Real-life Stressful Situation Research Articles

Human Stress Detection: Cortisol Levels in Stressed Speakers Predict Voice-Based Judgments of Stress.

Despite recent evidence of a positive relationship between cortisol levels and voice pitch in stressed speakers, the extent to which human listeners can reliably judge stress from the voice remains unknown. Here, we tested whether voice-based judgments of stress co-vary with the free cortisol levels and vocal parameters of speakers recorded in a real-life stressful situation (oral examination) and baseline (2 weeks prior). Hormone and acoustic analyses indicated elevated salivary cortisol levels and corresponding changes in voice pitch, vocal tract resonances (formants), and speed of speech during stress. In turn, listeners' stress ratings correlated significantly with speakers' cortisol levels. Higher pitched voices were consistently perceived as more stressed; however, the influence of formant frequencies, vocal perturbation and noise parameters on stress ratings varied across contexts, suggesting that listeners utilize different strategies when assessing calm versus stressed speech. These results indicate that nonverbal vocal cues can convey honest information about a speaker's underlying physiological level of stress that listeners can, to some extent, detect and utilize, while underscoring the necessity to control for individual differences in the biological stress response.

Does Cardiorespiratory Fitness Buffer Stress Reactivity and Stress Recovery in Police Officers? A Real-Life Study.

High levels of cardiorespiratory fitness have the potential to buffer against physical and mental health impairments, which can result from exposure to occupational stress. Police officers are especially at risk of high psychosocial stress; therefore, effective intervention strategies are warranted. Given this background, the purpose of the present study was to examine whether police officers with different levels of cardiorespiratory fitness differ with regard to their (a) physiological stress reactivity during acute real-life stress situations, and (b) physiological recovery related to acute and chronic work stress. In total, 201 police officers took part in this study (M = 38.6 years, SD = 10.1, 35.8% females). Officers were contacted eight times on a smartphone during their workday, and asked to report their current level of positive and negative affect, as well as feelings of stress and anger. Physiological stress responses and recovery (heart rate variability) were assessed using Movisens EcgMove3 devices. The Åstrand bicycle ergometer test was used to assess participants' cardiorespiratory fitness. Chronic work stress was assessed using the effort-reward imbalance model and the job strain model. Multilevel modeling was used to test buffering effects of cardiorespiratory fitness on physiological stress reactivity. Linear regression was applied to test stress-buffering effects of cardiorespiratory fitness on physiological recovery. Results showed lowered physiological stress reactivity to acute work stress in officers with higher levels of cardiorespiratory fitness. However, these results were not consistent, with no effects occurring for feelings of anger, positive affect, and negative affect. Chronic work stress (effort-reward imbalance) was related to lower physiological recovery. Cardiorespiratory fitness was positively related to physiological recovery. Data did not support interactions between work stress and cardiorespiratory fitness on physiological recovery. To some extent, cardiorespiratory fitness seems to have the potential to buffer stress reactivity in police officers in acute stress situations. Therefore, we encourage promoting fitness programs which aim to enhance cardiorespiratory fitness in stressful occupations such as law enforcement. Improvements in cardiorespiratory fitness might further enhance physiological recovery from chronic work stress, which is thought to improve cardiovascular health.

Disaggregating Within- and Between-Person Effects of Social Identification on Subjective and Endocrinological Stress Reactions in a Real-Life Stress Situation.

Several experimental and cross-sectional studies have established the stress-buffering effect of social identification, yet few longitudinal studies have been conducted within this area of research. This study is the first to make use of a multilevel approach to disaggregate between- and within-person effects of social identification on subjective and endocrinological stress reactions. Specifically, we conducted a study with 85 prospective students during their 1-day aptitude test for a university sports program. Ad hoc groups were formed, in which students completed several tests in various disciplines together. At four points in time, salivary cortisol, subjective strain, and identification with their group were measured. Results of multilevel analyses show a significant within-person effect of social identification: The more students identified with their group, the less stress they experienced and the lower their cortisol response was. Between-person effects were not significant. Advantages of using multilevel approaches within this field of research are discussed.

Exploring the underpinnings of impaired strategic decision-making under stress

The present study sought to examine the underpinnings of impaired strategic decision-making under stress. In contrast to previous laboratory-based research, we conducted a quasi-experiment in a real life stress situation. Specifically, we used the beauty contest game and compared the performance of a group of participants who were exposed to a real-life stressor (waiting to attend an exam at a university class) with a control group of participants who were not exposed to stress (waiting to attend a regular lecture at a university class). Furthermore, about half of the participants were instructed to write down what they believed another participant had assumed the average number in the beauty contest game to be and which target number she (or he) had chosen accordingly. The results showed that stress impaired strategic reasoning in the beauty contest game. Importantly, even when only including participants who understood the rules of the game in the analyses, stress still increased the numbers chosen in the beauty contest. Furthermore, we found that participants in the stress condition were significantly less likely to base their chosen number on their belief about other players’ choices. Hence, stress not only impairs understanding of the math behind the beauty contest game but also the degree of strategizing per se.

The Importance of Predictive Human Competence in the Stress Resistance

The conceptualization of predictive human potential as a constructive anticipatory coping in the life stressful situation is offered. The objective of this study was to examine the role of predictive human potential as the ability of personality to cope with difficult life situations (or to resist stress) and as a vital component of establishing psychological well-being. Predictive potential allows a person to foresee possible upsetting or sorrowful events and be ready to face them increasing stress resistance and leading to decrease of psychological traumas. Predictive human competence as a diverse psychological phenomenon realized in anticipatory coping with a real-life stressful situation should be analyzed via the level of development of personality characteristics (ambiguity tolerance, hardiness and risk propensity) that form their individual predictive potential. The research results suggest that predictive competence is fundamental in understanding coping ability and make a contribution to the body of research on the relationship between personality and uncertainty.

Development and validation of an attributional style questionnaire for adolescents.

We describe the development and psychometric characteristics of a new version of the Attributional Style Questionnaire (ASQ; Seligman, Abramson, Semmell, & Von Baeyer, 1979)--a version called the Attributional Style Questionnaire for Adolescents (ASQ-A)--using 3 samples (Ns = 547, 438, and 240) of Spanish secondary school students. In Study 1, the initial pool of 87 items was reduced to 54. Study 2 further analyzed the 54 scale items and revealed that the Internality, Stability, and Globality subscale scores had good reliability, good factorial construct validity, and satisfactory associations with maladaptive mood ratings. In Study 3, the regression analyses showed good and specific predictive validities of ASQ-A subscales for the attributions that the adolescents made about a particular real-life stressful situation. Study 4 showed that over an 8-month period the changes in the Stability and Globality subscales depended on the intensity of stressful life events experienced in this period. Overall, the studies revealed that the new ASQ-A served as an appropriate instrument to assess attributional style in adolescents.

Comparing real-life and laboratory-induced stress reactivity on cardio-respiratory parameters: Differentiation of a tonic and a phasic component

To recreate stress in laboratory conditions, the nature of the elicited physiological reactions to the presentation of mental tasks has been extensively studied. However, whether this experimental response is equivalent to real-life stress reactivity is still under debate. We investigated cardio-respiratory reactivity to a sequential protocol of different mental tasks of varying difficulties, some of them involving emotional material, and repeated the measures in a baseline and in a real-life stress situation. R-R interval (RRI), breathing frequency and volumes, and respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) were computed. Baseline results showed a superior sensitivity of respiratory parameters to mental task load over RRI and RSA, no effect of task difficulty or emotional material, and a habituation response of all parameters along the protocol. Stress results showed a dual effect: first, a decreased RRI and RSA in rest values, and second, a decreased reactivity in RRI in response to mental tasks. These findings are discussed through the interaction of activation, considered to be a tonic variable, and arousal, as a phasic response.

Appraisal predicts hemodynamic reactivity in a naturalistic stressor

Prior research has shown that appraisals are predictive of hemodynamic reaction patterns. The current study examined the relationship between appraisal and hemodynamic responding in a real-life stressful situation. Twenty-four men aged 19–28 wore a blood pressure monitor while presenting a paper in a class. Participant's appraisal self-reports were obtained prior to the stressor. Multilevel regression models were used to analyze the relationships between appraisal and myocardial responding (as measured by cardiac output) and vascular resistance (as measured by TPR). Pre-stressor appraisals were significantly associated with CO, both during the stressor ( Z = 2.03 p < .05) as well as during the 30-minute anticipation period preceding the stressor ( Z = 2.43 p < .01). In line with the predictions, relatively challenged participants showed higher CO. Pre-stressor appraisals significantly predicted TPR during anticipation ( Z = 2.70 p < .01) but these associations failed to reach significance during the stressor ( Z = 1.82, n.s.). As was predicted, during anticipation, increased threat was associated with increased TPR. Thus, during the anticipation period prior to the stressor, increased challenge was associated with decreased vascular resistance and increased myocardial reactivity. Further, increased threat was associated with increased vascular resistance and decreased myocardial reactivity. During the stressor increases in challenge were associated with further increases in myocardial responding but relationships between appraisal and vascular resistance were not significant. The current study shows that the relationship between appraisal and hemodynamic reactivity seen in laboratory studies are also present during naturally occurring stress. Our findings suggest that threat appraisals to naturalistic stressors contribute to an, arguably unhealthy, vascular reaction pattern.

Endocrine Factors in Stress and Psychiatric Disorders

Glucocorticoids and other steroids produced in the adrenal cortex are altered in chronic stress situations associated with enhanced anxiety. A useful tool to evaluate changes in adrenal steroids during stress and anxiety under both laboratory and real-life stress situations is determination of steroids in saliva. The main advantages of this technique are its noninvasiveness and its measurement of biologically active free hormone levels. Salivary cortisol is a valuable indicator of the activity of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical axis, which is known to be altered in psychiatric disorders. Measurements of salivary cortisol helped to reveal changes that would otherwise remained undetected, such as increase in cortisol release in spontaneously occurring panic attacks. By selecting only the subjects with high and low trait anxiety, we have brought evidence confirmed by others that high trait anxiety may be associated with an inability to respond with adequate cortisol release during stress. Papers on the relationship between salivary dehydroepiandrosterone and trait anxiety or anxiety disorders are rare, and this stress hormone deserves more attention. Almost nothing is known on aldosterone and anxiety. We have modified the methodology of aldosterone radioimmunoassay by concentrating the saliva and validated it biologically by demonstrating daily variation and gender differences. We have provided the first data on the relationship between aldosterone and trait anxiety. Obtained results show a significant negative correlation between morning salivary aldosterone concentrations and trait anxiety scores in women (luteal phase), but not in men. A more proper elucidation of the association between aldosterone and anxiety seems to be an important target of further research.

An experimental test of a core REBT hypothesis: evidence that irrational beliefs lead to physiological as well as psychological arousal

While numerous studies support Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy and Theory (REBT), they tend to be limited by their use of correlational designs, simulated scenarios and self-report measures. This study tested a core REBT hypothesis in an experimental design using multiple physiological as well as psychological measures. Ninety patients from a medical practice were placed in a real-life stressful situation while holding either a rational, an irrational, or an indifference belief. Those holding a rational belief reported the greatest increase in concern whereas those holding an irrational belief reported the greatest increase in anxiety. Of particular significance, those holding a rational belief showed a decrease in systolic blood pressure whereas those holding an irrational belief showed an increase (diastolic blood pressure increased in both conditions). These results not only support the core REBT hypothesis, but also suggest a way to differentiate between beliefs and emotions by measuring physiological as well as psychological changes.

Self-serving appraisal as a cognitive coping strategy to deal with age-related limitations: An empirical study with elderly adults in a real-life stressful situation

Elderly people are often confronted with stressful events that threaten psychological homeostasis. Nevertheless, the lack of a general age-related drop in life satisfaction remains intriguing. The objective of this study was to analyze the basic mechanisms of perceived control and self-protective processes. Eighty-four elderly adults who underwent a fitness-to-drive evaluation were asked how they appraised their performance in a driving simulation task and were classified as over-estimators versus people who estimated their performance correctly and people who didn’t overestimate their performance. Decreased physical resources were related to self-serving appraisal and less depressive feelings. The results are in line with theories on self-immunizing processes and provide support for the use of cognitive therapies in dealing with age-related limitations.

Recent cannabis abuse decreased stress-induced BOLD signals in the frontal and cingulate cortices of cocaine dependent individuals

Previous neuroimaging studies showed that use of marijuana can alter patterns of cortical activation during rest or a task challenge. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging to examine whether recent cannabis abuse contributed to stress-induced blood-oxygen-level-dependent (BOLD) contrast in a group of cocaine-dependent individuals. Emotional stress was induced using the script-guided imagery paradigm, in which subjects imagined being in a real-life stressful situation and, as a control, in a neutral situation, while BOLD signals of their brain were acquired with a 1.5 T scanner. Abstinent cocaine-dependent subjects with recent marijuana abuse ( n = 8) were compared with abstinent cocaine-dependent subjects who had not abused marijuana recently ( n = 18). The two groups were otherwise matched in their demographic characteristics and drug use history. All subjects were abstinent for at least 15 days and drug free as confirmed by urine drug screening before the imaging session. Recent cannabis abusers demonstrated hypo-activation in frontal cortical areas including the perigenual anterior cingulate during increased emotional stress. In contrast, at the same statistical threshold, no brain regions showed increased activation in recent cannabis abusers compared with non-abusers. The group difference in the perigenual anterior cingulate remained even when lifetime cocaine and alcohol consumption was accounted for in covariance analysis. These results provide evidence that recent cannabis abuse is associated with decreased activation in the frontal cortex during an emotional stress task. The results suggest an abnormal cognitive control mechanism during affective processing in association with heavy cannabis use.

Effects of Life-Event Stress and Hardiness on Peripheral Vision in a Real-Life Stress Situation

Previous research has only examined perceptual deficits that are hypothesized in a model of stress and injury under laboratory-induced stress conditions. The generalizability of findings from such induced-stress conditions is limited beyond the laboratory. The current research examined the influence of life-event stress and hardiness on peripheral narrowing in a real-life stress situation. Athletes completed life-stress and hardiness questionnaires, along with measures of state anxiety and peripheral vision. The stress condition was obtained by assessing the athletes within 2 hours of a competition. The real-life stress condition had a larger effect on state anxiety and peripheral narrowing than the laboratory-induced situations used in previous research, with effect sizes twice and three times as large as those reported in the literature. All athletes experienced significant reductions in peripheral vision prior to competition, regardless of life-event stress or hardiness levels.

Prolactin, psychological stress and environment in humans: adaptation and maladaptation.

Non-puerperal lactation and/or hyperprolactinemia in humans have been related to psychological variables in a variety of ways: (1) Non-puerperal nursing; (2) Pseudopregnancy; (3) Rapid weight gain; (4) Psychogenic galactorrhea; (5) Acute prolactin responses to psychological stress; (6) High prolactin levels in persons who cope passively in real life stress situations; (7) Paternal deprivation in women with pathological hyperprolactinemia; (8) Clinical onset of prolactinomas following life-events. Publications on the above subjects are scattered in the literature as curiosities, anecdotal case-reports or unexplained associations, as there is no theoretical frame of reference to accommodate them. We propose that prolactin is a component of a biological, "maternal", subroutine, adaptive to the care of the young, which promotes accumulation of fat for the extraordinary expenses of pregnancy and lactation, the production of milk and maternal behavior. In an attempt to characterize the stimuli responsible for the activation of the maternal subroutine in the absence of pregnancy we studied the hormonal profiles of female volunteers during three types of sessions under hypnosis: (1) Relaxation-only, control sessions; (2) Sessions in which a fantasy of "nursing" was induced; (3) Sessions of evocations of memories. Prolactin surges were related to the evocation, with rage, of humiliating experiences, but not with the fantasy of nursing. Cortisol surges were related to surprise and shock and were negatively associated with prolactin. In conclusion--Prolactin and cortisol are measurable markers of two different, and alternative, coping strategies to "psychological stress".

Cognitive Processing Bias of Children in a Real Life Stress Situation and a Neutral Situation

The aim of this study was to investigate whether nonclinically anxious children, like anxious adults, favor the processing of threatening or concern-related information. Two experiments, using an emotional Stroop task, were carried out in high anxious and low anxious children aged 8 to 9 to examine whether a medical stressor elicited a processing bias. Results indicated that, independently of the presence of the medical stressor, all children give high priority to the processing of information related to physical harm. Moreover, like anxious adults in other studies, high anxious children showed a processing bias for generally threatening information. This bias was absent in the vicinity of an acute stressor and it was only significant in girls. However, unlike low anxious adults, low anxious girls also showed this processing bias. These results are interpreted in terms of cognitive developmental differences in the ability to inhibit the processing of meaningful information.

Appraisal of and Coping with a Real-Life Stressful Situation: The Contribution of Attachment Styles

The current study assesses the impact of attachment style on the ways young adults react to the stress of 4-month combat training. Ninety-two Israeli recruits completed an attachment scale at the beginning of the training. Their appraisal of the training their ways of coping with it, and peer evaluations of their leadership ability were assessed 4 months later. Compared with secure persons, ambivalent persons reported more emotion-focused coping, appraised the training in more threatening terms, appraised themselves as less capable of coping with the training, and were evaluated by their peers as less fitting for military leadership. Avoidant persons reported more distancing coping and less support seeking and appraised the training in more threatening terms. They did not differ from secure persons in the appraisal of their ability to cope with the training or in the nominations they received for leadership positions. Results are discussed in the framework of attachment theory.

10 Acceptability of abortion methods

This chapter has reported the findings of acceptability of prostaglandin pessaries compared with vacuum aspiration as methods for inducing abortion in a very early stage of pregnancy. Acceptability has been defined by the WHO as the degree with which a treatment method has attributes that make it perceived by a user or potential user to be consonant with his or her own sense of well-being and therefore will be used or preferred. The acceptability of the medical and surgical procedures for inducing abortion was studied in Swedish abortion patients using a pre- and post-abortion design for obtaining observations. Methods used included interview schedules, questionnaires, rating scales and attitude measuring techniques. Patients consenting to take part in the acceptability study had agreed to be randomly assigned to prostaglandin treatment, given at the clinic or self-administered by the patient at home, or to vacuum aspiration. A high degree of acceptability for the prostaglandin treatment was obtained in this group of patients who had applied for an abortion very soon after one missed menstrual period. This was indicated from the finding that the very high preference for this procedure remained unchanged in the group randomly assigned to it. Other measures of attitudes to prostaglandin treatment also indicated the unchanged positive attitude. There was a significant change in the attitude to vacuum aspiration among those assigned to this treatment, indicating that post-abortion it was more acceptable to these patients. However, 30% of them would still prefer the prostaglandin treatment, especially self-administered, in the event of another abortion. There were consistent and significant relationships found between the degree of negative emotional arousal before and after abortion and preference for the medical or surgical procedure and also the amount of complaints after abortion. Those patients who pre-abortion had preferred the self-administered procedure were, regardless of which treatment they had been assigned to, those who were least emotionally upset both before and after the treatment and also complained the least. This chapter also reported on findings of how acceptable the medical and surgical procedures can be inferred to be from comparisons of preferences and attitude measures obtained from abortion patients before treatment and from women in the same age group (who would not exclude an abortion if pregnant) in samples from outside the clinical setting. In the non-patient groups about half the subjects would prefer the medical alternative.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

A systems approach to child abuse: Management and treatment issues

In the systems approach certain patterns of family interaction are seen as fitting with physical abuse to wards children in the family. If these interactions are blocked or changed using specific family therapy interventions, the risk of further abuse will be significantly reduced. Identifying typical patterns of interaction that fit with abuse is a useful first step in planning the management of physically abusing families. A full systemic formulation of the presenting problem will address numerous systems and sub-systems simultaneously, notably the family-professional system, the family within the extended family/friendship system, and the nuclear family. Interventions may have to be directed on a variety of these levels. The Marlborough Family Service has assessed and treated over 100 child-abusing families. A family day unit is used as the setting, and a multifamily group as the principle medium of treatment. Within the day unit real life stress situations are recreated around everyday issues, enabling families to find new and nonviolent solutions to the problems of daily life. In the cases seen, approximately one-third have resulted in a recommendation of permanent alternative family care for the children. In those families reunited, the re-injury rate has been found to be extremely low.

EMOTIONAL AROUSAL AND AFFILIATIVE BEHAVIOR

Many studies conducted in real-life stress situations are inconsistent with Schachter's affiliation theory derived from laboratory studies. This study aimed to clarify the issues by examining the effects of fear and embarrassment-inducing situations on affiliative choice behavior. Sixty male subjects were individually threatened with either the prospect of putting their finger into water, the prospect of electric shock, or the prospect of sucking on infantile oral objects. The affiliative choice behavior was measured by having the subjects go either to an empty room or to a room where another subject was ostensibly waiting. The major findings were as follows: (a) embarrassment manipulation was effective on self-ratings but not on affiliative choice behavior, (b) nonaffiliators (58%) scored higher on the Manifest Anxiety Scale, and showed shorter choice response latency than affiliators. The results suggest that Schachter's hypothesis is limited to cognitive aspects of affiliation and that the need for cognitive clarity may be an important factor in accounting for affiliative behavior. These results were discussed in relation to Rofe's utility affiliation theory.

Hemodynamic and Metabolic Responses to Upright Exercise in Patients with Congestive Heart Failure: Treatment with Nitroglycerin Ointment

Although a vasodilator drug might favorably alter hemodynamics in resting, supine patients with heart failure, it must be determined if the drug has any unfavorable as well as favorable effects under extremes of real life stress situations normally encountered by ambulatory patients, especially upright exercise. An adverse response might occur with the addition of pharmacologic vasodilation to the metabolic arteriolar dilation accompanying upright exercise. In order to evaluate these factors in a controlled environment, seven NYHA class 2-3 patients with congestive heart failure without angina pectoris or stenotic valvular lesions performed upright bicycle exercise preand postadministration of a maximally-tolerated dose of 2 percent nitroglycerin ointment, determined previously by titration. Nitroglycerin therapy resulted in slightly improved cardiac performance at two given submaximal workloads. Also noted was, at a higher workload, a decreased ratio of arteriovenous oxygen difference to cardiac index suggestive of increased circulatory reserve. Pulmonary capillary wedge pressure, total body oxygen consumption, plasma catecholamines, and blood lactates did not show a statistically significant change after use of nitroglycerin ointment, nor were symptoms of fatigue or dyspnea improved during exercise. It is concluded that nitroglycerin ointment does not remarkably improve hemodynamics or alter nutritional blood flow to exercising muscle at a submaximal upright workload. From our data and that of others, it is concluded that nitroglycerin ointment can be given safely to heart failure patients to improve resting supine hemodynamics without adversely affecting upright exercise performance or hemodynamics.