Stress, Health & Illness Flashcards

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1
Q

What is stress?

A

A stimulus involving stressful events and the external environment

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2
Q

What are the three primary sources of stress?

A

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

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3
Q

How are major life events measured?

A

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

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4
Q

What are examples of major stressful life events?

A

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

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5
Q

What is the social readjustment rating scale?

A

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

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6
Q

What does the Life Events Theory suggest?

A
  • 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
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7
Q

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

A

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

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8
Q

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

A
  • 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
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9
Q

Stress is a result of an interaction between?

A

An individual’s characteristics and appraisals

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10
Q

What are primary appraisal processes?

A
  • Person considers the quality/nature of the event
  • Stressors that harm/loss
  • Stressors that threaten harm
  • Stressors that set a challenge
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11
Q

What are secondary appraisal processes?

A
  • When a person assesses their resources/abilities to cope with the stressor
  • Internal resources (strength, determination)
  • External resources (social support, money)
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12
Q

What does the Transactional Model of Stress maintain?

A

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

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13
Q

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

A

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

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14
Q

How did Lazarus modify his Cognitive Appraisal Theory of Stress?

A
  • 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
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15
Q

What were the 4 secondary appraisals proposed by Smith?

A
  • Internal/external accountability (blame/guilt/credit)
  • Problem-focused coping potential
  • Emotion-focused coping potential
  • Future expectancy concerning situational change
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16
Q

What factors influence appraisal?

A
  • 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)
17
Q

What are the 3 types of stress?

A

Stress and resource loss
Acute stress
Chronic stress

18
Q

What is stress and resource loss?

A

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

19
Q

What is acute stress?

A

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
20
Q

What is chronic stress?

A
  • Loss of control
  • Workplace stress
  • Causes changes in eating, sleeping, strain on relationships
  • Burnout
21
Q

What are the job features identified as leading to stress?

A

Demand
Controlability
Predictability
Amiguity

22
Q

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

A

Job Demand Control model, measures using specific questions

23
Q

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

A

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

24
Q

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

A
  • 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
25
Q

What are the two types of immune cells?

A

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

Phagocytes

26
Q

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

A

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)
27
Q

What illnesses is stress linked to?

A

Common colds
Coronary heart disease
Cancer
Bowel disease