压力应对的性别差异及相关的生物学机制

人类对压力的反应不管是在生理上还是在行为上均是以“争斗或逃避”为特征的。然而，男女在行为反应的方式上则有不同，成年女性对后代的关爱及哺育行为，可以保证自己和后代的安全，减少困扰；并在形成和维系社交网的过程中起着辅助作用。关爱与协助方式的内在生物行为学核心机制在于催产素、内啡呔及性激素的调节。这一机制能够解释早期未能解决的压力调节系统，并为以后的压力研究提供了广阔的前景。

Biobehavioral View on Female Response to Stress

Although fight-or-flight may characterize the primary physiological response to stress for both males and females,females’response are more marked by a pattern of “tend-and-befriend”. Behaviorally, tending involves nurturing activities designed to protect the self and offspring that promote safety and reduce distress, befriending may help to create and maintain social networks .The biobehaveoral mechanism of tend–and-befriend pattern is oxytocin, endogenous opioid mechanisms and estrogen. This previously unexplored stress regulatory sys tem has manifold implications for the study of stress.