What does not What does not destroy me,destroy me,

makes me makes me stronger.stronger.

Friedrich Nietzsche

Stress & CopingStress & CopingStress:

A disturbance in the homeostatic balance of a person’s life. It is induced by environmental demands that exceed the individual or system’s coping resources. Stress is taxing and has adverse cognitive, behavioral and physiological effects.

Early ResearchersEarly Researchers

Erich Lindemann (1944)• Coconut Grove fire 1942• Grief work• Stronger than before the trauma• Train others to help people deal with loss

Early Researchers (cont’d)Early Researchers (cont’d)

Hans Selye (1956)• Physiological response to stress• Overcrowding, every day hassles• Similar defense reactions

General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS)• Alarm• Resistance• Exhaustion

Early Researchers (cont’d)Early Researchers (cont’d)

Gerald Caplan (1961)• Dynamics of crisis theory• Similar responses to different stresses• Initial response leads to long-term adjustment• Either new strengths or new vulnerabilities• Crises entail both danger and possibility

Erik Erikson (1982)• Crises at different ages either lead to growth or problems in development

Schedule of Recent EventsSchedule of Recent Events

Holmes and Rahe (1967)

• List of major life events• Social Readjustment Rating Scale• Events most frequently preceding onset of illness• Assessment of previous year

SRE research links stress to:

• Heart problems• Cancer• Depression• Anxiety

• Isolation• Suicide• Paranoia• Aggression

Model of Psychosocial Model of Psychosocial StressStress

Psychosocial StressPsychosocial StressEvent Factors

• Number of events• Severity• Event valence• Control and predictability• Chronic vs. acute stress• Recency

Psychosocial StressPsychosocial StressIndividual Factors

• Individual characteristics• Coping styles• Personality• Person-environment fit

Psychosocial StressPsychosocial Stress

Environmental Factors• Families• Workplaces• Neighborhoods• Religious settings

Psychosocial StressPsychosocial StressSocial Support – are interpersonal connections that are perceived as helpful by the provider and/or the recipient.

Socially disconnected people are 5 times more likely to die from all causes.

Presence of others during a crisis increases the likelihood of a positive outcome; others cushion the impact of the stress.

Types of Support• Perceived and Enacted Support• Emotional support• Tangible support

InterventionsInterventions

Disaster Relief• Often prevents communities from mobilizing their own resources• Interferes with a sense of self-efficacy• Community members rise to the challenge and need that sense of control• Need may outlive the initial outpouring of support• Majority of disaster victims recover quickly

Interventions should help communities build their resources and capacities and become more competent following a disaster.

InterventionsInterventions

Mutual Help Groups• Voluntary, democratic• As many as 60% are professionally led • Greater reach than traditional therapy• No cost• Emotional expression, companionship• Problem solving • Often spiritual• Exchange of resources