Abstract
Stress is a pervasive and familiar phenomenon. Because it reflects a biobehavioral pattern that cuts across disease states, settings, and other traditional categories, it has generated an enormous amount of research and theory. Measurement problems, conceptual and operational inconsistencies across studies, and reliance on single-discipline perspectives on stress, however, have hindered our understanding of the stress process and contributed to confusion regarding the stress construct. For example, some studies define stress in terms of events that require change, others as self-reported emotional distress, others as behavioral change, and still others in terms of blood pressure change or hormone levels. Further complicating this picture is the tendency for prior studies to measure stress in only one or two ways, rather than assessing it as a multilevel process. Since the early 1970s, research has approached stress more broadly, examining patterns of response within and across different levels (e. g., Frankenhauser, 1975; Mason, 1975). At the same time, slow conceptual development and inconsistent assessment approaches have led to confusion in the field.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Adell, A., Garcia-Marquez, C., Armario, A., & Gelpi, E. (1988). Chronic stress increases serotonin and noradrenaline in rat brain and sensitizes their responses to a further acute stress. Journal of Neurochemistry, 50(6), 1678–1681.
Akiskal, H. S., & McKinney, W. T. (1973). Depressive disorders: Toward a unified hypothesis. Science, 182, 20–29.
American Psychiatric Association (1988). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (3rd ed., rev.). Washington, DC: Author.
Aneshensel, C. S., & Stone, J. D. (1982). Stress and depression. Archives of General Psychiatry, 39, 1392–1396.
Arnetz, B. B., Fjellner, B., Eneroth, P., & Kallner, A. (1985). Stress and psoriasis: Psychoendocrine and metabolic reactions in psoriatic patients during standardized Stressor exposure. Psychosomatic Medicine, 47(6), 528–541.
Asberg, M., Bertilsson, L., Martensson, B., Scalia-Tomba, G. P., Thoren, P., & Traskman-Bendz, L. (1984). CSF monoamine metabolites in melancholia. Acta Psychiatrica Scan-dinavica, 69, 201–219.
Baum, A. (1990). Stress, intrusive imagery, and chronic distress. Health Psychology, 9, 653–675.
Baum, A., Fleming, R., & Reddy, D. M. (1986). Unemployment stress: Loss of control, reactance and learned helplessness. Social Science and Medicine, 22, 509–516.
Baum, A., Gatchel, R. J., & Schaeffer, M. A. (1983). Emotional, behavioral, and physiological effects of chronic stress at Three Mile Island. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 51, 565–572.
Baum, A., Grunberg, N. E., & Singer, J. E. (1982). The use of psychological and neuroen-docrinological measurements in the study of stress. Health Psychology, 1(3), 217–236.
Billings, A. C., & Moos, R. H. (1982). Stressful life events and symptoms: A longitudinal model. Health Psychology, 1(2), 99–117.
Blum, A., & Singer, M. (1984). Substance use and social deviance: A youth assessment framework. Child and Youth Services, 6, 7–21.
Brown, G. W., & Harris, T. (1978). Social origins of depression: A study of psychiatric disorder in women. New York: Free Press.
Breslau, N., & Davis, G. C. (1986). Chronic stress and major depression. Archives of General Psychiatry, 43, 309–314.
Bullinger, M., Naber, D., Pickar, D., Cohen, R. M., Kalin, N. H., Pert, A., & Bunney, W. E. (1984). Endocrine effects of the cold pressor test: Relationships to subjective pain appraisal and coping. Psychiatry Research, 12, 223–227.
Burns, C., & Geist, C. S. (1984). Stressful life events and drug use among adolescents. Journal of Human Stress, 10, 135–139.
Cannon, W. B. (1985). Stresses and strains of homeostasis (Mary Scott Newbold lecture). A merican Journal of Medical Sciences, 189, 1–14.
Charney, D. S., Woods, S. W., Nagy, L. M., Southwich, S. M., Krystal, J. H., & Heniger, G. P. (1990). Noradrenergic function in panic disorder. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 57(12, Suppl. A), 5–11.
Cohen, L., & Baum, A. (in press). Stress, vulnerability, and drug use. In J. H. Jaffe (Ed.), The encyclopedia of drugs and alcohol. New York: Macmillan.
Cohen, M. R., Pickar, D., Dubois, M., & Bunney, W. E. (1982). Stress-induced plasma beta-endorphin immunoreactivity may predict postoperative morphine usage. Psychiatry Research, 6, 7–12.
Cohen, S. (1980). Aftereffects of stress on human performance and social behavior: A review of research and theory. Psychological Bulletin, 98, 310–357.
Cole, B. J., Cador, M., Stinus, L., Rivier, C., Rivier, J., Vale, W., Le Moal, M., & Koob, G. F. (1990). Critical role of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis in amphetamine-induced sensitization of behavior. Life Sciences, 47, 1715–1720.
Conger, J. J. (1956). Reinforcement theory and the dynamics of alcoholism. Quarterly Journal of Studies on Alcohol, 17, 296–305.
Coombs, R. H., Paulson, M. J., & Risa, P. (1988). The institutionalization of drug use in America: Hazardous adolescence, challenging parenthood. Journal of Chemical Dependency Treatment, 1, 9–37.
Cooper, M. L., Russel, M., & George, W. H. (1988). Coping expectations, and alcohol abuse: A test of social learning formulations. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 97, 218–230.
Davidson, L. M., & Baum, A. (1986). Chronic stress and posttraumatic stress disorders. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 54(3), 303–308.
Dean, A. (1985). Depression in multidisciplinary perspective. New York: Brunner/Mazel.
DeLongis, A., Coyne, J. C., Dakof, G., Folkman, S., & Lazarus, R. S. (1982). Relationship of daily hassles, uplifts, and major life events to health status. Health Psychology, 1(2), 119–136.
Derogatis, L. R. (1977). The SCL-90 Manual I: Scoring, administration and procedures for the SCL-90. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Clinical Psycho-metrics Unit.
Derogatis, L. R., Lipman, R. S., Rickels, K., Uhlenhuth, E. H., & Covi, L. (1974). The Hopkins Symptom Checklist (HSCL): A self-report symptom inventory. Behavioral Science, 19, 1–15.
Dohrenwend, B. S., & Dohrenwend, B. P. (Eds.). (1974). Stressful life events: Their nature and effects. New York: Wiley.
Donegan, N. H., Rodin, J., O’Brien, C. P., & Solomon, R. L. (1983). A learning theory approach to commonalities. In D. K. Levinson, D. R. Gerstein, & D. R. Maloff (Eds.), Commonalities in substance abuse and habitual behavior. Lexington, MA: Heath.
Dorworth, T. R., & Overmier, J. B. (1977). On “learned helplessness”: The therapeutic effects of electroconvulsive shocks. Physiological Psychology, 5, 355–358.
Duncan, D. F. (1977). Life stress as a precursor to adolescent drug dependence. International Journal of the Addictions, 12, 1047–1056.
Elliott, G. R. & Eisdorfer, C. (Eds.). (1982). Stress and human health: Analysis and implications of research. New York: Springer.
Fleming, I., & Baum, A. (1986). The role of prevention in technological catastrophe. Prevention in Human Services, 4, 139–152.
Fleming, R., Baum, A., & Singer, J. E. (1984). Toward an integrative approach to the study of stress. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 46, 939–949.
Frankenhauser, M. (1973). Experimental approaches to the study of catecholamines and emotion. Stockholm: Psychological Laboratories, University of Stockholm.
Frankenhauser, M. (1975). Sympathetic-adrenomedullary activity, behavior, and the psy-chosocial environment. In P. H. Venables & M. J. Christie (Eds.), Research in psycho-physiology (pp. 71–94). New York: Wiley.
Gattucci, W. T., Baum, A., Gold, P. W., Chrousos, G. P., & Kling, M. A. (1992). Sex differences in sensitivity of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal-cortical axis to stress-like stimulation. Health Psychology, 12(5), 420–425.
Glass, D. C., & Singer, J. E. (1972). Urban stress: Experiments on noise and social Stressors. New York: Academic Press.
Gold, P. W., Goodwin, F. K., & Chrousos, G. P. (1988). Clinical and biochemical manifestations of depression: Relation to the neurobiology of stress (part 1). New England Journal of Medicine, 319, 348–353.
Gold, P. W., Loriaux, D. L., Roy, A., Kling, M. A., Calabrese, J. R., Kellner, C. H., Nieman, L. K., Post, R. M., Pickar, D., Gallucci, W., Avgerinos, P., Paul, S., Oldfield, E. H., Cutler, G. B., & Chrousos, G. P. (1986). Responses to corticotropin-releasing hormone in the hypercortisolism of depression and Cushing’s disease: Pathophysiologic and diagnostic implications. New England Journal of Medicine, 314, 1329–1335.
Green, B. L., Wilson, J. P., & Lindy, J. D. (1985). Conceptualizing post-traumatic stress disorder: A psychosocial framework. In C. R. Figley (Ed.), Trauma and its wake: The study and treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder. New York: Brunner/Mazel.
Grunberg, N. E., & Baum, A. (1985). Biological commonalities of stress and substance abuse. In S. Shiffman & T. A. Wills (Eds.), Coping and substance use. New York: Academic Press.
Holmes, T. H., & Rahe, R. H. (1967). The Social Readjustment Rating Scale. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 11, 213–218.
Kaplan, H. I., & Sadock, B. J. (1988). Synopsis of psychiatry. Baltimore: Williams & Wilkins.
Kleber, H. D., & Gawin, F. H. (1984). Cocaine abuse: A review of current and experimental treatments. In J. Grabowski (Ed.), Cocaine: Pharmacology, effects, and treatment of abuse (NIDA Research Monograph 50). Washington, DC: Government Printing Office.
Kosten, T. R., & Kleber, H. D. (1988). Differential diagnosis of psychiatric comorbidity in substance abusers. Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, 5, 201–206.
Kosten, T. R., Wahby, V., Giller, E., & Mason, J. (1990). The dexamethasone suppression test and thyrotropin-releasing hormone stimulation test in post-traumatic stress disorder. Biological Psychiatry, 28, 657–664.
Lake, C. R., Pickar, D., Ziegler, M. G., Lipper, S., Slater, S., & Murphey, D. L. (1982). High plasma norepinephrine levels in patients with major affective disorder. American Journal of Psychiatry, 139, 1315–1318.
Lazarus, R. (1966). Psychological stress and the coping process. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Lazarus, R. S., & Cohen, J. B. (1977). Environmental stress. In I. Attman & J. F. Wohwill (Eds.), Human behavior and the environment: Current theory and research, vol. 2. New York: Plenum.
Lazarus, R. S., & Folkman, S. (1984). Stress appraisal and coping. New York: Springer.
Leshner, A. I., Remier, H., Biegon, A., & Samuel, D. (1979). Effect of desmethylimi-pramine (DMI) on learned helplessness. Psychopharmacology, 66, 207–213.
Levenson, R. W., Oyama, O. N., & Meek, P. S. (1987). Greater reinforcement from alcohol for those at risk: Parental risk, personality risk, and sex. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 96, 242-?53.
Linnoila, M., Karoum, F., Calil, H. M., Kopin, I. J., & Potter, W. Z. (1982). Alteration of norepinephrine metabolism with desipramine and zimelidine in depressed patients. Archives of General Psychiatry, 39, 1025–1028.
Litman, G. K., Eiser, J. R., & Rawson, N. S. B. (1977). Towards a typology of relapse: A preliminary report. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 2, 157–162.
Mason, J. W. (1975). A historical view of the stress field. Journal of Human Stress, 1, 22–36.
Mason, J. W., Giller, E. L., Kosten, T. R., & Harkness, L. (1988). Elevation of urinary norepinephrine/cortisol ratio in post-traumatic stress disorder. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 176, 498–502.
Mason, J. W., Kosten, T. R., Southwich, S. M., & Giller, E. L. (1990). The use of psychoendocrine strategies in posttraumatic stress disorder. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 20, 1822–1846.
McCrae, R. R., & Costa, P. T. (1986). Personality, coping, and coping effectiveness in an adult sample. Journal of Personality, 54, 385–405.
McKinnon, W., Weisse, C. S., Reynolds, P. C., & Bowles, C. A. (1989). Chronic stress, leukocyte subpopulations, and humoral responses to latent viruses. Health Psychology, 8, 389–402.
McLellan, A. T, & Druley, K. A. (1977). Non-random relation between drugs of abuse and psychiatric diagnosis. Journal of Psychiatric Research, 13, 179–184.
McNamee, H. B., Mello, V. K., & Mendelson, T. H. (1968). Experimental analysis of drinking patterns of alcoholics: Concurrent psychiatric observations. American Journal of Psychiatry, 124, 1063–1071.
Mechanic, D. (1972). Social psychologic factors affecting the presentation of bodily complaints. New England Journal of Medicine, 286, 1132–1139.
Meltzer, H. (1989). Serotonergic dysfunction in depression. British Journal of Psychiatry, 155(Suppl. 8), 25–31.
Meltzer, H. Y., Arora, R. C., Baber, R., & Tricou, B. J. (1981). Serotonin uptake in blood platelets of psychiatric patients. Archives of General Psychiatry, 38, 1322–1326.
Meltzer, H. Y., & Lowy, M. T. (1987). The serotonin hypothesis of depression. In H. Meltzer (Ed.), Psychopharmacology, the third generation of progress (pp. 513–526). New York: Free Press.
Nesse, R. M., Curtis, G. C., Thyer, B. A., McCann, D. S., Huber-Smith, M. J., & Knopf, R. F. (1985). Endocrine and cardiovascular responses during phobic anxiety. Psychosomatic Medicine, 47(1), 320–333.
Overmier, J. B., & Seligman, M. E. P. (1967). Effects of inescapable shock on subsequent escape and avoidance learning. Journal of Comparative Physiological Psychology, 63, 23–33.
Paris, J. M., Lorens, S. A., Van de Kar, L. D., Urban, J. H., Richardson-Morton, K. D., & Bethea, C. L. (1987). A comparison of acute stress paradigms: Hormonal responses and hypothalamic serotonin. Physiology and Behavior, 39, 33–43.
Petty, F., & Sherman, A. D. (1979). Reversal of learned helplessness by imipramine. Communication in Psychopharmacology, 3, 371–373.
Piazza, P. V., Maccari, S., Deminiere, J., Le Moal, M., Mormede, P., & Simon, H. (1991). Corticosterone levels determine individual vulnerability to amphetamine self-administration. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 88, 2088–2092.
Pihl, R. O., & Smith, S. (1983). Of affect and alcohol. In L. A. Pohorecky & J. Brick (Eds.), Stress and alcohol use (pp. 203–228). New York: Elsevier.
Porges, S. W., & Bohrer, R. E. (1990). The analysis of periodic processes in psychological research. In J. T. Cacioppo & L. G. Tassinary (Eds.) Principles of psychophysiology: Physical, social, and inferential elements (pp. 708–753). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Post, R. M., Jimerson, D. C., Ballenger, J. C., Lake, C. R., Uhde, T. W., & Goodwin, F. K. (1984). Cerebrospinal fluid norepinephrine and its metabolites in manic-depressive illness. In R. M. Post & J. C. Ballenger (Eds.), Neurobiology of mood disorders. Baltimore: Williams & Wilkins.
Rabkin, J. G., & Struening, E. L. (1976). Life events, stress, and illness. Science, 194, 1013–1020.
Rahe, R. H. (1975). Life changes and near-future illness reports. In L. Levi (Ed.), Emotions: Their parameters and measurement (pp. 511–529). New York: Free Press.
Rosenthal, N. E., Genhart, M. J., Caballero, B., Jacobsen, F. M., Skwerer, R. G., Coursey, R. D., Rogers, S., & Spring, B. (1989). Psychobiological effects of carbohydrate-and protein-rich meals in patients with seasonal affective disorder and normal controls. Biological Psychiatry, 25, 1029–1040.
Rounsaville, B. J., Anton, S. F., Carroll, K., Buddie, D., Prusoff, B. A., & Gawin, F. (1991). Psychiatric diagnosis of treatment-seeking cocaine abusers. Archives of General Psychiatry, 48, 43–51.
Schachter, S. (1978). Pharmacological and psychological determinants of smoking. Annals of Internal Medicine, 88, 104–114.
Seligman, M. E. P. (1975). Helplessness: On depression, development, and death. San Francisco: Freeman.
Selye, H. (1936). A syndrome produced by diverse noxious agents. Nature, 138, 32.
Selye, H. (1976). The stress of life. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Sher, K. J., & Walitzer, K. S. (1986). Individual differences in the stress-response dampening effects of alcohol: A dose-response study. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 95, 159–167.
Smith, S. E., Pihl, R. O., & Young, S. N. (1987). A test of possible cognitive and environmental influences on mood lowering effects of tryptophan depletion in normal males. Psychopharmacology, 91, 451–457.
Spitzer, R. J., Williams, J. B., & Gibbon, M. (1987). Structured clinical interview for DSM-III—Non-patient version. New York: Biometrics Research Department, New York State Psychiatric Institute.
Spring, B., Chiodo, J., & Bowen, D. J. (1987). Carbohydrates, tryptophan, and behavior: A methodological review. Psychological Bulletin, 102(2), 234–256.
Stoney, C., Davis, M., & Matthews, K. (1987). Sex differences in physiological responses to stress and in coronary heart disease. A causal link? Psychophysiology, 24, 127–131.
Vaux, A., & Ruggiero, M. (1983). Stressful life change and delinquent behavior. American Journal of Community Psychology, 11, 169–183.
Watson, D., & Pennebaker, J. W. (1989). Health complaints, stress, and disease: Exploring the central role of negative affectivity. Psychological Review, 96(2), 234–254.
Weider, A., Wolfe, H. G., Brodman, K., Mittelmann, B., & Wechsler, D. (1948). Cornell Index. New York: Psychological Corporation.
Weiss, J. M., & Simson, P. G. (1985). Neurochemical basis of stress-induced depression. Psychopharmacology Bulletin, 21(3), 447–457.
Willner, P. (1984). The validity of animal models of depression. Psychopharmacology, 83, 1–16.
Wise, R. (1984). Neural mechanisms of the reinforcing action of cocaine. National Institute of Drug Abuse Research Monographs, 50, 15–33.
Wolff, C. T., Friedman, S. B., Hofer, M. A., & Mason, J. W. (1964). Relationship between psychological defenses and mean urinary 17-OHCS excretion rates: A predictive study of parents of fatally ill children. Psychosomatic Medicine, 26, 576.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 1994 Springer Science+Business Media New York
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Lester, N., Nebel, L.E., Baum, A. (1994). Psychophysiological and Behavioral Measurement of Stress. In: Avison, W.R., Gotlib, I.H. (eds) Stress and Mental Health. The Springer Series on Stress and Coping. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-1106-3_11
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-1106-3_11
Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA
Print ISBN: 978-1-4899-1108-7
Online ISBN: 978-1-4899-1106-3
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive