Stress and Health

Abstract

The connections between stress and health are among the most studied in the field of health psychology. However, the depth and breadth of theoretical and empirical investigation on this topic also complicates our understanding of stress-health linkages. Chapter 15 provides an overview of different measurement and conceptual traditions in the study of stress and health and empirical support for associations of each form of stress with indicators of mental and physical well-being. In aggregate, this body of research provides persuasive evidence that stress is linked to our mental and physical health. This literature is also examined in an effort to discern the characteristics of events and situations that engender stress perceptions and stress responses, and thereby are linked with health. The overview concludes with a look at demographic variations in stress experience and implications for health, as well as a discussion of when in the life course the experience of stress may be most impactful for health and well-being.