Psychology Session 13 Stress and Health

Transcription

1 Psychology Session 13 Stress and Health Date: December 2 nd, 2016 Course instructor: Cherry Chan Mothercraft College

2 Agenda 1. Personality and health 2. Stress 3. Coping with stress 4. Common stressors 5. Strategies for reducing stress

3 Personality and Health High Neuroticism is a risk factor for physical illnesses (Goodwin & Friedman, 2006). Conscientiousness predicts longevity (Kern & Friedman, 2008) and is linked to healthy behaviors (Bogg & Roberts, 2004). Extraversion, Conscientiousness, and Openness to Experience are related to engaging in coping strategies (Carver & Connor- Smith, 2010).

4 What is stress?

5 General Adaptation Syndrome Alarm stage: the sympathetic nervous system prepares the body for fight to flight Resistance stage: physiological adaptation to stressor Exhaustion stage: energy depletion, individual becomes sick or dies (Wood, Wood, Boyd, Wood, & Desmarais, 2017)

6 Cognitive Theory of Stress Cognitive processes affect the physiological, emotional, and behavioral responses to an event. Primary appraisal: What does the event mean to me? How important is this stressor? Secondary appraisal: How do I deal with the stressor? (Wood et al., 2017)

7 Why do we experience stress? Conflicting motives: stress resulting from having to make choices Lack of control: stress resulting from the inability to predict Racial stress: stress resulting from being the minority race Extreme stress: stress resulting from experiencing catastrophic events (Wood et al., 2017)

8 Stressors of parents with children with ASD Managing challenging behaviors and social exclusion Judgment from others Lack of support Emotional impact on family: decreased selfesteem, feelings of failure, rejection, loneliness, and denial (Ludlow, Skelly, & Rohleder, 2011)

9 Post Traumatic Stress Disorder The person was exposed to actual or threatened death, serious injury, or sexual violence The traumatic event is re-experienced The individual actively avoids stimuli related to the traumatic event The individual experiences changes in cognitions, emotions, and/or arousal levels after the event The symptoms persists for more than a month (American Psychiatric Association, 2013)

10 PTSD- children under 6 Extreme temper tantrums Recurrent recollections of event Avoidance thoughts and feelings related to trauma Loss of interests Restricted range of feelings Detachment from loved ones (APA, 2013)

11 Coping with stress Problem-focused coping: alleviate or/and eliminate stressor Emotion-focused coping: decrease emotional impact of stress Strategies can include denial, wishful thinking, and humour (Wood et al., 2017)

12 Common Stressors amongst Childcare Providers Work conditions Meeting demands of parents and children External factors Family and school demands Other jobs Work events Transitions (Baumgartner, Carson, Apavaloaie, & Tsouloupas, 2009)

13 Common Coping Strategies amongst Childcare Providers Emotional-focused strategies Praying and meditating Positive self-talk Distractions Problem-focused strategies Getting help from a more knowledgeable person Planning classroom management strategies (Baumgartner et al., 2009)

14 Factors that reduce stress Optimism: having a positive view of the world Hardiness: commitment, having a sense of control, viewing change as a challenge Social support: people who provide resources for stressors and emotional support (Wood et al., 2017)

15 Meditation Attention: concentration vs. awareness Relationship to cognitive processes: observing or modifying your thoughts Concentrative technique: focus on breathing, a picture, or physical experience Focus on objects will lead to disengage usual mental processes (i.e. responses to thoughts, emotions, actions) Mindfulness technique: staying at present moment and prevent the mind from wandering to the past or future (Sedlmeier at al., 2012)

16 Massage Infant massage may have beneficial effects on lowering infant stress levels, infants sleeping and crying patterns, as well as interactions with mothers who are post-natally depressed. (Shipwright & Dryden, 2012) Massage is directly related to positive health outcomes (i.e. reduced agitation, relaxation). Massage has resulted in little measureable physiological changes but decreases perceived anxiety and stress. (Labrique-Walusis, Keister, & Russell, 2010)

17 Exercise Monoamine hypothesis: increased arousal and attention leads to increased self-efficacy and lower anxiety Endorphin hypothesis: endorphin production leads to euphoric state Thermogenic hypothesis: increased body temperature lead to enhanced mood Physical activities decrease depression and future likelihood of depression. (Motta, McWilliams, Schwartz, & Cavera, 2012)

18 Helping children cope with stress Consistency between home and childcare Encourage parents to bring photographs of home to your center Ask how parents how they guide their children at home Pay attention and listen to children Talking to children about their emotions Give children time for quiet activities (i.e. blocks, play dough, imaginative play) (The Psychology Foundation of Canada, 2012)

19 Helping parents cope with stress Parents experience decreased marital satisfaction due to new parenting roles (Johns & Belsky, 2007). Although having a child with severe illness can be stressful for parents, it can also lead to beneficial, long-term personal changes in parents (Hungerbuehler, Vollrath, & Landolt, 2011). In a parent education program, ECEs modeled, provided parents with feedback, and supported parents learning experiences. Building relationships is essential to program success (MacFarland-Piazza & Saunders, 2012).

20 Helping colleagues cope with stress Coworkers are an important source of support because they have an understanding of workrelated stress. Coworkers emotional support is related to decreased physiological strain and increased job performance. (Mesmer-Magnus & Viswesvaran, 2009)

21 References American Psychiatric Association. (2013) Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, (5th ed.). Washington, DC: Author. Baumgartner J.J., Carson, R.L., Apavaloaie, L., & Tsouloupas, C. (2009). Uncovering common stressful factors and coping strategies among childcare providers. Child Youth Care Forum, 38, Bogg, T., & Roberts, B.W. (2004). Conscientiousness and health-related behaviors: A meta-analysis of the leading behavioral contributors to mortality. Psychological Bulletin, 130, Carver, C.S., & Connor-Smith, J. (2010). Personality and coping. Annual Review of Psychology, 61, Goodwin, R.D., & Friedman, H.S. (2006). Health status and the five-factor personality traits in a national representative sample. Journal of Health Psychology, 11, Hungerbuehler, I., Vollrath, M.E., & Landolt, M.A. (2011). Posttraumatic growth in mothers and fathers of children with severe illnesses. Journal of Health Psychology, 16,

22 References Johns S. E., & Belsky J. (2007). Life transitions: Becoming a parent. In Salmon C. A. & Shackelford T. K. (Eds.), Family relationships: An evolutionary perspective (pp ). New York, NY: Oxford University Press Kern, M.L., & Friedman, H.S. (2008). Do conscientiousness individuals live longer? A qualitative review. Health Psychology, 35, Labrique-Walusis, F., & Keister, K.J., & Russell, A.C. (2010). Massage therapy for stress management: Implications for nursing practice. Orthopaedic Nursing, 29(4), Ludlow, A., Skelly, C., Rohleder, P. (2011). Challenges faced by parents with children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. Journal of Health Psychology, 17, Mesmer-Magnus, J., & Viswesvaran, C. (2009). The role of coworker in reducing work-family conflict: A review and directions for future research. Practiques Psychologiques, 15,

23 References Motta, R.W., McWilliams, M.E., Schwartz, J.T., & Cavera, R.S. (2012). The role of exercise in reducing childhood and adolescent PTSD, anxiety, and depression. Journal of Applied School Psychology, 28(3), doi: / Psychology Foundation of Canada. (2012). Kids have stress too!: Ideas, tips, and strategies for parents of preschoolers. Retrieved from Sedlmeier, P., Eberth, J., Schwarz, M., Zimmermann, D., Haarig, F., Jaeger, S., & Kunze, S. (2012). The psychological effects of meditation: A meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 138(6), doi: /a Shipwright, S., & Dryden, T. (2012). Paediatric massage: An overview of the evidence. Focus on Alternative and Complementary Therapies, 17(2), doi: /j x Wood, S.E., Wood, E.G., Boyd, D., Wood, E., & Desmarais, S. (2017). The world of psychology (7 th Canadian ed). Toronto, ON: Pearson Canada.