Stressors: Social

Introduction

Environmental social stressors include both personal and societal factors. To provide a basic grounding in this field, we begin with a brief overview of definitional issues and theoretical perspectives. Specific illustrative examples of environmental stressors are considered next, followed by an overview of several illustrative assessment techniques, including a summary of their strengths and weaknesses. Finally, we conclude with some thoughts about possible directions for future research.

Definitional and Theoretical Perspectives

‘Stress’ can be described variously but is most often defined as person-environment demands that tax or exceed the individuaL's ability to adapt. A ‘stressor’ is an environmental, social, or internal [Page 932]demand that requires readjustment and becomes a chronic stressor if present for an extended amount of time (Thoits, 1995). ‘Distress’ refers to a physical or psychological reaction, that may or may not be brought about by stress. Notable in all definitions of stress is that people respond differently to the same objective events. The nature, cause and effects of those differential reactions is the target of most empirical research on this topic. ‘Environmental social stressors’ include chronic and ongoing stressors (e.g. chronic strained social relations, chronic illness, and caregiving) which influence the health and well-being of the individuaL's current and evolving life course. Although the bulk of the literature on stress and coping has focused on life events, recent research suggests that chronic stressors may be more critical in terms of well-being. Thus, the focus of this entry is on chronic stressors.

To fully understand how an environmental social stressor can impact the individual, it is critical to place these experiences within a life span context. Individuals grow and develop over time and are influenced both positively and negatively by their experiences. These experiences often, but not always, have cumulative, both additive and multiplicative, effects on their health and well-being. When considering those factors that influence the occurrence and experience of stress it is critical to take into account those antecedent circumstances, history and life span events that have influenced the existing individual. These include gender, age, socio-economic status (SES), culture, race, ethnic, and religious background as well as historical period.

Thus, we know that children of the Great Depression as adults respond quite uniquely and negatively to stressful events such as job loss and job insecurity. Similarly, adults with a history of child or spousal abuse and other negative social relations may, as adults, react to stressful circumstances in a manner most familiar to them, i.e. by abusing others either socially, physically, or psychologically. But on the positive side, it is also the case that those with uniquely positive social interactions over the course of their life are most likely to engage in similarly positive exchanges as well as to expect support from others in times of stress. While recognizing the potential for life span consistency, one should also note that individuals can and do sometimes actively work to avoid consistency and stability in interactions and exchanges especially when past experience has been negative. Thus, the adult who experienced a childhood of poverty or racism might make especially certain that their own children are protected as much as possible from similar experiences.

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