Instructor

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Instructor

• John Kremer

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STRESSORS
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Objectives

• What are types of stressors?
• How does context influence the stressor?
• Three

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What is the Most Common Form of Stress?
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Difficulties in Interpersonal Relationships
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Types of Stressors

• Past Life Events
• Future Life Events
• Current Daily Hassles
• Role Strain

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Past Life EventsHolmes Rahe, 1967

• Change
• 43 Events
• 400 Students
• Marriage 50

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Social Readjustment Rating Scale

• 100 Death of spouse
• 73 Divorce
• 65 Marital Separation
• 63 Death family member
• 53 Personal Injury
• 50 Marriage
• 47 Fired at Work

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• 45 Marital reconciliation
• 45 Retirement
• 44 Change in health
• 40 Pregnancy
• 39 Sexual problems
• 39 New family member
• 39 Business readjustment
• 38 Change in finances
• 37 Death of a friend
• 36 Change jobs
• 35 Change in arguments

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• 31 mortgage over 10,000
• 30 Foreclosure of loan
• 29 new work responsibilities
• 29 Child leaving home
• 29 In-law troubles
• 28 Personal Achievement
• 26 Spouse changing work
• 26 Change in school
• 25 New living conditions
• 24 New personal habits
• 23 Trouble with boss
• 20 New work hrs/conditions
• 20 New residence

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• 20 New school
• 19 New church activities
• 19 New recreation
• 18 New social Activities
• 17 Loan under 10,000
• 17 New sleep habits
• 15 New eating habits
• 15 New family events
• 13 Vacation
• 12 Christmas
• 11 Minor law violations

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Original Research Holmes Masuda, 1974
Life Change Units
140-199
300
Health Problems
X
2X
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Popular Measure of Stress

• Voluminous research
• Popular press

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Criticisms

• Retrospective studies
• 23 overlap with events
• Illness influences report
• Lists contain symptoms
• Sleep problems
• Eating habits

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Next Stage Type of Events

• Content College students
• Undesirability Important
• Unpredictability
• Preparatory Response Hypo
• Safety Signal Hypo
• Uncontrollability Depression

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Next Stage Timing of Events

• Imminent
• Long Cue-Stressor Interval
• Multiple small events from 1 large event
• Chronic stressor

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Newest Development Structured Interviews

• Circumstances differ
• Character differs
• Interpretation differs

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Two Semi-structured Interviews

• Raters situational personal factors
• Raters detail of event itself

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Three Perspectives

• Normative-based Checklists (LCU)
• Respondent-based Ratings
• Rater-based Interviews

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Contest of Events

• Single vs. multiple events
• Not simply additive
• Some may reduce stress
• Thresholds
• Plateaus
• When they occur

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Future Life Events

• Research on Past
• Anticipation of Events

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Current Daily Hassles

• Minor events
• Chronic
• Continuities of life
• Childhood experiences may set these in motion

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Definition of HasslesKanner, et al., 1981

• Irritating
• Frustrating
• Distressing demands of every day living

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Daily Hassles Scale

• Trouble relaxing
• Fighting traffic
• Not enough time
• Car repairs

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Hassles and Life Events

• Moderately correlated
• Events Hassles
• Hassles better predictors of illness depression

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Central HasslesGruen, Folkman, Lazarus, 1985

• Important ongoing themes
• More associated with symptoms

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Kremers Hassles

• Making meals
• Doing laundry
• Fixing things
• Getting kids to school
• Grocery shopping
• Paying bills
• Taking care of the yard

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Ten Most Common HasslesKanner, 1981

• 52 Concerns about weight
• 48 Health problems
• 44 Rising prices of common things
• 43 Home maintenance
• 39 Misplacing things
• 38 Yard work
• 38 Investments
• 37 Crime
• 36 Physical appearance

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Role Strain 4 Areas

• Marriage
• Economics
• Parents
• Work

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What is Impact of Stressors?

• A) Increase quality of life
• B) Decrease quality of life
• C) Both
• D) Neither

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If you have no stress, what state are you in?
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Do you seek out stress in your life?
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Relationships b/w Stress Performance

• Drive Theory
• Threshold
• Plateau
• Inverted U-Shaped
• Catastrophe

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Drive Theory
Effects
0 -
S t r e s s o r s
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Drive Theory
Effects
0 -
S t r e s s o r s
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Drive Theory
Effects
0 -
S t r e s s o r s
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Inverted U-Shaped

Perf
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Arousal
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Catastrophe Theory

High Cognitive Anxiety
Perf
0
Arousal
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Conclusions

• No one theory works
• Each work with some people
• Each work at some time
• Differences in individuals and events determine
  the best theory

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Stress in Relationships

Perf
0
Arousal
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Stress Management

• Know what are stressors
• Any change may be a stressor
• Positive events may be stressful
• Keep stressors within limits
• Plan you stressors
• Reduce unnecessary hassles
• Know your stress tolerance
• Know those family members
• When does stress become a catastrophe