Psychological stress and stomach ulcer: In search of an hypothesis

Abstract

An evaluation of the effects of psychological stress on ulceration leads to the following conclusions: 1. (1) In the experimental literature, there is no convincing demonstration which indicates that psychological factors can induce ulcers. Rumenal ulcers that appeared in the early conflict experiments of Weisz and Sawrey were mainly expressions of the severe food deprivation used in these studies. Ulcers of the corpus, on the other hand, are most likely a result of the excessive and/or severe electric shock stimulation employed by recent investigators of fear or avoidance training. 2. (2) Fear does not induce nor promote ulcer formation. Common among the diverse psychological treatments which employed the pain of shock as the US is the emotion of fear (CR). Since these treatments failed to produce ulcers that can be attributed to psychological factors, fear does not appear to be ulcerogenic. 3. (3) An alternative to fear is the hypothesis that anger induces ulceration. Several human studies have indicated that the pathological changes associated with ulcer formation occur when anger or related emotional patterns (e.g., resentment and hostility) are provoked. 4. (4) Future progress in ulcer research requires changes in approach and objectives. Psychophysiological disease is the product of interacting environmental and genetic variables. This view should guide the investigation of stress and ulceration.