Stress and Coping

These flashcards cover key vocabulary and concepts related to stress, coping mechanisms, and the effects of social support.

Coping

Active efforts to master, reduce, or tolerate the demands created by stress.

• Stressors impose physiological demands on the body; if not dealt with, there can be negative health effects.

 

Stressors

External events or conditions that pose demands on the body and can have negative health effects if not managed.

Coping 2 approaches

Problem-focused coping (action focused )

 Emotion-focused coping (psychological/ cognitive focus)

 

Problem-focused coping (action focused )

●Deal with the stressor itself

●Efforts to change the situation

 ●Problem solving: remove stressor, resolve situation, seek advice

 -> action focused approach

• Examples:

  • If unhappy in a relationship or at work, actively seek changes to reduce the stress.

  • Remove the stressor completely when possible.

  • Stress from a friend: actions include stopping contact, confronting the friend about behavior, or seeking advice from others.

  • Key idea: taking direct action to reduce or eliminate the stressor.

Problem-focused coping

A type of coping that deals directly with the stressor itself, seeking to change the situation or remove the stressor.

Emotion-focused coping

A type of coping that deals with the emotional consequences of a stressor rather than the stressor itself.

You don't deal with the stress itself but deal with the emotional consequences

 

●Deal with psychological consequences of stressor

 

●Efforts to alter thoughts- reduce unpleasant

 

●Efforts to alter unpleasant emotional consequences of stress

 

Definition: addressing the emotional consequences of the stressor, not the stressor itself.

 

When to use: often used when the stressor cannot be easily removed or changed (e.g., a boss who is direct).

 

• Characteristics: often less direct and, in some cases, less productive than problem-focused coping.

• Methods to cope with emotion: altering thoughts to reduce unpleasant emotional consequences.

• Common strategies mentioned:

  • Distracting oneself with enjoyable activities (e.g., shopping, listening to music).

  • Removing oneself from the stressor (e.g., taking a walk).

  • Mindfulness or self-compassion as ways to regulate emotions in stressful situations.

Buffering hypothesis

Suggests that social support reduces the impact of stress when it occurs.

Direct effect hypothesis

Indicates that regular social contact makes individuals less susceptible to stress in the first place.

Post-traumatic growth

The process of creating a new narrative and philosophy about life following a traumatic experience.

Buffering hypothesis 

individuals still feel stressed but impact of stress is reduced due to social support

➢Stress present (social support acts like a shield)

• Proposes when we experience stress, buffering

• Example: a university student who has maintained close ties with family or friends over the years is less likely to experience stress from completing a degree.

buffering focuses on reducing the impact of stress when it occurs;

Optimism

A positive outlook that is associated with more adaptive coping strategies and better stress management.

STRESS OPTIMISM

People with optimistic

 

-are more likely to seek social support

●More positive appraisals of stressful events

●Stress dealt with in more adaptive ways

●Enhanced immune functioning

 

 

●Puig-Perez et al. (2017)

➢Optimism helps regulate stress responses in autonomic and neuroendocrine system in people with Type 2 Diabetes

Direct effect hypothesis

➢Less stress to start with (due to social support)

• Because e communicate regularly we are less likely to experience stress in the first palce

direct effect emphasizes that regular social contact makes a person less susceptible to stress in the first place.

 

lower effort syndrome,

Members of minority groups who for generations experience a ceiling on their economic prospects because of discrimination sometimes develop lower effort syndrome, in which they seemingly stop the kind of active efforts that might alleviate some of their hardship

Social support

The presence of others who provide help and concern, highlighted as an effective way to cope with stress.

Lower effort syndrome

A phenomenon where individuals from minority groups stop making active efforts to alleviate hardship due to long-standing discrimination.

STRESS SOCIAL SUPPORT IN COPING

Social support is highlighted as one of the most effective ways to cope with stress.

The presence of others

➢in whom one can confide

➢from whom one can expect help & concern

Benefits Associated with

➢Enhanced immune functioning

➢Enhanced physiological health

➢Mortality, increased life expectancy  

Two hypotheses:

Buffering hypothesis 

Direct affect hypothesis