UNIT 4 BRAIN, BEHAVIOUR & EXPERIENCE AREA OF STUDY 2 MENTAL HEALTH

SOCIAL, CULTURAL & ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE THE STRESS RESPONSE SOCIAL FACTORS SOCIAL FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE THE STRESS RESPONSE INCLUDE OUR RELATIONSHIPS AND SOCIAL INTERACTIONS WITH OTHERS SOCIAL READJUSTMENT = the amount of change or adjustment in lifestyle a person is forced to make following a specific event in their life SOCIAL READJUSTMENT RATING SCALE (Holmes & Rahe 1967) Has been revised a number of times and many different versions have been constructed, mainly used for stress research KK 4C – PAGE 528-530

SOCIAL READJUSTMENT RATING SCALE SOCIAL, CULTURAL & ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE THE STRESS RESPONSE SOCIAL FACTORS SOCIAL READJUSTMENT RATING SCALE (Holmes & Rahe 1967) There are some limitations of the rating scale: They do not take into account the personal meaning of events to different individuals. What is extremely stressful for one individual may be fine for another KK 4C – PAGE 528-530

SOCIAL, CULTURAL & ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE THE STRESS RESPONSE CULTURAL FACTORS IMMIGRANTS/REFUGEES/ASYLUM SEEKERS The demands of adjusting to a new culture can produce and exacerbate the stress response to moving to a new Country There is a need to become acculturated Sources of acculturated stress: Learning a new language Taking on a lower socio-economic status then what you might be used to Racial and ethnic prejudice Conflicts over preserving old values and beliefs KK 4C – PAGE 530-531

SOCIAL, CULTURAL & ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE THE STRESS RESPONSE ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS Environmental factors that influence the stress response include: Crowding Loud noise Air pollution Extremes of temperature Natural disasters CROWDING: the feeling of being cramped, of having less space than is preferred (usually brought on because of increased population density) KK 4C – PAGE 532-534 PERSONAL SPACE: the immediate and small area (up to about 50 centimeters) with an invisible boundary that surrounds a person

SOCIAL, CULTURAL & ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE THE STRESS RESPONSE ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS STUDIES ON PERSONAL SPACE: JOHN CALHOUN (1962) Exposed mice to an uncrowded then severely overcrowded environment in a specially constructed enclosure The mice population doubled every 55 days The mice became aggressive and cannibalistic, explored less and were either hyperactive or extremely lethargic Calhoun concluded that the stress response had led to a number of psychological and physiological changes STUDIES ON HUMANS Data from humans is not conclusive However, areas of high density do show a correlation between these areas and psychological and physiological symptoms of a stress response (see page 534) KK 4C – PAGE 532-534