Stress

A Brief History of Stress

To have a sound understanding of multicultural stress, the concept of stress from its beginnings to its current complex and multifaceted meanings must be examined. The application of stress to multicultural psychology moves the well-known concept of stress beyond its past and current meanings. Here, the intent is to present a Western positivistic view of stress and compare it with a multicultural view of stress. There are important and significant differences in conceptions of stress, such as the importance given to the individual versus the group; the importance of a person's cultural identity and self-concept; and the availability of resources for coping with stress. With regard to resources, it is necessary to consider the perspective of those who have and those who have not. This perspective considers a world of privilege and power, [Page 446]of subordination and domination, of powerlessness and disenfranchisement. Thus, from a multicultural perspective, stress cannot be viewed through current models and theories.

Walter Cannon was a pioneer in the study of stress whose research led to the development of the theory of homeostasis. Hans Selye described a stressor as a noxious agent and stress as a nonspecific reaction to a stressor. He first proposed the notion that stress exposure has a damaging effect on physical health. Selye's conception of general adaptation syndrome—a general, nonspecific physiological response to a stressor— provided an impetus for further research on stress. Other models of stress take into account concepts such as allostasis, the idea that maintaining homeostasis results in wear and tear on the bodily system, and allostatic load, the costs of the continued demands of maintaining homeostasis. Thomas Holmes and Richard Rahe introduced research that supported life changes as a source of stress. Later models specific to psychology and psychological stress incorporated appraisal and coping as part of the stress process.

Although there is a long tradition of separating the mind and the body—that is, the physical from the psychological—the division is not so clear. All physical stressors have a psychological component. Thus, much of the physical stress that individuals experience originates from psychological information and ideas. This needs to be kept in mind when we consider the topic of multicultural stress.

In psychology, cognition and emotions are considered essential parts of the stress process. At the psychological stress level, psychology focuses on individual persons and subgroups. It uses the concepts of stimulus—an event or stressor–stress appraisal that involves cognitively estimating the relative threat of stressors by weighing demands against available resources—and stress, a variable response or reaction that involves emotional, physiological, and behavioral coping responses to the appraised stressor.

Coping and appraisal are essential parts of the stress process. The selection of different types of coping mechanisms, such as emotion-focused, problem-focused, or avoidance coping, depends on the appraised nature of a situation and the likelihood of a solution. The coping response is situation specific: Coping that is effective in one situation may be counterproductive in another. For example, in preparing for a job interview, one can avoid the preparation and experience less stress, but this results in damaging consequences. Little can be done while waiting for the results of the interview, so doing nothing and distancing oneself can be effective.

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