Special Update For DSM-5 Don H. Hockenbury and Sandra E. Hockenbury Psychology Sixth Edition Special Update For DSM-5 Chapter 13 Stress, Health, and Coping Copyright © 2014 by Worth Publishers

Figure 13.1 Stress and Appraisal According to Richard Lazarus (1999), events are not stressful in and of themselves. Instead, the experience of stress is determined by your subjective response to external events or circumstances. If you believe you have the resources necessary to meet a challenge, you’ll experience little or no stress. We evaluate—and re-evaluate—our coping responses as we deal with stressful circumstances. If our coping efforts are successful, stress will decrease. If unsuccessful, stress will increase. Figure 13.1 Stress and Appraisal Don H. Hockenbury and Sandra E. Hockenbury: Psychology, Sixth Edition – Special Update For DSM-5 Copyright © 2014 by Worth Publishers

Table 13.1 The Social Readjustment Rating Scale: Sample Items Don H. Hockenbury and Sandra E. Hockenbury: Psychology, Sixth Edition – Special Update For DSM-5 Copyright © 2014 by Worth Publishers

Figure 13.2 Whatever Doesn’t Kill You Makes You Stronger Psychologist Mark Seery and his colleagues (2010) found that people who had experienced some adversity in their lives handled new stressors better than people who had experienced either a high level of adversity or none at all. After experiencing a significant negative event, they were less distressed and experienced fewer posttraumatic stress symptoms. Even more important, they were generally happier with their lives than people whose lives had been either very hard or relatively carefree. Figure 13.2 Whatever Doesn’t Kill You Makes You Stronger Don H. Hockenbury and Sandra E. Hockenbury: Psychology, Sixth Edition – Special Update For DSM-5 Copyright © 2014 by Worth Publishers

Table 13.2 Examples of Daily Hassles Don H. Hockenbury and Sandra E. Hockenbury: Psychology, Sixth Edition – Special Update For DSM-5 Copyright © 2014 by Worth Publishers

Figure 13.3 Subjective Socioeconomic Status and Health The objective socioeconomic status of a group of volunteers was assessed in terms of income level and education. The volunteers’ subjective social status was assessed by showing them a picture of a ladder and asking them to indicate where they thought they stood relative to their fellow Americans in terms of income, education, and occupation. All the volunteers were then exposed to a cold virus. Even after controlling for factors such as smoking and other risk factors, Sheldon Cohen and his colleagues (2008) found that subjective, rather than objective, social status was associated with susceptibility to infection. Regardless of their objective socioeconomic status, participants who perceived themselves as being lower in social status were more susceptible to infection than those who did not. Figure 13.3 Subjective Socioeconomic Status and Health Don H. Hockenbury and Sandra E. Hockenbury: Psychology, Sixth Edition – Special Update For DSM-5 Copyright © 2014 by Worth Publishers

Figure 13.4 Endocrine System Pathways in Stress Two different endocrine system pathways are involved in the response to stress (Joëls & Baram, 2009). Walter Cannon identified the endocrine pathway shown on the left side of this diagram. This is the pathway involved in the fight-or-flight response to immediate threats. Hans Selye identified the endocrine pathway shown on the right. This second endocrine pathway plays an important role in dealing with prolonged, or chronic, stressors. Figure 13.4 Endocrine System Pathways in Stress Don H. Hockenbury and Sandra E. Hockenbury: Psychology, Sixth Edition – Special Update For DSM-5 Copyright © 2014 by Worth Publishers

As shown in the drawing on the right, telomeres are short, repeated DNA sequences that are found at the very tips of chromosomes (Epel, 2009b). In the photo on the left, the telomeres are the fluorescent tips on the blue-stained human chromosomes. Like the plastic tips that protect shoelaces from fraying, telomeres protect the genetic data in the chromosomes from being broken or scrambled during cell division. With each cell division, the telomeres get shorter. However, an enzyme called telomerase can protect and even lengthen telomeres. Psychologists today are actively studying the environmental factors that affect telomere length, including behavioral interventions that increase telomerase activity (Jacobs & others, 2011). Figure 13.5 Telomeres Don H. Hockenbury and Sandra E. Hockenbury: Psychology, Sixth Edition – Special Update For DSM-5 Copyright © 2014 by Worth Publishers

Figure 13.6 Perceived Stress and Telomere Length In a groundbreaking study, psychologist Elissa Epel and her colleagues (2004) compared telomere length in mothers of chronically ill children with mothers of healthy children. Even after controlling for chronological age and other biological factors, telomeres were significantly shorter in women who perceived themselves as being under a great deal of stress than in those who did not. How significant was the difference? The reduction in telomere length in the highly stressed women was roughly equivalent to more than a decade of normal aging (Epel & others, 2004). Figure 13.6 Perceived Stress and Telomere Length Don H. Hockenbury and Sandra E. Hockenbury: Psychology, Sixth Edition – Special Update For DSM-5 Copyright © 2014 by Worth Publishers

Figure 13.7 Effects of Chronic and Acute Stress on Telomerase Activity Telomerase is an enzyme that protects and lengthens telomeres. In an experiment by Elissa Epel and her colleagues (2010), telomerase activity was lower in women who were under chronic stress (“caregivers”) than it was in a control group of women who were not under stress. In response to an acute stressor in the laboratory, telomerase activity rose sharply in both groups. Even at its peak, however, telomerase activity in the chronic stress group remained significantly below that of the control group. Figure 13.7 Effects of Chronic and Acute Stress on Telomerase Activity Don H. Hockenbury and Sandra E. Hockenbury: Psychology, Sixth Edition – Special Update For DSM-5 Copyright © 2014 by Worth Publishers

Figure 13.8 The Immune System Your immune system battles bacteria, viruses, and other foreign invaders that try to set up housekeeping in your body. The specialized white blood cells that fight infection are manufactured in the bone marrow and are stored in the thymus, spleen, and lymph nodes until needed. Figure 13.8 The Immune System Don H. Hockenbury and Sandra E. Hockenbury: Psychology, Sixth Edition – Special Update For DSM-5 Copyright © 2014 by Worth Publishers

Figure 13.9 Stress and the Common Cold Are you more likely to catch a cold if you’re under a great deal of stress? In a classic series of studies, Sheldon Cohen and his colleagues (1991, 1993) measured levels of psychological stress in healthy volunteers, then exposed them to a cold virus. They found an almost perfect relationship between the level of stress and the rate of infection. The higher the volunteers’ psychological stress level, the higher the rate of respiratory infection. Figure 13.9 Stress and the Common Cold Don H. Hockenbury and Sandra E. Hockenbury: Psychology, Sixth Edition – Special Update For DSM-5 Copyright © 2014 by Worth Publishers

Photo Credits Slide 7: Custom Medical Stock Photo / Alamy Slide 8: ISM / Phototake Slide 11: RubberBall / Alamy