Stress and Disease Dr. Donald B. Giddon Harvard University, Fall 2013 Types of Stressors Question I - What factors are stressful for a given individual ? 1

Types of Stressors Physical Biological Chemical Psychosocial 2

What makes an event or stressor stressful? Differences between animals and humans – Sapolsky – Executive monkey 3

- - Radiation - Physical Impact - Trauma - Crowding Population density Physical Stressors 4

Biological Stressors Predators Micro-organisms Food supply Sleep deprivation Substance withdrawal Allergens 5

Chemical Stressors Toxins Water Airborne Chemical weapons Environmental pollutants 6

Biological Stressors – Food Each year, about 76 million people in the United States become ill from the food they eat, and about 5,000 of them die. According to the C.S.P.I.*, the riskiest foods are: 1. Leafy greens 2. Eggs 3. Tuna *Center for Science in the Public Interest 7

CROWDING 8

CROWDING 9

CROWDING (at the wrong time in the wrong place in the wrong job) 10

Species Differences for Crowding as a Stressor 11

It is sometimes difficult to separate space as a physical stressor from space as a psychosocial stressor 12

Interpersonal Impact - Personal Space, cf. with Crowding as a Physical Stressor 13 Hall, E.T. The Hidden Dimension. Anchor, 1990

Psychosocial Stressors Source: Family and significant others o Care givers o Siblings o Generational o Birth order Friends Roommates Colleagues 14

15 Occupation o Training o Responsibilities o Job satisfaction o Interpersonal relations o Role stress and personality o Unemployment o Retirement o Predictability o Lack of control Psychosocial Stressors (cont’d)

Role Stress - Overload - Conflict - Ambiguity Role vs. Status Situational o Religious affiliation o Gender differences o Restriction of personal space o Bereavement o Other situational stressors : – Public speaking - Daily hassles - Exams - Gender inequities – Sensory – Surprise/ Startle- Overload- Deprivation Perception as an intervening variable 16

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Links Between Work and Adult Health From: Clougherty et al., 2010, Fig. 3 18