The Social Context

Abstract

Understanding individual and personality factors in relation to pressure and stress is an important element in the development of a theory base to underpin the practice of stress management. However, what we must also realise is that such factors operate in a social context. This can be seen to apply in a number of ways:

• individual identity has social roots; that is, our sense of self is heavily dependent on our ‘social location’ — where we fit into society, the cultural expectations to which we have been exposed, and so on

• individuals are members of groups and so questions of group dynamics, intergroup conflict and so on are very relevant

• the coping resources and support systems to which we have access will be structured according to our social position (for example, buying power)

• oppression and discrimination arising from structured inequalities act as significant stressors for certain groups within the workforce