stress and addiction

• Life Events


  Events that cause stress, even if they are positive (marriage, pregnancy)
• Life Change Unit (LCU)


  Reflects how much each life event requires readjustment
• Social Readjustment Rating Scale (SRRS)

  1. Add up the LCU an individual has experienced over the last 12 months

  2. This score gives an indication of how likely someone is to experience a stress related illness in the next year

  3. <150 = 30%

  4. 150-299 = 50%

  5. >300 = 80%
• Strength of the SRRS

  • Rahe et al (1970) found a weak but significant correlation between higher LCU scores and illness in the following 6 months
• Weakness of the SRRS

  • The measurement of life events doesn't take into account individual differences
• Daily Hassles


  Small daily hassles that 'add up' and can cause ill health if they are too high
• Hassles Scale


  Individuals tick what they have experienced that day and rate it on severity
• Uplifts Scale


  Counteracts the score from the hassles scale, includes positive daily events such as socialising
• Cognitive Appraisal of Daily Hassles

  1. Primary appraisal measures the threat of the situation

  2. Secondary appraisal assesses the individual's ability to deal with the hassle
• Evaluation of Daily Hassles

  • The hassles scale was a strong predictor of health decline, poor job performance, and absenteeism
  • Retrospective accounts may be based on invalid data
• Intra-role Conflict


  When your role involves too many demands
• Inter-role Conflict


  Every person has multiple roles they must perform each week/month, all with competing demands
• Both types of role conflict lead to dissatisfaction, illness and absenteeism
• Perceived Level of Control

  When someone feels they can control the stressors in the workplace, they are less likely to feel stress
• If someone feels they cannot control their actions or what happens in the workplace they are more stressed
• Evaluation of Perceived Control

  • Bosma (1997) found low job control was linked to heart conditions
  • Gyorkos et al (2012) found job control was linked to stress in individualist cultures only
• Type A Personality


  Competitiveness, Time Urgency, Hostility
• Hardy Personality


  Commitment, Challenge, Control
• Evaluation of Personality Types

  • Studies are based on self-reports which is problematic
• Stress in small amounts is 'good for us' as it protects us, but continuous stress is very unhealthy
• General Adaptation Syndrome


  Alarm Reaction, Resistance, Exhaustion
• SAM System


  Deals with the body's immediate response to stress (acute response)
• HPA System


  Deals with the long term stress response
• Endocrine System


  Glands produce hormones that affect all organs
• Nervous System


  The brain, spinal cord and nerves, uses neurotransmitters to communicate
• Cortisol


  Helps the body metabolise sugar for energy and makes us feel alert, but too much has damaging effects
• Negative Feedback Loop


  The HPA system is self-regulating, when Cortisol reaches peak levels it stops producing CRF and ACTH
• Gender Differences in Stress

  • Oxytocin inhibits the fight or flight response in females, leading to a 'tend or befriend' reaction
  • The freeze response is a third response not covered by fight or flight
• Maladaptive Nature of Fight or Flight in Modern Society

  • The fight or flight response is no longer helpful for most modern stressors
  • Stress is now maladaptive as it hurts us more than it helps us
• Role of Personality in Stress

  • Participants' physiological responses to stress were influenced by their personality traits
• Stress Response Process

  1. Hypothalamus detects threat

  2. Hypothalamus releases CRF

  3. Pituitary releases ACTH

  4. Adrenal Cortex releases Cortisol

  5. When stressor ends, negative feedback reduces CRF, ACTH and Cortisol
• Sympathetic Nervous System Activation

  1. Hypothalamus detects threat

  2. Sympathetic nervous system activated

  3. Adrenal medulla releases Adrenaline and Noradrenaline

  4. Heart beats faster, more glucose released

  5. When stressor ends, parasympathetic nervous system activated to decrease heart and breathing rate
• Immunosuppression


  Cortisol inhibits the production of Lymphocytes, leaving the body prone to infection
• Cardiovascular Disorders


  Cortisol and Adrenaline cause narrowing of arteries (Atherosclerosis), leading to high blood pressure, heart attack, stroke
• Research Support


  • Kiecolt-Glaser (1984) found high stress group had lower immune response
  • Wilbert-Lampen (2008) found heart attacks 2.66x more likely during World Cup
  • Yusuf (2004) identified workplace stress and life events as risk factors for heart disease
• Evaluation of Research


  • Dharbar (2008) found short-term stress actually stimulated the immune system, contradicting the explanation
• Vulnerability to smoking


  Inherited genes which increase
• Nicotine reaching the Ventral Tegmental Area (VTA)


  1. Triggers the release of dopamine which travels to the Nucleus Accumbens (NA)

  2. The NA then releases dopamine into the prefrontal cortex leading to the sensation of reward
• Smoking maintenance and relapse

  • Smoking is maintained because of Dopamine. As it feels pleasurable, people seek the source out again.
  • When a person doesn't smoke for a while, their receptors become available again to attach to nicotine and cause the release of Dopamine, causing withdrawal symptoms.
  • To avoid the withdrawal symptoms, the individual starts smoking again which means their addiction is maintained.
• Decreased nicotinic receptor sensitivity over time


  Means the individual needs to smoke more to get the same dopamine hit