The role of social support as a moderator of the acute stress response: In Situ versus empirically-derived associations

Abstract

This investigation was designed to (1) evaluate the role of social support during an acute naturalistic stressor i.e., emergency dental treatment, (2) assess whether an in situ and an empirical measure of support exhibited consistent relationships with anxiety and (3) examine the relationship between the in situ and empirical measures of support. All participants completed a measure of social support prior to treatment and an anxiety measure prior to and following treatment. The effect of support on pre-treatment anxiety, post-treatment anxiety and change in anxiety during the treatment process was assessed. According to the in situ support measure, individuals high in support were accompanied to the clinic, and individuals low in support were unaccompanied. According to the empirical support measure, individuals high in support had actual support scores above the sample median. Individuals low in support had actual support scores below the sample median. Individuals high in in situ support were found to have significantly higher levels of pre-treatment anxiety. No other effects of support were observed for either support measure. Furthermore, while there was some evidence that the in situ and empirical measures of support were associated with consistent outcomes, in the main, they exhibited independence.     

Stressors and Coping Strategies of State University Students in a Developing Country

The study examined stressors and coping strategies of 281 Social Sciences students at the Midlands State University in Zimbabwe (49% female, 51% male). A questionnaire was used to collect data. The results showed that the 7 most common stressors were: finance, reading resources, accommodation, food, transport, inadequate infrastructure and lecturer related problems. The students mentioned 34 coping strategies that were categorized and then analysed for effectiveness. The effects of sex, residence status and academic year differences were evaluated using Mann Whitney U test and Kruskal-Wallis rank order analysis of variance. There were no significant differences in coping strategies for stressors by demographic variables.     

基因治疗面临的挑战

基因治疗无疑将是２１世纪疾病治疗史上的重大突破。但由于目前一些基础性、关键性问题尚未解决,致使外源基因不能稳定地、持续地、高效地表达,限制了其在临床的应用,基因治疗正面临严峻的挑战。本文针对目前基因治疗过热现象,尤其是匆忙向临床过渡的现象,力图阐明基因治疗在基础领域的一些关键性、未解决的问题,呼吁人们重新回到基础研究,努力解决这些问题,从而使基因治疗真正走向临床。     

The impact of post-migration stressors on refugees’ emotional distress and health: A longitudinal analysis

Refugees often experience poor physical and mental health outcomes following resettlement. These outcomes have been linked to the conditions that are experienced by refugees in the post-migration context, but little is known about the mechanisms by which these conditions influence health. We therefore conducted secondary analyses of the Survey of New Refugees, a large longitudinal study commissioned by the UK Home Office with data collected at four time points spanning 21 months. Refugees’ experience of emotional distress such as feeling stressed, worried, and depressed fully mediated the relationship between post-migration stressors and longitudinal general health. There was no evidence that perceived social support influenced this relationship. These findings suggest that emotional distress contributes to poor health outcomes among refugees and thus that interventions might target emotional distress.     

Turning social identity threat into challenge: Status stability and cardiovascular reactivity during inter-group competition

The current research examined the occurrence of threat and challenge in low and high status groups resulting from the stability of inter-group status differences during an inter-group competition. It was hypothesized that members of low status groups are relatively threatened when status differences are stable, but that this threat turns into a challenge when status differences become unstable. By contrast, unstable status relations were predicted to lead to threat in members of high status groups. Participants (N = 40) were categorized in minimal groups. Inter-group status differences, and the stability of these differences, were manipulated by providing feedback on three group tasks. During these tasks cardiovascular threat and challenge responses were measured following the biopsychosocial model [BPS; Blascovich, J., & Tomaka, J. (1996). The biopsychosocial model of arousal regulation. In M. Zanna (Ed.), Advances in experimental social psychology (Vol. 28, pp. 1-51). New York: Academic Press]. Results were in line with expectations and are discussed in terms of the BPS model and social identity theory.     

上下级沟通对工作应激源-应激的调节作用研究

本研究旨在考察上下级沟通对工作应激源-心理及生理应激的调节作用。研究结果表明:上下级沟通的两个维度及时告知和指导、积极表达对应激源-应激有不稳定的、不强烈的调节作用,既表现为及时告知与指导对工作-家庭冲突与心理应激、对工作负荷-生理应激有缓冲作用(负向作用),也表现为积极表达对工作-家庭冲突-生理应激、及时告知和指导对攻击行为-心理应激有增强作用(正向作用)。     

压力源及其与睡眠质量的现象学关系研究述评

压力源是引起压力反应的刺激或变化, 压力作用是睡眠质量下降的重要原因之一。就睡眠质量的影响而言, 近年来的研究报告主要集中于家庭、学习、工作、社会文化和疾病等5大传统压力维度。这些压力源与睡眠质量之间存在着复杂的双向的直接或间接的交互作用关系, 并因作用时间、作用强度的不同而发生不同的变化, 还因中介调节因素的相互作用而体现出复杂的个体差异。     

高中生压力源和心理健康的研究

本研究对２９８６名上海高中生对压力感受进行了调查。因素分担 些压力可以归为六大类别：社会人际关系及性发展方面,学习和学业方面,与发母交往方面,未来前途方面,经济方面,以及健康方面。资料显示高中生最大的三种压力源多与学习或学业有关,而压力最小的三种压力源主要与性发展的和健康有关。