1Quick Revision: Meeting Life Challenges
Four dimensions of stress: intensity (low vs high), duration (short-term vs long-term), complexity (less vs more complex), predictability (unexpected vs predictable). More intense, prolonged, complex and unanticipated stresses have more negative consequences.
Types and sources of stress
Life events
Big planned or unpredicted changes bunched in a short time.
Hassles
Daily annoyances (commuting, noise, traffic).
Traumatic events
Fire, accident, robbery, earthquake, tsunami.
Box 3.1 PSLES: Singh, Kaur and Kaur’s Indian adaptation of the Holmes and Rahe measure; 51 life changes, each with a mean stress score (e.g. death of spouse 95, death of a close family member 66, appearing for examinations 43).
Effects of stress
Emotional
Mood swings, anxiety, depression.
Physiological
Raised adrenaline, cortisol, heart rate, BP.
Cognitive
Poor concentration, faulty decisions.
Behavioural
Poor eating, more caffeine/smoking/alcohol.
Box 3.2 Examination anxiety: examination stress is called “evaluative apprehension” or “evaluative stress”; it can cause test anxiety, and high-test-anxious students see evaluative situations as personally threatening. Prepare in time, plan revision, and stay calm on the exam day.
Lifestyle: stressed people eat poorly, sleep less, and are more likely to smoke or misuse alcohol; these habits give temporary relief while their long-term damage is ignored.
Immune system (psychoneuroimmunology)
| Cell type | Function |
|---|---|
| T cells | Destroy invaders |
| T-helper cells | Boost immune activity; targeted by HIV (causes AIDS) |
| B cells | Produce antibodies |
| Natural killer cells | Fight viruses and tumours |
Coping
Problem-focused
- Attacks the problem itself
- e.g. “I made a plan of action and followed it”
Emotion-focused
- Limits emotional disruption
- e.g. “let it out of my system”
Endler and Parker’s three strategies: Task-oriented, Emotion-oriented, Avoidance-oriented.
Stress management techniques: Relaxation, Meditation, Biofeedback, Creative visualisation, Cognitive Behavioural Techniques (Meichenbaum’s Stress Inoculation Training), Exercise.
Positive health and well-being
Hardiness: 3 Cs
Commitment, Control, Challenge (Kobasa).
Resilience
I HAVE (social and interpersonal strengths), I AM (inner strengths), I CAN (interpersonal and problem-solving skills). Needs more than one.
Life skills: Assertiveness, Time management, Rational thinking, Improving relationships, Self-care, Overcoming unhelpful habits (perfectionism, avoidance, procrastination).
Five positive-health factors: Diet, Exercise, Positive attitude, Positive thinking (optimism), Social support (tangible, informational, emotional; perceived support, the quality, is related to well-being; social network, the quantity, is not).
Activities: 3.1 tick your own stress signs; 3.2 rank the past year’s stressful events with two classmates; 3.3 rate five coping statements on a 5-point scale; 3.4 sort coping behaviours into problem-focused or not; 3.5 interview a child who coped with trauma.
Theory carries 9 marks (Unit III of VII). A separate 30-mark Practical (case profile file, five tests, viva voce) is not covered here.
- Stress = an ongoing transaction between person and environment, not just a stimulus or response.
- Appraisal (primary: harm/threat/challenge; secondary: own resources) largely shapes whether an event becomes stressful; the event’s intensity, duration, complexity and predictability also decide the outcome.
- GAS: Alarm → Resistance → Exhaustion.
- Coping can be problem-focused or emotion-focused (Lazarus and Folkman); Endler and Parker give a separate list: task-, emotion- and avoidance-oriented.
- Hardiness (3 Cs) and resilience (I HAVE, I AM, I CAN) build stress resistance.
- Positive health rests on diet, exercise, attitude, thinking and social support; avoid escape routes like smoking, alcohol and drugs.