Stress, Coping, and Health

The Relationship
Between Stress and Disease
Contagious diseases
vs. chronic diseases
Biopsychosocial model
Health psychology
Health promotion and
maintenance
Discovery of
causation, prevention,
and treatment

Stress: An Everyday Event

Major stressors vs. routine hassles
Cumulative nature of stress
Cognitive appraisals

Major Types of Stress

Frustration: blocked goal
Conflict: incompatible
motivations
Approach-approach
Approach-avoidance
Avoidance-avoidance

Change: having to adapt

Social Readjustment
Rating Scale
Life Change Units

Pressure
Perform/conform

Overview of the Stress Process

Responding to Stress Emotionally

Emotional Responses
Annoyance, anger, rage
Apprehension, anxiety,
fear
Dejection, sadness, grief
Positive emotions

Emotional response
and performance
The inverted-Uhypothesis

Responding to Stress
Physiologically
Physiological Responses
Fight-or-flight response
Selyes General Adaptation Syndrome
Alarm
Resistance
Exhaustion

Responding to Stress Behaviorally

Behavioral Responses
Frustration-aggression
hypothesis
catharsis
defense mechanisms

Coping

Reappraisal
Confronting problems
Using humor
Expressing emotions
Managing hostility

Effects of Stress:
Behavioral and Psychological
Impaired task
performance
Burnout
Psychological
problems and
disorders
Positive effects

Effects of Stress: Physical

Psychosomatic diseases
Heart disease
Type A behavior - 3
elements
strong competitiveness
impatience and time
urgency
anger and hostility

Emotional reactions and

depression

Stress and immune

functioning
Reduced immune activity

Factors Moderating the Impact of

Stress
Social support
Increased immune functioning

Optimism
More adaptive coping
Pessimistic explanatory style

Conscientiousness
Fostering better health habits

Autonomic reactivity
Cardiovascular reactivity to stress

Firefighter Specific Stressors

Reliance on teamwork
Low job control
Sleep disturbances/Shift work
Boredom
Coworker conflict
Management-Labor conflict
Second jobs
Marital/Family spillover

Firefighter Stress Reactions

Apprehension/Dread
Intrusive thoughts
No hope
Sleep difficulties
Gastrointestinal symptoms
Throat and mouth symptoms

At-Risk Firefighters
Research reveals 2 distinct profiles for at-risk
firefighters
Profile 1 (somaticizers) Reported greater frequency
and intensity of physical symptoms
Head/neck/facial tension
Gastrointestinal distress
Cardiopulmonary complaints

Profile 2 (psychological stress) Reported higher levels

of

Apprehension/dread
Anger
Generalized anxiety
Agitated depression

Implications for treatment

Identify high-risk firefighters
No penalty or stigmatization

Potential interventions
Psychoeducation

Work redesign
Coping skills training
Relaxation training
Conflict-resolution training
Leadership training
Sleep hygiene education

Coping Skills
Problem-focused coping
Taking direct action
Planning
Suppression of competing
activities
Restraint coping
Seeking social support

Emotion-focused coping
Focusing on and venting
emotions
Behavioral disengagement
Mental disengagement
Positive reappraisal
Denial
Acceptance
Turning to religion