Subjective Experience Of Stress Research Articles

‘The darkest times of my life’: Recollections of child abuse among forced migrants persecuted because of their sexual orientation and gender identity

Numerous studies demonstrate that lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) children and youth are likely to experience abuse by peers, parents, and other adults and that these experiences correlate with a host of mental health problems. However, there is little understanding of the experiences of LGBT children and youth living in countries where social and legal protections for sexual and gender minorities are limited or nonexistent. This qualitative study used thematic analysis to explore the child and adolescent abuse experiences and their impact on the pre-migration mental health of LGBT forced migrants. We analyzed 26 interviews with individuals who obtained refugee or asylee status in the United States or Canada on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. Participants originated from countries in Asia, Africa, the Caribbean, Eastern Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East. Analysis revealed the following themes: abuse by parents and caregivers, abuse by peers and school personnel, having nowhere to turn, and dealing with psychological distress. Findings indicate that participants experienced severe verbal, physical, and sexual abuse throughout childhood and adolescence and that this abuse occurred at home, in school, and in the community. Furthermore, there were no resources or sources of protection available to them. Participants linked their abuse to subjective experiences of depression, anxiety, and traumatic stress, as well as suicidal ideation and suicide attempts. We conclude with implications for refugee adjudication practices, mental health care, and international policy.

Relationship of Heart Rate Variability (HRV) Parameters Including pNNxx With the Subjective Experience of Stress, Depression, Well-Being, and Every-Day Trait Moods (TRIM-T): A Pilot Study

Heart rate variability (HRV) is an established indication of cardiovascular regulation and is often not only considered in relation to health, but also to subjective aspects of perceived affect. However, as the various HRV parameters are not identical but interrelated, they vary in regard to different aspects of every-day moods, stress, and depression. Therefore it is suggested that those HRV parameters would discriminate perceived affect. This study compares the relationship of HRV parameters to aspects of every-day affect. In 60 persons heart rate (HR) and HRV measures of time domain parameters (including pNNxx parameters), frequency domain parameters, and relative parameters (from twenty-four hour electrocardiography recordings) were investigated in relation to perceived stress (PSQ), anxiety (STAI-T), depression (BDI-II), general well-being (GWBS), and traits of every-day moods (TRIM-T). Results showed that HRV parameters were correlated to most subjective measures (PSQ, BDI-II, GWBS, and good mood and relaxation in TRIM-T). Low pNNxx parameters (pNN10 - pNN40) correlated negatively with stress and depression and positively with well-being, whereas high pNNxx parameters (pNN125 - pNN175), SDNN, ultralow frequency (ULF), and total power (TP) were in particular correlated to good mood. Furthermore, results showed that slow rhythms, in particular ULF, were correlated to positive affect (good mood, relaxation), but not to negative affect (stress, anxiety, depression). Correlations of cardiovascular activity with well-being are less pronounced, indicating that the construct of well being may be seen as a mixture of positive affect and low stress - and is in general less related to cardiovascular activity than stress and/or good mood. For relative HRV measures, in particular for log LF/HF (which is often interpreted as a measure of autonomic balance), no correlations with every-day affect were observed. Results further indicate that the time domain parameters of pNNxx (in particular pNN10 - pNN40 vs. pNN125 - pNN175) are differentially related to negative/positive affect, contrary to heart rate, and may therefore be considered as an objective indication of affect.

Psychotic reactivity to daily life stress and the dopamine system: a study combining experience sampling and [18F]fallypride positron emission tomography.

Stressful life events increase the risk for psychosis, and the subjective experience of stress related to daily life activities drives moment-to-moment variation in psychotic intensity. Positron emission tomography (PET) studies suggest that dopaminergic (DAergic) activity mediates the behavioral response to an experimental stressor. However, it is not known how alterations in this DAergic stress response relate to the subjective experience of stress in real life situations assessed in momentary assessment studies. This study combined [18F]fallypride PET with an Experience Sampling ambulatory assessment approach to examine the association between the prefrontal DAergic response to experimentally induced stress and real life psychotic reactivity to the subjective experience of stress in daily life. Healthy first-degree relatives of individuals with a psychotic disorder (N = 14) and healthy controls (N = 11) participated in (a) a psychosocial [18F]fallypride PET stress paradigm and (b) an experience sampling study, using a structured diary approach. Mixed multilevel random intercept models revealed that stress-induced [18F]fallypride displacement, indicative of DAergic activity, in ventromedial prefrontal cortex (VMPFC) was associated with psychotic reactivity to daily life stress in the entire sample. Lower levels of [18F]fallypride displacement to stress predicted increased psychotic reactivity to daily life stress. This study combined PET neuroimaging with real life behavioral assessments in the investigation of psychotic symptoms; we showed decreased [18F]fallypride displacement to stress in VMPFC to be associated with increased psychotic reactivity to daily life stress. The preliminary evidence in this study demonstrates that it is possible to acquire a grasp on how brain function is associated with contextualized experience, which has relevance for neuroimaging studies in general.

Middle School Transition Stress: Links with Academic Performance, Motivation, and School Experiences

The present study investigates links between early adolescents’ subjective experiences of stress associated with the middle school transition and their academic outcomes. Seventh and eighth grade students (N = 774) were surveyed about their experiences during their transition to middle school. Students answered questions about stress associated with the transition to middle school, the extent to which their friendships had changed over the course of the transition, and a variety of academic outcomes including academic performance, school bonding, and academic motivation. Results indicate that higher amounts of middle school transition stress predict lower grades, higher school anxiety, and lower school bonding. Moreover, transition stress predicted academic outcomes regardless of whether adolescents were in a stable friendship group across the transition to middle school. Results are discussed in light of implications for promoting positive social and academic development across the transition to middle school.

Has work replaced home as a haven? Re-examining Arlie Hochschild's Time Bind proposition with objective stress data

Using innovative data with objective and subjective measures of stress collected from 122 employed men and women, this paper tests the thesis of the Time Bind by asking whether people report lower stress levels at work than at home. The study finds consistent support for the Time Bind hypothesis when examining objective stress data: when participants were at work they had lower values of the stress hormone cortisol than when they were at home. Two variables moderated this association – income and children at home – such that the work as haven effect was stronger for those with lower incomes and no children living at home. Participants also, however, consistently reported higher subjective stress levels on work days than on non-work days, which is in direct contrast to the Time Bind hypothesis. Although our overall findings support Hochschild's hypothesis that stress levels are lower at work, it appears that combining work and home increases people's subjective experience of daily stress.

Mental stress experienced by first-year residents and expert surgeons with robotic and laparoscopic surgery interfaces

Prior research has indicated that novices experienced a beneficial stress profile in the robotic surgery (da Vinci) training environment when compared to the laparoscopic surgery training environment. The objective of this study was to assess whether this finding generalizes to expert surgeons. Towards that end, first-year residents' and attending surgeons' performances and subjective stress experiences were assessed in a surgical training task that was performed with the da Vinci and laparoscopic surgery interfaces. This study indicated that both groups exhibited superior performance and lower stress with the da Vinci surgical system than the laparoscopic system. The results provide further support for the sensitivity of the Dundee Stress State Questionnaire in identifying different stress responses experienced by trainees and experts in the minimally invasive surgery environment.

Effects of Psychosocial Stress on the Gene Expression of the Clock Genes <i>hPER</i>1 and <i>hPER</i>2 in Humans

The circadian clock is a self-sustained time-keeping system which controls behavioral, biochemical and physiological rhythmic processes. In mammals, the cogwheels of this clock are the so-called clock genes which control their own expression via several feedback loops. One of these genes is hPER1, a clock gene which disposes of a glucocorticoid-responsive element and might therefore be influenced by glucocorticoids. In humans, stress is associated with an increase in the glucocorticoid cortisol and is seen as a major factor in the etiology of numerous mental health problems. For this reason, our goal was to investigate the putative cortisol-mediated influence of acute and chronic psychosocial stress on the gene expression of hPER1 as well as hPER2, another related clock gene from the same family. We therefore applied laboratory psychosocial stress to thirty-one healthy men and measured cortisol as well as mRNA levels of hPER1 and hPER2. Our main findings suggest that acute psychosocial stress influences the expression of hPER1 and hPER2 dependent on the subjective experience of chronic stress. We therefore conclude that the reactivity to acute stress on the gene expression level of these two genes differs significantly between subjects with high chronic stress compared to subjects with low chronic stress.

Tracking social rhythms of the heart: from dataism to art

The authors conducted a curiosity-driven study to explore what a vast body of self-tracking data could reveal about the rhythms of everyday life. The authors instructed thirty-six research participants to engage in self-tracking for a week. They measured their physiological stress and recovery 24/7 for this period. In addition to that the participants recorded their subjective experiences of stress and recovery. Using different methods of analysis and interviews, the authors were able to form data sets demonstrating both individual behaviour and interpretations of the data and the collective rhythms of all the participants. Their analysis contrasted the aggregate-level 'big data' of all the participants and the personal-level 'small data'. People’s subjective evaluations of their stress and recovery systematically differed from the physiological measurements. The big data revealed behavioural patterns and causalities that were not recognized at the individual level. The small data, on the other hand, offered rich material for personal interpretations and reflections of the individuals' own lives. To communicate both levels of the data the science project resorted to artistic expressions.

Cortisol responses to social evaluation in 10- to 15-year-old boys and girls

This study investigated Cortisol responses and perceived stress of 10–15-year-olds to a computerized paradigm including elements of social evaluation, unpredictability, and uncontrollability. Both age and sex differences were examined. Participants were 52 children and adolescents (23 boys, mean age = 12.5 years). Over the course of an approximately 2-h testing session participants were exposed to a computerized testing paradigm, the social evaluative stress test (SEST), that lasted for 50 min and includes elements of social evaluation, unpredictability and uncontrollability. Seven saliva samples were obtained to measure cortisol concentrations before, during and after the SEST, to provide pre-stress values, cortisol reactivity to the stressor and recovery after stress. In addition, subjective emotional stress experiences were recorded. The results showed no effect of age on cortisol responses. Furthermore, although both sexes reported experiencing the paradigm as (equally) stressful, only boys reacted with significant cortisol increases (M = 163%). To our knowledge, this is the first computerized stressor that induces cortisol responses in 10- to 15-year-old boys. Whether the girls' perceived stress results in the activation of other biological systems, such as the sympathetic nervous system as well as in differential activation of brain regions, remains to be determined. Future studies investigating sex differences in stress reactivity during adolescence should include neuroimaging, as well as psychophysiological measures, to unveil some of the mechanisms behind the current findings.

Stress, psychische Erkrankungen und koronare Herzkrankheit

There are numerous associations between stress, mental disorders and coronary heart disease (CHD). Exposure to an acute stressor leads to activation of the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal and sympathoadrenal systems and chronic stressors are associated with sustained functional changes of these systems. Experiencing acute and chronic stress is paralleled by an increased incidence of mental disorders with the most consistent evidence on the triggering of major depressive episodes. Various mental disorders, including depression, anxiety and schizophrenia, are associated with an increased risk of CHD. Furthermore, acute and chronic stressors have been identified as risk factors or triggers of acute coronary syndromes. Thus therapeutic strategies aim at reducing subjective stress experience, therapy of mental disorders and treatment of cardiac risk factors known to be more prevalent in increased stress states and mental disorders.

Impact of breast cancer recurrence and cancer-specific stress on spouse health and immune function

Spouses of cancer patients are at-risk for poor psychological and physical health as they cope with the complex nature of the disease and fears of losing their partner. Moreover, spouses often serve as patients' primary informal caregivers, a group that evidences poor outcomes across a variety of domains. The present study examines the relative contributions of cancer recurrence - a cancer-specific stressful event - and the subjective experience of cancer-specific stress (IES) in a sample of male spouses of breast cancer survivors. We hypothesized that stress would contribute to poorer physical health and compromised immune function. Spouses (recurrence; n=16) of patients who were coping with their first recurrence were matched to spouses of patients with no evidence of disease (disease-free; n=16). Self-reported physical health (physical symptoms and fatigue) and immune function [T-cell blastogenic response to the mitogens Concanavalin A (ConA) and phytohemagglutanin (PHA) and T3 monoclonal antibody (T3 Mab)] were included as outcomes. Results indicated that patient recurrence status was not a significant unique predictor of physical health or immune function; rather, among all spouses, cancer-specific stress symptoms were associated with increased physical symptoms and altered T-cell blastogenesis. These data suggest that the health implications of caregiving for spouses of cancer survivors is more strongly linked to their subjective experience of cancer as stressful, rather than simply the patients' disease status.

The Ontogeny of Expression of Communicative Genes in Coyote–Beagle Hybrids

Although there are minimal genetic differences between the coyote (Canis latrans), the gray wolf (Canis lupus), and the domestic dog (Canis familiaris), these three species are extremely different in numerous aspects of their physiology, morphology, and behavior. In particular, the threat display of coyotes differs markedly from dogs and wolves. Coyotes display a wide open mouth gape-threat with attendant arched back defensive posture, and hiss vocalization. In our experience, this threat display is absent from the repertoire of the domestic dog and the gray wolf. We hypothesized that the foundation of these differences in species-typical threat displays is genetic. The threat displays of coyote-beagle crosses (F1's, F2's, F3's, F1F2's and beagle backcrosses), included the following phenotypes: that of each parental species, that of the domestic dog during pre-pubertal development switching spontaneously to the coyote gape-threat following sexual maturation; and a comparable phenotype requiring exposure to post-pubertal social stress-priming to bring the encoded genetic potential for the gape-threat to expression. The changeover from the dog snarl-threat to the coyote gape-threat was accompanied by a precipitous rise in endogenous cortisol levels over baseline. We hypothesized that where alternative genetic systems are physically available, their selective expression in development may depend on environmental events, such as social stress, to affect internal mechanisms that ultimately control the phenotype. Exogenously elevated cortisol levels, in the absence of the subjective experience of social stress, were associated with the onset of the expression of the coyote threat pattern in an F1 hybrid possessing a full haploid complement of coyote genes and his backcross offspring resulting from a breeding to his F2 daughter. With oral doses of hydrocortisone, the cortisol levels were substantially elevated over basal levels. With endogenous cortisol priming, an increase up to five-fold over those levels obtained with social stress was associated with the expression of the coyote phenotype.

Pilot Study Investigating the Effects of Ayurvedic Abhyanga Massage on Subjective Stress Experience

Many providers of Ayurvedic massage treatments make unsubstantiated claims regarding their potential psychologic and physiologic benefits. While these claims are based on ancient traditions of the Indian medical system as well as personal experience, no attempt had yet been made to verify the effect of Ayurvedic oil massage within the Western-scientific context. This pilot study assessed the single-dose effect of Abhyanga, the classic Ayurvedic oil massage, in terms of its impact on subjective stress experience. Ten (10) healthy women (mean [M] 36.4 years, standard deviation [SD] 4.62) and 10 healthy men (M 37.0 years, SD 3.23) underwent a 1-hour Abhyanga massage treatment. The study employed a repeated-measures design for the collection of stress data using a validated and published questionnaire, as well as for the collection of heart rate (HR) and blood pressure (BP) values, immediately pre- and postintervention. Subjects showed high statistically and clinically significant reductions in subjective stress experience. A consequent analysis of physiologic data indicated likewise reductions in HR, while a BP reduction was not recorded for the total sample, but was only found in the prehypertensive subgroup. Findings indicate that Abhyanga massage is promising in reducing subjective stress experience. It may be beneficial in lowering HR in all, and BP in prehypertensive subjects. The results of this pilot study encourage further research with more stringent methodology.

Bedarfslagen und Interventionsnotwendigkeiten für die betriebliche Gesundheitsförderung in der stationären Altenpflege

The current demographic change coincides with an increasing demand for elderly care nursing services as well as a decrease of available nursing personnel. Against this background, efforts should be made to sustain the health and work motivation of the current workforce. In order to adequately design interventions, one needs an appropriate overview of subjective stress and health-related experiences of target groups as well as insight into influencing factors and organisational conditions. The study at hand analyses corresponding relations on the basis of a scientific survey conducted in six residential nursing homes and one institution for assisted accommodation. Survey results show that burnout is the most meaningful health indicator, while the strongest predictor for burnout turned out to be a conflicting relation between work and private life. There were significant differences between groups of staff concerning subjective perceptions of health. Based on these results, the authors argue for an organisational concept of health promotion.

Psychosocial Stress and Coping in Alopecia Areata: A Questionnaire Survey and Qualitative Study Among 45 Patients

The controversial role of psychosocial stress in alopecia areata has been discussed widely, but there has been little research into patients' subjective stress experiences and coping. The aim of this study was to explore general and specific coping strategies in alopecia areata and to assess the role of psychosocial stress in the onset and course of alopecia areata from the patient's viewpoint. Forty-five patients conducted measurements of general coping strategies and body image. Qualitative data analysis was performed referring to interviews of stress experiences before the onset of alopecia areata, stress-reactivity, subjective disease models, consequences of alopecia areata and illness-related coping strategies. Patients do not have dysfunctional coping strategies in general, but they benefit from advantageous strategies in terms of better alopecia areata-specific coping and course of disease after 6 months. Psychological interventions in alopecia areata should focus on training general and alopecia areata-specific coping competences and regulating negative emotionality and insecurity, particularly at the first onset of alopecia areata.

Moderators and mediators of the stress-aggression relationship: Executive function and state anger.

The present study examined the effects of executive function (i.e., EF) and anger/hostility on the relationship between stress (across individual stress domains, as well as at the aggregate level) and aggression. Two independent groups of participants-a college sample and a low-income community sample-were administered a battery of self-report measures concerning the subjective experience of stress, aggressive behaviors, and feelings of state anger and hostility in the last month, along with a battery of well-validated neuropsychological tests of EF. Across both samples, the stress domains that demonstrated the strongest associations with aggression were those involving chronic strains of daily living (e.g., job, financial, health) versus interpersonal stressors (e.g., family, romantic). In the community sample, analyses also revealed a significant interaction between perceived stress (aggregated across domains) and EF in predicting aggressive behavior. Specifically, participants with relatively low EF abilities, across different EF processes, showed a stronger relationship between different domains of stress and aggression in the last month. Similar effects were demonstrated in the college sample, although the interaction was not significant. In both samples, experiences of anger and hostility in the last month mediated the relationship between perceived stress (aggregate) and aggressive behavior among those low, but not high, in EF. These findings highlight the importance of higher-order cognitive processes in regulating appropriate affective and behavioral responses across different types of individuals, particularly among those experiencing high levels of stress.

Psychological Stress and Self-Reported Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders

Functional gastrointestinal disorders (FGID) are common, but despite their relevance in public health care, the etiology of FGID remains essentially unknown. Stress has been suggested as a pathophysiological factor in FGID. The aims of the present study were (a) to determine the prevalence of FGID in a sample of apparently healthy students, and (b) to determine the association of stress and FGID. The prevalence rates of 21 different FGID were assessed using an internet-based design. Subjective experience of chronic stress, individual coping strategies, and dispositional stress reactivity were measured. A total of 668 subjects provided complete data sets (66% women). About 64.2% reported at least one FGID. Symptoms of FGID were significantly predicted by increased levels of perceived chronic stress, dispositional stress reactivity, and use of maladaptive coping strategies. FGID are common in apparently healthy young individuals. The importance of stress-related factors in individuals suffering from FGID indicates that stress-reducing interventions may be beneficial in these patients.

Stress increases putative gonadotropin inhibitory hormone and decreases luteinizing hormone in male rats.

The subjective experience of stress leads to reproductive dysfunction in many species, including rodents and humans. Stress effects on reproduction result from multilevel interactions between the hormonal stress response system, i.e., the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, and the hormonal reproductive system, i.e., the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) axis. A novel negative regulator of the HPG axis known as gonadotropin-inhibitory hormone (GnIH) was recently discovered in quail, and orthologous neuropeptides known as RFamide-related peptides (RFRPs) have also been identified in rodents and primates. It is currently unknown, however, whether GnIH/RFRPs influence HPG axis activity in response to stress. We show here that both acute and chronic immobilization stress lead to an up-regulation of RFRP expression in the dorsomedial hypothalamus (DMH) of adult male rats and that this increase in RFRP is associated with inhibition of downstream HPG activity. We also show that adrenalectomy blocks the stress-induced increase in RFRP expression. Immunohistochemistry revealed that 53% of RFRP cells express receptors for glucocorticoids (GCs), indicating that adrenal GCs can mediate the stress effect through direct action on RFRP cells. It is thought that stress effects on central control of reproduction are largely mediated by direct or indirect effects on GnRH-secreting neurons. Our data show that stress-induced increases in adrenal GCs cause an increase in RFRP that contributes to hypothalamic suppression of reproductive function. This novel insight into HPA-HPG interaction provides a paradigm shift for work on stress-related reproductive dysfunction and infertility, and indicates that future work on stress and reproductive system interactions must include investigation of the role of GnIH/RFRP.

T02-O-03 The impact of work-related stress on the sexual relation quality of the couple

This study is part of a research project including stress, coping-strategies, mood, partnership relation quality, and illhealth. Earlier findings tentatively suggest the health-promoting advantages of positive partnership relations in counteracting the illhealth accruing from various types of general stress and the particular stresses of work occupation. In this study two hundred and twelve participants derived from several different occupations, responded to questionnaires based upon self-report instruments including the Subjective Stress Experience Questionnaire, the Stress and Energy Scale, the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, the Job Stress Survey, Partnership Relations Quality Test, and the Positive and Negative Affect Scale. Gender differences were found in levels of sexual desire and intercourse satisfaction, together with sexual pleasure and more orgasms. The results also indicated that illhealth induced less frequency of caressing, fewer orgasms during intercourse, lower level of intercourse satisfaction and sexual pleasure). Negative affect induced lower levels of intercourse satisfaction and sexual desire. Work related stress induced a lower level of intercourse satisfaction and sexual desire. On the other hand good coping-strategies were related to higher frequency of caressing, intimate communication, intercourse frequency, sexual pleasure, and intercourse satisfaction. Positive affect induced higher level of intercourse satisfaction, sexual pleasure, sexual desire, more orgasms, and greater satisfaction with the sexual life. These results indicate that stress, illhealth, and negative affect impairs a flourishing love life and that coping-strategies and positive affect on the other hand are positive factors for obtaining such a love life.

Physiological and psychological stress responses in adults with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)

According to self-report and unsystematic observational data adult patients with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder suffer from increased vulnerability to daily life stressors. The present study examined psychological and physiological stress responses in adult ADHD subjects in comparison to healthy controls under laboratory conditions. Thirty-six subjects (18 patients with DSM-IV ADHD diagnosis, 18 sex- and age-matched healthy controls) underwent the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST; Kirschbaum, C., Pirke, K.-M., Hellhammer, D.H., 1993. The "Trier Social Stress Test"--a tool for investigating psychobiological stress responses in a laboratory setting. Neuropsychobiology 28, 76-81), a standardized psychosocial stress protocol which contains a stress anticipation phase and a stress phase with a free speech assignment and subsequent performance of a mental arithmetic. Physiological stress measures were salivary cortisol as an indicator of the HPA axis, heart rate (HR), and time- and frequency-domain heart rate variability (HRV) parameters. Subjective stress experience was measured via self-report repeatedly throughout the experimental session. In line with previous theoretical and empirical work in the field of childhood ADHD, it was hypothesized that the ADHD and control group would exhibit comparable baseline levels in all dependent variables. For ADHD subjects, we expected attenuated responses of the physiological parameters during anticipation and presence of the standardized stressor, but elevated subjective stress ratings. Hypotheses were confirmed for the baseline condition. Consistent with our assumptions in regard to the psychological stress response, the ADHD group experienced significantly greater subjective stress. The results for the physiological variables were mixed. While ADHD subjects revealed an attenuated HR during the stress phase, no significant group differences were found for the other parameters, although a trend was observed for both the low frequency/high frequency (LF/HF) ratio of the HRV power spectral analysis and salivary cortisol (the latter possibly indicating generally lower cortisol levels in ADHD subjects). In summary, the present findings are the first to demonstrate a significant alteration of a specific physiological stress measure (HR) and, more clearly, of psychological aspects of the stress response in adults suffering from ADHD. In regard to the physiological stress response, it is recommended that future studies employ larger sample sizes and a more comprehensive range of physiological stress parameters. Additionally, the issue of transferability of laboratory results to real life stressors needs to be addressed.