Stress from a psychiatric epidemiological perspective

Abstract

AbstractFrom voodoo deaths to life events, stress produces many psychophysiological responses. Social changes constitute an important stress factor and there is a correlation between stress scores and mental health risk. In personal studies, a three‐way relationship among life events, socioeconomic status and health impairment scores has been demonstrated. Furthermore, there was a reciprocal influence between life events and impairment scores that has previously been somewhat overlooked. Recently, an emphasis has developed on current stressors rather than on previous life events, such stressors being tied to social role. There are powerful associations between social stressors and psychiatric symptomatology. especially symptoms of anxiety and/or depression. The individual's responses to stress depend little on attitudes and values but almost entirely upon the individual's ‘definition of the situation’. Whether or not the character of life in western society is more stressful than in the past is debatable, and even the most fortunate of persons may live lives that have their full share of difficulty and private despair.