Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Stress, coping and physical health

  • Chapter
Health Psychology

Abstract

Over the past two decades there has been an increasing belief that the experience of stress has undesirable consequences for health. It has become a common assumption, if not a ‘cultural truism’ (Leventhal and Tomarken, 1987), that it is associated with the impairment of health. Despite this, the evidence is otherwise: the experience of stress per se does not necessarily have pathological sequelae. Many of a person’s responses both psychological and physiological, to such an experience, are comfortably within the body’s normal homoeostatic limits and, although taxing the psychophysiological mechanisms involved, need not cause any lasting disturbance or damage. However, it is also obvious that the negative emotional experiences which are associated with the experience of stress detract both from the general quality of life and form the person’s sense of wellbeing.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 39.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References

  • Ader, R.A. (1981) Psychoneuroimmunology, Academic Press, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ahlbom, A., Karasek, R.A. and Theorell, T. (1977) Psychosocial occupational demands and risk for cardio-vascular death. Lakartidningen, 77, 4243–5.

    Google Scholar 

  • Appley, M.H. and Trumbull, R. (1967) Psychological Stress, Appleton-Century-Crofts, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Arnestad, M. and Aanestad, B. (1985) Work environment at a psychiatric ward: stress, health and immunoglobulin levels. Unpublished PhD thesis, University of Bergen, Bergen.

    Google Scholar 

  • Baker, D.B. (1985) The study of stress at work. Annual Review of Public Health, 6, 367–81.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bergan, T., Vaernes, R.J., Ingebrigsten, P. et al, (1987) Relationships between work environmental problems and health among Norwegian divers in the North Sea, in Diving and Hyperbaric Medicine, (eds. A. Marroni and G. Oriani), Academic Press, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bowers, K.S. (1973) Situationalism in psychology: an analysis and critique. Psychological Review, 80, 307–35.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cannon, W.B. (1929) Bodily Changes in Pain, Hunger, Fear and Rage: An Account of Recent Researches in the Function of Emotional Excitement, Appleton, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cincirpini, P.M., Hook, J.D., Mendes de Leon, C.F. and Pritchard, W.S. (1984) A Review of Cardiovascular, Electromyographic, Electrodermal and Respiratory Measures of Psychological Stress, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, contract no: 84–257, Cincinnati, Ohio.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cooper, C.L. and Marshall, J. (1978) Occupational sources of stress: a review of the literature relating to coronary heart disease and mental ill health. Journal of Occupational Psychology, 49, 11–28.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cox, S., Cox, T., Thirlaway, M. and Mackay, C.J. (1982) Effects of simulated repetitive work on urinary catecholamine excretion. Ergonomics, 25, 1129–41.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cox, T. (1978) Stress, Macmillan, London.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cox, T. (1984) Stress: a psychophysiological approach to cancer, in Psychosocial Stress and Cancer, (ed. C.L. Cooper), Wiley, Chichester.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cox, T. (1985) The nature and measurement of stress. Ergonomics, 28, 1155–63.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cox, T. (1987) Stress, coping and problem solving. Work and Stress, 1, 5–14.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cox, T. (1988) AIDS and stress. Work and Stress, 2, 109–12.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cox, T. (1990) The recognition and measurement of stress: conceptual and methodological issues in Methods in Ergonomics, (eds J. Wilson and N. Corlett), Taylor & Francis, London.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cox, T. and Cox, S. (1985) The role of the adrenals in the psychophysiology of stress, in Current Issues in Clinical Psychology, vol. 2, (ed. E. Karas), Plenum, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cox, T. and Ferguson, E. (1991) Individual differences, stress and coping, in Personality and Stress: Individual Differences in the Stress Process, (eds C.L. Cooper and R. Payne), Wiley, Chichester.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cox T. and Mackay, C.J. (1981) A transactional approach to occupational stress, in Stress, Work Design and Productivity, (eds N. Corlett and P. Richardson), Wiley, Chichester.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cox, T. and Mackay, C.J. (1982) Psychosocial factors and psychophysiological mechanisms in the aetiology and development of cancers. Social Science and Medicine, 16, 381–96.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cox, T. and Mackay, C.J. (1985) The measurement of self reported stress and arousal. British Journal of Psychology, 76, 183–6.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cox, T., Cox, S and Thirlaway, M. (1983) The psychological and physiological response to stress, in Physiological Correlates of Human Behaviour, (eds A. Gale and J.A. Edwards), Academic Press, London.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dewe, P. (1987) New Zealand ministers of religion: identifying sources of stress and coping strategies. Work and Stress, 1, 351–63.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dewe, P. (1991) Measuring work stressors: the role of frequency, duration and demand. Work and Stress, 5, 77–91.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Diament, J. and Byers, S.O. (1975) A precise catecholamine assay for small samples. Journal of Laboratory and Clinical Medicine, 85, 679–93.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dimsdale, J.E. and Moss, J. (1980a) Plasma catecholamines in stress and exercise. Journal of the American Medical Association, 243, 340–2.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dimsdale, J.E. and Moss, J. (1980b) Short term catecholamine response to psychological stress. Psychosomatic Medicine, 42, 493–7.

    Google Scholar 

  • Einhorn, HJ. and Hogarth, R.M. (1981) Behavioural decision theory: processes of judgement and choice. Annual Review of Psychology, 32, 53–88.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ekehammer, B. (1974) Interactionism in personality from a historical perspective. Psychological Bulletin, 81, 1026.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Endresen, I.M., Ellertsen, B., Endresen, C. et al., (1991) Stress at work and psychological and immunological parameters in a group of Norwegian female bank employees. Work and Stress, 5, 217–27.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Endresen, I.M, Vaernes, R.J., Ursin, H. and Tonder, O. (1987) Psychological stress factors and concentration of immunoglobulins and complement components in Norwegian nurses. Work and Stress, 1, 365–75.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fisher, S. (1986). Stress and Strategy, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, London.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fletcher, B.C. (1988) The epidemiology of occupational stress, in Causes, Coping and Consequences of Stress at Work, (eds C.L. Cooper and R. Payne), Wiley, Chichester.

    Google Scholar 

  • Folkman, S. (1984) Personal control and stress and coping processes: a theoretical analysis. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 46, 839–52.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Folkman, S. and Lazarus, R. (1986) Stress process and depressive symptomatology. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 95, 107–13.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Folkman, S., Lazarus, R.S., Dunkel-Schetter, C. et al. (1986). Dynamics of a stressful encounter: cognitive appraisal, coping, and encounter outcomes. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 50, 992–1003.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fox, B.H. (1981) Psychosocial factors and the immune system in human cancer, in Psychoneuro-immunology, (ed R. Ader), Academic Press, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • French, J.R.P., Caplan, R.D. and van Harrison, R. (1982) The Mechanisms of Job Stress and Strain, Wiley, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • French, J.R.P., Rogers, W. and Cobb, S. (1974) A model of person-environment fit, in Coping and Adaptation, (eds Coehlo, G.W., Hamburg, D.A. and Adams, J.E.), Basic Books, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Holroyd, K.A., and Lazarus R.S. (1982) Stress, coping and somatic adaptation, in Handbook of Stress, (eds L. Goldberger and S. Breznitz), Free Press, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Holt, R.R. (1982) Occupational stress, in Handbook of Stress: Theoretical and Clinical Aspects, (eds L. Goldberger and S. Bremtz), Free Press, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Irwin, J. and Anisman, H. (1984) Stress and pathology: immunological and central nervous system interactions, in Psychosocial Stress and Cancer, (ed C.L. Cooper) Wiley, Chichester.

    Google Scholar 

  • Karasek, R. A. (1979) Job demands, job decision latitude and mental strain; implications for job redesign. Administrative Science Quarterly, 24, 285–308.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Karasek, R.A. (1981) Job socialisation and job strain: the implications of two psychosocial mechanisms for job design, in Working Life: A Social Science Contribution to Work Reform, (eds B. Gardell and G. Johansson), Wiley, Chichester.

    Google Scholar 

  • Karasek, R. and Theorell, T(1990) Healthy Work: Stress, Productivity and the Reconstruction of Working Life, Basic Books, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kasl, S.V. (1980) Epidemiological contributions to the study of work stress, in Stress at Work, (eds C.L. Cooper and R. Payne), Wiley, Chichester.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kasl, S.V. (1984) Stress and health. Annual Review of Public Health, 5, 319–41.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kroes, W. H. (1976) Society’s Victim — The Policeman, C.C. Thomas, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lacey, J.I. (1967) Somatic response patterning and stress: some revisions of activation theory, in Psychological Stress, (eds M.H. Appley and R. Trumbull), Appleton-Century-Crofts, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lazarus, R.S. (1966) Psychological Stress and the Coping Process, McGraw-Hill, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lazarus R S, (1976) Patterns of Adjustment, McGraw-Hill, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lazarus, R.S. and Folkman, S. (1984). Stress, Appraisal and Coping, Springer Publications, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Leventhal, H. and Tomarken, A. (1987) Stress and illness: perspectives from health psychology, in Stress and Health: Issues in Research Methodology, (eds S. Kasl and C. Cooper). Wiley, Chichester.

    Google Scholar 

  • Levi, L. (1972) Stress and distress in response to psychosocial stimuli. Acta Medica Scandinavica, 191, Supplement: 528.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mackay, C.J., Cox, T., Burrows, G.C. and Lazzerini, A.J. (1978) An inventory for the measurement of self reported stress and arousal. British Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 17, 283–4.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mandler, G. (1982) Stress and thought processes, in Handbook of Stress, (eds L. Goldberg and S. Breznitz), Free Press, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mason, J.W. (1968) A review of psychoendocrine research on the pituitary-adrenal cortical system. Psychosomatic Medicine, 30, 576–607.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mason, J.W. (1971) A re-evaluation of the concept of non-specificity in stress theory. Journal of Psychiatric Research, 8, 323–42.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Meichenbaum, D. (1983) Coping with Stress, Century Publishing, London.

    Google Scholar 

  • Miller, S. (1979) Controllability and human stress: method, evidence and theory. Behavioural Research and Therapy, 17, 287–304.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Miller, S., Brody, D. and Summerton, J. (1988). Styles of coping with threat: implications for health. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 54, 142–8.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nowack, K.M. (1991) Psychosocial predictors of health status. Work and Stress, 5, 117–31.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Payne, R. and Fletcher, B. (1983) Job demands, supports and constraints as predictors of psychological strain among school teachers. Journal of Vocational Behaviour, 22, 136–47.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pearlin, L. and Schooler, C. (1978). The structure of coping. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 19, 2–21.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pearlin, L., Menaghan, E., Lieberman, M. and Mullan, J. (1981). The stress process. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 22, 337–56.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Riley, V. (1979) Stress-cancer contradictions: a continuing puzzlement. Cancer Detection and Prevention, 2, 159–62.

    Google Scholar 

  • Riley, V. (1981) Psychoneuroendocrine influences on immunocompetence and neoplasia. Science, 212, 1100–9.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Riley, V. and Spackman, D. (1977) Cage crowding stress: absence of effect on melanoma within protective facilities. Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research, 18, 173.

    Google Scholar 

  • Riley, V., Fitzmaurice, M.A. and Spackman, D.H. (1981) Psychoneuroimmunologic factors in neoplasia: studies in animals, in Psychoneuroimmunology, (ed R. Ader), Academic Press, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Riley, V., Spackman, D., McClanahan, D. and Santisteban, G.A. (1979) The role of stress in malignancy. Cancer Detection and Prevention, 2, 235–55.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schonpflug, F. and Battmenn, A (1988) The costs and benefits of coping, in Handbook of Life Stress, Cognition and Health, (eds S. Fisher and J. Reason), Wiley, Chichester.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sells, S.B. (1970) On the nature of stress, in Social and Psychological Factors in Stress, (ed J. McGrath), Holt, Rinehart and Winston, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Selye, H. (1950) Stress, Acta Incorporated, Montreal.

    Google Scholar 

  • Selye, H. (1956) Stress of Life, McGraw-Hill, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sklar, L.S. and Anisman, H. (1981) Stress and cancer. Psychological Bulletin, 89, 369–406.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stainbrook, G.L. and Green, L.W. (1983) Role of psychosocial stress in cardiovascular disease. Houston Heart Bulletin, 3, 1–8.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sutherland, V.J. and Cooper, C.L. (1990) Understanding Stress: Psychological Perspective for Health Professionals. Psychology and Health 5. Chapman and Hall, London.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ursin, H., Mykletun, R., Tonder, O. et al. (1984) Psychological stress factors and concentrations of immunoglobulins and complement components in humans. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, 23, 193–9.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vaernes, R.J., Knardahl, S., Romsing, J. et al. (1988) Relationships between environmental problems, defense strategies and health among shiftworkers in the process industry. Work and Stress, 1, 7–15.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vaernes, R.J., Myhre, G., Aas, H. et al. (1991) Relationships between stress, psychological factors, health and immune levels among military aviators. Work and Stress, 5, 5–16.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vaernes, R.J., Warncke, M., Eidsvik, S. et al. (1987) Relationships between perceived health and psychological factors among submarine personnel: endocrine and immunological effects, in Diving and Hyperbaric Medicine, (eds A. Marroni and G. Oriani), Academic Press, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Warr, P.B. (1990) Decision latitude, job demands and employee wellbeing. Work and Stress, 4, 285–94.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wyler, A., Masuda, M. and Holmes, T. (1968) Seriousness of illness scale. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 11, 363–75.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wyler, A., Masuda, M. and Holmes, T. (1970) Seriousness of illness scale: reproducibility. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 14, 54–64.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Authors
  1. Tom Cox
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Annabel Broome Associates, Weymouth, UK

    Annabel Broome

  2. University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK

    Sue Llewelyn

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 1995 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Cox, T. (1995). Stress, coping and physical health. In: Broome, A., Llewelyn, S. (eds) Health Psychology. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-3226-6_2

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-3226-6_2

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-56593-226-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4899-3226-6

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation