| Abstract: | The present study evaluated the psychophysiological impact of an environmental stressor—potential health threats to residents due to chronic exposure to toxic chemical contamination. Residents of a community exposed to this toxic contamination were compared with residents in a demographically matched community not exposed to such contamination. A battery of self-report. performance, and physiological measures were administered to residents in these two communities. Results demonstrated that residents of the contaminated community exhibited significantly more symptoms of stress (greater self-report indices, poorer task performance, and higher diastolic blood pressure levels) relative to residents in the comparison community. Such findings indicate that these exposure-community residents are being significantly impacted by this environmental stressor. |
