Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in
Book cover

Encyclopedia of Behavioral Medicine pp 1–2Cite as

Social Stress

  • Living reference work entry
  • First Online:

  • 69 Accesses

Synonyms

Interpersonal stress or conflict; Societal stress

Definition and Description

Social stress can be broadly defined as a perceived threat that is based on one’s relation to or association with another person or group of people. There is great variability in the types of social stress that one may experience. It can arise from interpersonal interactions, such as those with family members, friends, professional colleagues, and strangers; from evaluated performances, including giving a speech in front of an audience; from sharing an experience with someone, such as patients and caregivers dealing with a chronic illness; or from group, community, or societal dynamics, for instance, one’s socioeconomic or professional status within a community or society.

Different types of social stress can lead to a range of observable and measurable responses. For instance, socially evaluated performances may lead to negative emotions and self-conscious thoughts. Severe interpersonal social...

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

References and Further Reading

  • Dickerson, S. S., & Kemeny, M. E. (2004). Acute stressors and cortisol responses: A theoretical integration and synthesis of laboratory research. Psychological Bulletin, 130, 355–391.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Juth, V., Silver, R. C., & Sender, L. (2015a). The shared experience of adolescent and young adult cancer patients and their caregivers. Psycho-Oncology, 24, 1746–1753.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Juth, V., Smyth, J. M., Carey, M., & Lepore, S. (2015b). Social constraints are associated with negative psychological and physical adjustment in bereavement. Applied Psychology: Health and Well-Being, 7, 129–148.

    Google Scholar 

  • Miller, G., Chen, E., & Cole, S. W. (2009). Health psychology: Developing biologically plausible models linking the social world and physical health. Annual Review of Psychology, 60, 501–524.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Nursing Science, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA

    Vanessa Juth

  2. Pace University, New York, NY, USA

    Sally Dickerson

Authors
  1. Vanessa Juth
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Sally Dickerson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Vanessa Juth .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Miami School of Medicine, Miami, Florida, USA

    Marc Gellman

Section Editor information

  1. University of Minnesota Medical School, Duluth, MN, USA

    Mustafa al’Absi

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2018 Springer Science+Business Media LLC

About this entry

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this entry

Juth, V., Dickerson, S. (2018). Social Stress. In: Gellman, M. (eds) Encyclopedia of Behavioral Medicine. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6439-6_283-2

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6439-6_283-2

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4614-6439-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4614-6439-6

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference MedicineReference Module Medicine

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation