Stress, Coping, and Health

Stress, Coping, and Health Chapter 7

Procrastination Scale (Lay, 1986) - For student populations • Instructions: • People may use the following statements to describe themselves. For each statement, decide whether the statement is uncharacteristic or characteristic of you using the following 5 point scale. Note that the 3 on the scale is Neutral – the statement is neither characteristic nor uncharacteristic of you. In the box to the right of each statement, fill in the number on the 5 point scale that best describes you.

1. I often find myself performing tasks that I had intended to do days before.

Mean = 10 0 Enter your response. • Strongly Agree • Agree • Neutral • Disagree • Strongly Disagree

2.* I do not do assignments until just before they are to be handed in.

3.* When I am finished with a library book, I return it right away regardless of the date it is due.

4. When it is time to get up in the morning, I most often get right out of bed.

5. A letter may sit for days after I write it before mailing it.

6. I generally return phone calls promptly.

7. Even with jobs that require little else except sitting down and doing them, I find they seldom get done for days.

8. I usually make decisions as soon as possible.

9. I generally delay before starting on work I have to do.

10.* I usually have to rush to complete a task on time.

11. When preparing to go out, I am seldom caught having to do something at the last minute.

12. In preparing for some deadline, I often waste time by doing other things.

13.* I prefer to leave early for an appointment.

14.* I usually start an assignment shortly after it is assigned.

15. I often have a task finished sooner than necessary.

16. I always seem to end up shopping for birthday or Christmas gifts at the last minute.

17. I usually buy even an essential item at the last minute.

18. I usually accomplish all the things I plan to do in a day.

I am continually saying “I’ll do it tomorrow”.

20. I usually take care of all the tasks I have to do before I settle down and relax for the evening.

0 I. Relationship between Life Events and Stress • A. Demands, Strain, Coping, and Stress • Demands are environmental requirements that motivate behavior. • Strain occurs when resources are inadequate to meet demands. • Coping is behavior to meet demands. • Stress or distress is a case of excessive strain; coping is inadequate. • Excessive demands • Limited resources

0 I. Relationship between Life Events and Stress • B. Characteristics of Stress • 1. Physical Symptoms of Stress • Allergies, colds, flu, headache. • 2. Psychological Symptoms of Stress • Anxiety, boredom, depression, feel helpless, negative mood. • 3. Behavioral Symptoms of Stress • Consume alcohol, nicotine, drugs, eat comfort foods, waste time.

0 I. Relationship between Life Events and Stress • C. Characteristics of Stressors • 1. Negative Life Events as Stressors • Same domain effect: negative life demands produce distress or stress; positive life demands produce eustress. • 2. Magnitude of Life Events • Cataclysmic events are high magnitude stressors. Daily hassles are low magnitude stressors. Daily uplifts bring relief, joy, amusement.

0 I. Relationship between Life Events and Stress • C. Characteristics of Stressors • 3. Predictability and Controllability of Life Events • Predictable stressors are preferred over unpredictable stressors. • Preparatory response hypothesis: predictive stimulus allows for preparation of shock. • Safety hypothesis: person can relax and feel safe during signaled-shock free intervals.

0 I. Relationship between Life Events and Stress • D. Stressor-Stress Relationship • Generally stress increases with increases in stressors magnitude. • 1. Retrospective versus Prospective Research • Retrospective: stressed individual tries to recall past stressors. • Prospective: measure person's stress level before and after onset of suspected stressor. • 2. Determining the Impact of Stressors • Life change unit: measure of amount of adjustment a demand requires • Undergraduate Stress Questionnaire provide life change units for demands faced by university students.

0 I. Relationship between Life Events and Stress • D. Stressor-Stress Relationship • 3. Stressor Magnitude and Stress • Acute stress disorder: fear and helplessness reaction to a traumatic event that threatens death or serious injury; subsides in four weeks. • Posttraumatic stress disorder: acute stress disorder lasts more than four weeks. Person experiences distressing recollections, physiological reactivity, social impairment, and avoids stimulus reminders. • Terrorist attack of 11 September 2001 produced PTSD. • 4. Cumulative Effects of Stressors • As life demands accumulate they become stressors and produce stress. • 5. Racism as a Stressor • Racism experienced by African Americans and other minorities is associated with stress and psychiatric symptoms.

0 II. Bodily Effects of Stress • A. Physiological Effects of Stressors • 1. General Adaptation Syndrome (Selye, 1976) • The body's physiological reaction to all stressors occurs in three stages: • alarm, resistance, and exhaustion (adaptation energy depleted). • death • 2. Psychological Stressors and Physiological Responses • Such stressors as public speaking and job interviews can cause stress. • B. Stressors and Psychophysiologic Disorders • Stressors, e.g., anger can interact with chronic risk factors (cholesterol, high blood pressure) to increase the likelihood of heart attacks.

0 II. Bodily Effects of Stress • C. Stressors and the Immune System • Psychoneuroimmunology: study relationship between psychological stressors, strength of the immune system, and disease. • Immune system is body's line of defense against bacteria and viruses. • 1. Stressor Effects on the Immune System • Stressors reduce effectiveness of immune system and disease occurs. • 2. Open Window Hypothesis • Few hours after strenuous exercise the immune system is weak, which provides an open window for germs to invade and infect the body.

Stress, Coping, and Health