Abstract
Cardiovascular disease is a global public health problem and leading cause of death. Stress is a modifiable cardiovascular disease risk factor. The objectives of this study were to examine whether stress was a predictor of resilience among rural younger women and to explore whether social support mediated the relationship between acute stress and resilience and between chronic stress and resilience. The study had a cross-sectional, descriptive design. A total of 354 women were randomly recruited in the rural, southeastern United States. Survey instruments were used to collect data about acute stress, chronic stress, social support, and resilience. A structural equation model was fit to test whether social support mediated the relationship between perceived stress and resilience and between chronic stress and resilience. Chronic stress predicted family and belongingness support and all the resilience subscales: adaptability, emotion regulation, optimism, self-efficacy, and social support. Acute stress predicted the self-efficacy subscale of resilience. Family support partially mediated the relationship between chronic stress and self-efficacy. Belongingness support partially mediated the relationships between chronic stress and the social support subscale of resilience.
Highlights
Cardiovascular disease is a global public health problem and leading cause of death throughout the world [1,2,3]
The current study examined the relationships among stress, social support, and resilience in rural women living in the southeastern United States
Because stress, resilience, and social support are aspects of the human experience regardless of geographic location, the findings of this study can be compared with the results of similar rural studies throughout the world. This is the first study to provide insights into the relationships among stress, social support, and resilience in younger rural women living in the southeastern United States
Summary
Cardiovascular disease is a global public health problem and leading cause of death throughout the world [1,2,3]. The major risk factors for cardiovascular disease are smoking, high plasma cholesterol levels, physical inactivity, obesity, and diabetes [2]. Stress is an established and underrecognized risk factor of cardiovascular disease [4,5,6]. People experiencing acute stress and those with chronic stress are more likely engage in health behaviors that increase their overall cardiovascular disease risk, including smoking, physical inactivity, and excessive alcohol intake [8]. Persistent, or chronic, stress increases the prevalence of coronary artery plaque as well as metabolic syndrome, which is a significant predictor and modifiable risk factor of coronary heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and CVD mortality [9,10,11,12]
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