Chapter 6

1. Slides & Handouts by Karen Clay Rhines, Ph.D. Seton Hall University Chapter 6 Stress Disorders Comer, Abnormal Psychology, 6e – Chapter 6

2. Stress, Coping, and the Anxiety Response • The state of stress has two components: • Stressor: event creating demands • Stress response: reactions to the demands • Influenced by how we appraise (a) the event, and (b) our capacity to react to the event effectively • People who sense that they have the ability and resources to cope are more likely to take stressors in stride Comer, Abnormal Psychology, 6e – Chapter 6

3. Stress, Coping, and the Anxiety Response • When we appraise a stressor as threatening, the natural reaction is fear • Fear is a “package” of physical, emotional, and cognitive responses • Stress reactions, and the fear they produce, are often at play in psychological disorders • People who experience a large number of stressful events are particularly vulnerable to the onset of GAD, social phobia, panic disorder, and OCD, as well as other psychological problems Comer, Abnormal Psychology, 6e – Chapter 6

4. Stress, Coping, and the Anxiety Response • Stress also plays a more central role in certain psychological disorders, including: • Acute stress disorder • Posttraumatic stress disorder • Technically, DSM-IV-TR lists these patterns as anxiety disorders • …as well as certain physical disorders called psychophysiological disorders • These disorders are listed in the DSM-IV-TR under “psychological factors affecting medical condition” Comer, Abnormal Psychology, 6e – Chapter 6

5. Stress and Arousal: The Fight-or-Flight Response • The features of arousal and fear are set in motion by the hypothalamus • Two important systems are activated: • Autonomic nervous system (ANS) • An extensive network of nerve fibers that connect the central nervous system (the brain and spinal cord) to the body’s other organs • Contains two systems: sympathetic and parasympathetic • Endocrine system • A network of glands throughout the body that release hormones Comer, Abnormal Psychology, 6e – Chapter 6

6. Stress and Arousal: The Fight-or-Flight Response • There are two pathways by which the ANS and the endocrine systems produce arousal and fear reactions: • Sympathetic nervous system • Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal pathway Comer, Abnormal Psychology, 6e – Chapter 6

7. Stress and Arousal: The Fight-or-Flight Response • When confronting a dangerous situation, the hypothalamus first activates the sympathetic nervous system, which stimulates key organs either directly or indirectly • When the perceived danger passes, the parasympathetic nervous system helps return bodily systems to normal Comer, Abnormal Psychology, 6e – Chapter 6

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9. Stress and Arousal: The Fight-or- Flight Response • The second pathway is the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) pathway • When confronted by stressors, the hypothalamus sends a message to the pituitary gland, which signals the adrenal cortex to release corticosteroids – the stress hormones – into the bloodstream Comer, Abnormal Psychology, 6e – Chapter 6

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11. Stress and Arousal: The Fight-or-Flight Response • The reactions displayed by these two pathways are referred to as the fight-or-flight response • People differ in their particular patterns of autonomic and endocrine functioning and therefore also in their particular ways of experiencing arousal and fear… Comer, Abnormal Psychology, 6e – Chapter 6

12. Stress and Arousal: The Fight-or-Flight Response • People differ in: • Their general level of anxiety • Called “trait anxiety” • Some people are usually somewhat tense; others are usually relaxed • Differences appear soon after birth • Their sense of threat • Called “state anxiety” • Situation-based (example: fear of flying) Comer, Abnormal Psychology, 6e – Chapter 6

13. The Psychological Stress Disorders • During and immediately after trauma, many people become highly anxious and depressed • For some, feelings persist well after the trauma • These people may be experiencing: • Acute stress disorder • Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) • The precipitating event usually involves actual or threatened serious injury to self or others • Occurs following an event which would be traumatic to anyone (unlike other anxiety disorders) Comer, Abnormal Psychology, 6e – Chapter 6

14. The Psychological Stress Disorders • Acute stress disorder • Symptoms begin within four weeks of event and last for less than one month • Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) • Symptoms can begin at any time following the event but must last for longer than one month • May develop from acute stress disorder Comer, Abnormal Psychology, 6e – Chapter 6

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16. What Triggers a Psychological Stress Disorder? • Can occur at any age and affect all aspects of life • ~4% of U.S. population affected each year • ~7% of U.S. population affected sometime during life • Approximately 2/3 seek treatment at some point • Ratio of women to men is 2:1 • After trauma, 20% of women and 8% of men develop disorders • Some events –including combat, disasters, abuse, and victimization – are more likely to cause disorders than others Comer, Abnormal Psychology, 6e – Chapter 6

17. What Triggers a Psychological Stress Disorder? • Combat and stress disorders • It has long been recognized that soldiers experience distress during combat • Called “shell shock,” “combat fatigue” • Post-Vietnam War clinicians discovered that soldiers also experienced psychological distress after combat • ~30% of Vietnam combat veterans suffered acute or posttraumatic stress disorders • An additional 22% had some stress symptoms • 10% still experiencing problems Comer, Abnormal Psychology, 6e – Chapter 6

18. What Triggers a Psychological Stress Disorder? • Disasters and stress disorders • Acute or posttraumatic stress disorders may also follow natural and accidental disasters • Civilian traumas have been implicated in stress disorders at least 10 times as often as combat trauma • Types of disasters include traffic accidents, weather, earthquakes, and airplane crashes Comer, Abnormal Psychology, 6e – Chapter 6

19. What Triggers a Psychological Stress Disorder? • Victimization and stress disorders • People who have been abused, victimized, or terrorized often experience lingering stress symptoms • Common victimization is sexual assault/rape • ~1 in 7 women is raped at some time during her life • Psychological impact is immediate and may be long-lasting • One study found that 94% of rape survivors developed an acute stress disorder within 12 days after assault Comer, Abnormal Psychology, 6e – Chapter 6

20. What Triggers a Psychological Stress Disorder? • Victimization and stress disorders • Ongoing victimization and abuse in the family may also lead to stress disorders • The experience of terrorism or the threat of terrorism often leads to posttraumatic stress symptoms Comer, Abnormal Psychology, 6e – Chapter 6

21. Why Do People Develop a Psychological Stress Disorder? • Clearly, extraordinary trauma can cause a stress disorder • However, the event alone may not be the entire explanation • To understand why only some people develop stress disorders, researchers have looked to the survivors’ biological processes, personalities, childhood experiences, and social support systems, and to the severity of the trauma itself Comer, Abnormal Psychology, 6e – Chapter 6

22. Why Do People Develop a Psychological Stress Disorder? • Biological and genetic factors • Traumatic events trigger physical changes in the brain and body that may lead to severe stress reactions, and, possibly, stress disorders • Some research suggests abnormal NT and hormone activity (especially norepinephrine and cortisol) • There may be a biological/genetic predisposition to such reactions • Evidence suggests that other biological changes and damage may also occur as a stress disorder sets in Comer, Abnormal Psychology, 6e – Chapter 6

23. Why Do People Develop a Psychological Stress Disorder? • Personality factors • Some studies suggest that people with certain personality profiles, attitudes, and coping styles are more likely to develop stress disorders • Risk factors include: • Preexisting high anxiety • A history of psychological problems • Negative worldview • A set of positive attitudes (called resiliency or hardiness) is protective against developing stress disorders Comer, Abnormal Psychology, 6e – Chapter 6

24. Why Do People Develop a Psychological Stress Disorder? • Negative childhood experiences • A wave of studies has found that certain childhood experiences increase risk for later stress disorders • Risk factors include: • An impoverished childhood • Psychological disorders in the family • The experience of assault, abuse, or catastrophe at an early age • Being younger than 10 years old when parents separated or divorced Comer, Abnormal Psychology, 6e – Chapter 6

25. Why Do People Develop a Psychological Stress Disorder? • Social support • People whose social support systems are weak are more likely to develop a stress disorder after a negative event • Severity of the trauma • The more severe the trauma and the more direct one’s exposure to it, the greater the likelihood of developing a stress disorder • Especially risky: mutilation and severe injury; witnessing the injury or death of others Comer, Abnormal Psychology, 6e – Chapter 6

26. How Do Clinicians Treat the Psychological Stress Disorders? • Symptoms have been found to last an average of 3 years with treatment and 5½ years without treatment • Treatment type varies depending on type of trauma • General goals: • End lingering stress reactions • Gain perspective on traumatic experience • Return to constructive living Comer, Abnormal Psychology, 6e – Chapter 6

27. How Do Clinicians Treat the Psychological Stress Disorders? • Treatment for combat veterans • Drug therapy • Antianxiety and antidepressant medications are most common • Behavioral exposure therapy • Reduce specific symptoms, increase overall adjustment • Use flooding and relaxation training • Use eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) • Insight therapy • Bring out deep-seated feelings, create acceptance, lessen guilt • Often use family or group therapy formats; rap groups • Usually used in combinations Comer, Abnormal Psychology, 6e – Chapter 6

28. How Do Clinicians Treat the Psychological Stress Disorders? • Psychological debriefing • A form of crisis intervention that has victims of trauma talk extensively about their feelings and reactions within days of the critical incident • Four-stage approach: • Normalize responses to the disaster • Encourage expressions of anxiety, anger, and frustration • Teach self-help skills • Provide referrals • Relief workers themselves may become overwhelmed • Research on this type of intervention has called into question its effectiveness Comer, Abnormal Psychology, 6e – Chapter 6

29. The Physical Stress Disorders: Psychophysiological Disorders • In addition to affecting psychological functioning, stress can also have an enormous impact on physical functioning • The idea that stress and related psychosocial factors may contribute to somatic illnesses has ancient roots – René Descartes called a variation on this idea mind-body dualism Comer, Abnormal Psychology, 6e – Chapter 6

30. The Physical Stress Disorders: Psychophysiological Disorders • About 75 years ago, clinicians first identified a group of physical illnesses that seemed to result from an interaction of psychosocial and physical factors • Early versions of the DSM labeled these illnesses psychophysiological, or psychosomatic, disorders • DSM-IV-TR calls them psychological factors affecting medical condition Comer, Abnormal Psychology, 6e – Chapter 6

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32. The Physical Stress Disorders: Psychophysiological Disorders • It is important to note that these psychophysiological disorders bring about actual physical damage • They are different from “apparent” physical illnesses like factitious disorders or somatoform disorders, which will be discussed in Chapter 7 Comer, Abnormal Psychology, 6e – Chapter 6

33. Traditional Psychophysiological Disorders • Before the 1970s, the best known and most common of the psychophysiological disorders were ulcers, asthma, insomnia, chronic headaches, high blood pressure, and coronary heart disease • Recent research has shown that many other physical illnesses may be caused by an interaction of psychosocial and physical factors Comer, Abnormal Psychology, 6e – Chapter 6

34. Traditional Psychophysiological Disorders • Ulcers • Lesions in the wall of the stomach that result in burning sensations or pain, vomiting, and stomach bleeding • Affect up to 20 million people at some point in their lives • Causal psychosocial factors: • Environmental stress, anger, anxiety, dependent personality style • Causal physiological factors: • Bacterial infection Comer, Abnormal Psychology, 6e – Chapter 6

35. Traditional Psychophysiological Disorders • Asthma • A narrowing of the body’s airways that makes breathing difficult • Affects up to 20 million people in the U.S. each year • Most victims are children at the time of first attack • Causal psychosocial factors: • Environmental pressures, troubled family relationships, anxiety, high dependency • Causal physiological factors: • Allergies, a slow-acting sympathetic nervous system, weakened respiratory system Comer, Abnormal Psychology, 6e – Chapter 6

36. Traditional Psychophysiological Disorders • Insomnia • Difficulty falling asleep or maintaining sleep • Affects 35% of people in the U.S. each year • Causal psychosocial factors: • High anxiety or depression • Causal physiological factors: • Overactive arousal system, certain medical ailments Comer, Abnormal Psychology, 6e – Chapter 6

37. Traditional Psychophysiological Disorders • Chronic headaches • Tension headaches affect 40 million Americans each year • Migraine headaches affect 23 million Americans each year • Causal psychosocial factors: • Environmental pressures; general feelings of helplessness, anger, anxiety, depression • Causal physiological factors: • Abnormal serotonin activity, vascular problems, muscle weakness Comer, Abnormal Psychology, 6e – Chapter 6

38. Traditional Psychophysiological Disorders • Hypertension • Chronic high blood pressure, usually producing no overt symptoms • Affects 65 million Americans each year • Causal psychosocial factors: • Constant stress, constant environmental danger, general feelings of anger or depression • Causal physiological factors: • 10% caused by physiological factors alone • Obesity, smoking, poor kidney function, high proportion of collagen rather than elastic tissue in an individual’s blood vessels Comer, Abnormal Psychology, 6e – Chapter 6

39. Traditional Psychophysiological Disorders • Coronary heart disease • Caused by a blocking of the coronary arteries • Includes angina pectoris (chest pain), coronary occlusion (complete blockage of a coronary artery), and myocardial infarction (heart attack) • Leading cause of death in men older than 35 years and women older than 40 years in the U.S. • Causal psychosocial factors: • Job stress, high levels of anger or depression • Causal physiological factors: • High level of cholesterol, obesity, hypertension, the effects of smoking, lack of exercise Comer, Abnormal Psychology, 6e – Chapter 6

40. Traditional Psychophysiological Disorders • A number of factors contribute to the development of psychophysiological disorders, including: • Sociocultural factors • Psychological factors • Biological variables Comer, Abnormal Psychology, 6e – Chapter 6

41. Traditional Psychophysiological Disorders • Sociocultural factors • Stressful demands placed on people by their culture may set the stage for psychophysiological disorders • Examples include poverty, violence, and nuclear threat (such as Three Mile Island) Comer, Abnormal Psychology, 6e – Chapter 6

42. Traditional Psychophysiological Disorders • Psychological factors • According to many theorists, certain needs, attitudes, emotions, or coping styles may cause people to repeatedly overreact to stressors, thereby increasing their likelihood of developing psychophysiological disorders • Examples: a repressive coping style, Type A personality style Comer, Abnormal Psychology, 6e – Chapter 6

43. Traditional Psychophysiological Disorders • Biological factors • Defects in the autonomic nervous system (ANS) are believed to contribute to the development of psychophysiological disorders • Other more specific biological problems may also contribute • For example, a weak gastrointestinal system may create a predisposition to developing ulcers Comer, Abnormal Psychology, 6e – Chapter 6

44. Traditional Psychophysiological Disorders • Clearly, sociocultural, psychological, and biological variables combine to produce psychophysiological disorders • Although once thought to be unusual, the interaction of psychosocial and physical factors is now considered the rule of bodily function, not the exception • In recent years, more and more illnesses have been placed in this category Comer, Abnormal Psychology, 6e – Chapter 6

45. New Psychophysiological Disorders • Since the 1960s, researchers have found many links between psychosocial stress and a range of physical illnesses Comer, Abnormal Psychology, 6e – Chapter 6

46. New Psychophysiological Disorders • Are physical illnesses related to stress? • The development of the Social Adjustment Rating Scale in 1967 enabled researchers to examine the relationship between life stress and the onset of illness Comer, Abnormal Psychology, 6e – Chapter 6

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48. New Psychophysiological Disorders • Are physical illnesses related to stress? • Using the Social Adjustment Rating Scale, studies have consistently linked stresses of various kinds to a wide range of physical conditions • Overall, the greater the amount of life stress, the greater the likelihood of illness • Researchers have even found a relationship between traumatic stress and death Comer, Abnormal Psychology, 6e – Chapter 6

49. New Psychophysiological Disorders • Are physical illnesses related to stress? • One key weakness of the Social Adjustment Rating Scale is that it fails to take into account the particular stress reactions of specific populations • For example, women and men have been shown to react differently to certain life changes measured by the scale Comer, Abnormal Psychology, 6e – Chapter 6

50. New Psychophysiological Disorders • Researchers have increasingly looked to the body’s immune system as the key to the relationship between stress and infection • This area of study is called psychoneuroimmunology Comer, Abnormal Psychology, 6e – Chapter 6