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Psychophysiological and Behavioral Measurement of Stress

Applications to Mental Health

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Stress and Mental Health

Part of the book series: The Springer Series on Stress and Coping ((SSSO))

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.

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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

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