Lipp's inventory of symptoms os stress for adults (ISSL) in federal civil servants of São Paulo

Abstract

Stress can be defined as any bodily reaction, together with psychological, physical, mental and hormonal components, that takes place when there is a need for adaptation to a stressful event. This reaction will be damaging if there is an extended exhibition to the event or a predisposition of the individual to certain diseases. This article presents the results of a descriptive analysis of the symptoms and stress levels in the work environment of a sample of Federal Police employees. 250 people participated, with ages from 20 to 64 years, being 74.4% male, 24.4% female and 1.2 % that did not inform the sex. Lipp´s Inventory of Stress Symptoms for Adults – ISSL – was applied. We concluded that most of the participants remained in the resistance phase and females obtained a 59% frequency of stress levels, when compared to males. We show the importance of the use of instruments like the ISSL, which makes possible a perfected evaluation of the existence of stress symptoms and the levels in which they appear.