Leonard Pearlin’s Theory of Psychological Distress By: Maeghan & Saemah

Basic Premise & Theory Suggests that humans are in a state of prepetual change for their entire lives. Development is unique to the individual, although common patterns can be predicted by looking at the various social factors. However, this theory disagrees with the stage theory.

Lifes requires distress in order for continuous change People continuously change due to situations and the stresses that come along with them to help them evolve Changes in behaviour are from socialized responses to the social clock, instead of age linked interchange. ( stages of maturity) Early adults must make major changes in their behaviour. ( new responsibilities, transitioning into adults etc.)

Fig.1 Fig.2

4 Path Determining Elements Individual characteristics Coping Skills Social Support Nature & timing of stress Fig. 3

Individual Characteristics Individual characteristics can affect your life choices → Gender, race, intelligence, personality, family background etc.. Example: Your intelligence can determine how well you can be educated & how far you can go with your career

Coping Skills Do you have the skills to cope with stress? --> Part time job, social expectations, post-secondary process, relationships, can all induce stress.

Social Support Too much support ( helicopter parents) No support ( abandonment) Guidance counselors, parents, teacher, friends, kids help phone Fig.4

Timing of Stress -Fired unexpectedly, financial issues, unexpected pregnancy,mid-life crisis -Timing of stress can impact you psychologically and challenges you mentally Fig. 5

Continuous Life Stages >Individuals change and mature due to experiencing distress ( social clock) >Role changing, by socializing >Cohort effect, changes in behaviour are a result of the social clock, not age linked changes

Relevance to Society & Adolescence - A lot of people do go through this - Change through experience -Adolesence are always changing

Strengths & Weaknesses > The study of adult development and psychological distress determines the difference in vulnerability to stressful circumstances of different groups in society > Many people could relate to his theory > Acknowledges the different factors that may change a persons life Disagrees with lifes stage theories Goes against structural functionalism

Discussion Questions Do you believe that some people are more mature than others based on the stress that they have endured and overcame? Do you think that the amount of social support an individual has an effect on the coping skills? Do you think gender,race, religion and cultural expectations all have a effect on coping skills?

Secondary Source https://campus.fsu.edu/bbcswebdav/institution/academic/social_sciences/sociology/Reading%20Lists/Mental%20Health%20Readings/Pearlin-HealthSocial-1989.pdf

Works Cited Fig.1 Katherine Hogen. (2014). Decompress with Acupunctur. Retrieved Nov. 05 2014. from: < http://mytherapynyc.com/stress-decompress-with-acupuncture/>. Fig.2 Unknown. Tips for Managing Stress. Retrieved Nov. 05 2014. from: <http://access.ewu.edu/caps/selfhelp/stressmanage>. Fig.3 Unknown. (2012). Change Ahead. Retrieved Nov. 03 2014. from: < http://sunlight.sunesys.com/?attachment_id=149>. Fig.4 Unknown. Emotional Support.Retrieved Nov. 03 2014. from: < http://www.stress.org/emotional-and-social-support/>. Fig.5 Unknown. Timing Functions. Retreived Nov. 05 2014. from: < http://garagelab.com/profiles/blogs/tutorial-timing-functions-with-arduino>. HHSKCIWEBSITE. ( Oct. 27. 2014). Adolescence and Young Adulthood. Retreived: Nov. 05 2014 from:<http://hhskci.weebly.com/unit-2-adolescence-and-young-adulthood.html>. Unknown. Theories on Adult Development. Retrieved: Nov. 02 2014 from: < https://docs.google.com/document/d/1VhHrVoHYiZIDKv_OTKVZyy88QkcXeVw-m5hhHY3ZPn4/edit?hl=en_US>.