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Stress Vulnerability Models

Encyclopedia of Behavioral Medicine

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Synonyms

Stress diathesis models

Definition

Vulnerability models are used to identify factors that are causally related to symptom development. Stress vulnerability models describe the relation between stress and the development of (psycho)pathology. They propose an association between (1) latent endogenous vulnerability factors that interact with stress to increase the adverse impact of stressful conditions, (2) environmental factors that influence the onset and course of (psycho)pathology, and (3) protective factors that buffer against or mitigate the effects of stress on pathological responses.

Description

The prevalence of stress-related mental disorders encompassing mood and anxiety disorders in Europe is above 20%. This morbidity is associated with high health-care costs, disability, and potential mortality. It is widely acknowledged that there are individual differences in how stressful people judge a particular event to be as well as in their ability to cope with adverse...

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References and Further Reading

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, 6200, Maastricht, MD, The Netherlands

    Conny W. E. M. Quaedflieg & Tom Smeets

Authors
  1. Conny W. E. M. Quaedflieg
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  2. Tom Smeets
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Conny W. E. M. Quaedflieg .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

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

    Marc Gellman

  2. Campbell University School of Pharmacy, Buies Creek, North Carolina, USA

    J. Rick Turner

Section Editor information

  1. Department of Psychology, University of Marburg, Gutenbergstrasse 18, 35032, Marburg, Germany

    Urs M. Nater

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Quaedflieg, C.W.E.M., Smeets, T. (2017). Stress Vulnerability Models. In: Gellman, M., Turner, J. (eds) Encyclopedia of Behavioral Medicine. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6439-6_65-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6439-6_65-2

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  • 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

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Chapter history

  1. Latest

    Stress Vulnerability Models
    Published:
    21 November 2019

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6439-6_65-3

  2. Original

    Stress Vulnerability Models
    Published:
    08 March 2017

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6439-6_65-2

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