood pressure was unchanged. Cognitive and physiological arousal tended to increase with stressor intensity and was accompanied by changes in steadiness. Although steadiness was markedly reduced with the highest intensity of shock, the average electromyogram activity was unaffected by the stressor. These findings indicate that the increase in arousal and the impairment of steadiness increased with trait anxiety and with the intensity of the noxious stimulus.

Does stress training generalize to novel settings

Abstract: Many high-stress task environments are complex and dynamic, and it is often difficult during training to anticipate the exact conditions that may be encountered in these settings. We conducted an empirical study to examine whether the positive effects of stress training that addressed one specific type of stressor and task would remain when trainees performed under a novel stressor or performed a novel task. Participants performed a laboratory task under stress conditions. Measures of task performance and self-reported stress were obtained at three performance trials: (a) prior to stress training, (b) after a stress training intervention targeted to that specific task environment, and (c) under novel stressor/task conditions. Results indicated that the beneficial effects of stress training were retained when participants performed under a novel stressor and performed a novel task. We discuss the implications of this study with regard to their application in the design of stress training and the transfer of learning to complex, dynamic task environments.

Religious Coping Style, Concept of God, and Personal Religious Variables in Threat, Loss, and Challenge Situations

Abstract: This study explored the important mediating role of personal religious variables and God concept in the use of religious coping in threat, loss, and challenge situations. One hundred and twenty-nine undergraduates completed questionnaires which included a God concept adjective checklist (Schaefer and Gorsuch 1992), a stressor scenario (Bjorck and Cohen 1993), and a measure of religious coping adapted from the BAV model (Gorsuch 1988). Results suggest that personal variables such as God concept and perception of others' beliefs played important mediating roles in religious coping in stressor situations. The relationship between coping style and stressor scenario was not entirely state-dependent, but influenced by personal variables. Strong relationships existed among God concept, the importance individuals placed on their religious and spiritual lives, and participation in religious activities.

Effectiveness of a Comprehensive Worksite Stress Management Program: Combining Organizational and Individual Interventions

Abstract: A comprehensive worksite stress management program consisting of self-management training and a stressor reduction process was evaluated in a pre-post, treatment-control design in four comparable facilities Results showed that over a 3-month period those individuals attending self-management training improved on emotional well-being measures Organizational data suggested that their work-units' productivity increased and absenteeism decreased over the same period Results support the value of combining self-management training and stressor reduction to produce positive individual and organizational outcomes

Coping with School-Related Stress and Family Stress in Healthy and Clinically Referred Adolescents

Abstract: This study compares stress perception and coping style in 77 early and late adolescents differing in psychological health. Coping with two normative, age-specific stressors, namely, school-related stressors, and conflicts with parents was investigated via the Coping Process Interview, which assesses coping immediately after an event has happened. Results obtained from the interviews were validated by the results of standardized questionnaires assessing stress perception and coping style in dealing with school-related stress and family stress. Both stressors were not perceived as structurally similar events. Differences were obtained with respect to the appraisal of the stressor, causal attribution, the amount of thoughts, feelings, and actions in order to cope with these stressors, but not in achieved effects and reappraisal. In addition, differences between clinically referred and nonconspicuous adolescents emerged with respect to stress perception and coping style. Clinically referred adolescents, independent from diagnosis, experienced higher levels of school-related stress and family stress and also exhibited a more dysfunctional coping style when dealing with both types of stressors.

Self‐esteem, stress and cigarette smoking in adolescents

Abstract: Both high stress and low self-esteem have been consistently, though independently, reported to relate to aspects of adolescent smoking behaviour. Recent work on self-esteem, however, suggests that adequate provision of this attribute may protect the individual adolescent from unpleasant dysphoric or harmful behavioural states. In line with this suggestion, the present study sought to extend this to the area of adolescent smoking behaviour. While independent associations were confirmed there was not strong support for a protective effect of self-esteem on adolescent smoking in the face of stressor exposure. A modest sex effect was evident but not of sufficient magnitude to allow firm conclusions. Nonetheless, the results were tempting enough to indicate further investigation. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.