CHF 4400- Exam 1 Merrill

Walter Cannon

1932 The fight-or-flight response Greenberg (Page 4).

The primary glucocorticoid is the hormone ____________?

Corisol

General Adaptation Syndrome

Defined by Selye Phase 1- Alarm Reaction Phase 2- Stage of Resistance Phase 3- Stage of Exhaustion

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

"We each have a hierarchy of needs that ranges from "lower" to "higher." As lower needs are fulfilled there is a tendency for other, higher needs to emerge."

Family Crisis

A family crisis is (1) a disturbance in the equilibrium that is so overwhelming; (2) a pressure that is so severe; or (3) a change that is so acute that the family system is blocked, immobilized, and incapacitated.

Reticular activating system (RAS)

A network of nerves that connects the mind and the body. Greenberg (Page 27).

Autogenic Training

A relaxation technique that involves a sensation of heaviness, warmth, and tingling in the limbs. Greenberg, (Page 6)

Progressive relaxation

A relaxation technique that involves contracting and relaxing muscle groups throughout the body. Greenberg(Page 6).

Relaxation response

A series of bodily changes that are the opposite of the stress reaction. Greenberg, (Page 6).

Core Needs and Fears

Acceptance - Rejection - Rejected, Hurt, Pout, Adequate - Inadequacy - Failure, Hopeless, Agency - Absorbed - Suffocation, want to escap Choice Integrity- Conned Control - Used *Stress level comes or rises when core needs are not met*

Acute Stressor

Acute stressor events are those that happen suddenly and last only a short time. Their duration is usually predictable. Examples are a child breaking a leg and wearing a cast for 6 weeks or a family member undergoing emergency surgery and staying home from work for a few weeks to recuperate. The major distinction between a chronic and acute stressor event is that the latter happens suddenly and then is over. Boss(p. 41).

Ambiguous Stressor

Ambiguity is created when facts can't be obtained about an event or situation. The whereabouts or fate of a kidnapped boy—even a lost pet—remains unclear for a long time, or an illness takes away the mind or memory of a family member. Boss(p. 38)

Neuromuscular relaxation

Another term for progressive relaxation, involves a structured set of exercises that trains people to eliminate unnecessary muscular tension. (Page 6).

Distress

Bad things to which one has to adapt and that can lead to a stress reaction. Greenberg (Page 5)

Brain cells destroyed what happens

Brain cells do not regenerate, so their death means we have lost these cells forever; that is, irreversible brain damage occurs. Greenberg,(Page 29)

Autonomic nervous system

Controls such body processes as hormone balance, temperature, and width of blood vessels. Greenberg, (Page 27).

Thalamus

Part of the diencephalon that relays sensory impulses to the cerebral cortex. Greenberg,(Page 26).

Cerebellum

Part of the subcortex responsible for coordination. Greenberg, (Page 26)

Pons

Part of the subcortex responsible for regulating sleep. Greenberg,(Page 26)

Diencephalon

Part of the subcortex responsible for regulation of the emotions. Greenberg, (Page 26).

Limbic System

Produces emotions; the "seat of emotions." Greenberg, (Page 27).

Glucocorticoids

Regulates metabolism of glucose Greenberg, (Page 30).

Define resilience

Resilience implies flexibility and bouncing back from adversity with more vibrancy, thus exceeding previous levels of functioning. Unlike coping, resilience usually implies growth—for example, greater strength, increased health, or greater success.

The B of the ABC-X Model*

Resources (Individual, Family, and Community)

Stressor

Something with the potential to cause a stress reaction. Greenberg, (Page 3)

Social Support Theory

States that stress occurs when there is not enough social support available to respond to the event effectively. eg. Emotional Support, Financial Support, ect

Hans Selye

Studied affects of stress on a family as a system (general Systems theory). Also connected Stress to disease

Stress and headaches

That is, a stimulus is presented that has the potential to trigger a fight-or-flight response (the stressor) that elicits physiological changes such as increased muscle tension and blood pressure (stress reactivity) that, in turn, results in physical, psychological, or behavioral consequences such as headache or agoraphobia (strain). Greenberg(Page 13)

The C of the ABC-X Model*

The C Factor: Perception Boss (p. 43).

The A of the ABC-X Model*

The Stressor Event Types Normal, Developmental, and Predictable Stressor Events Catastrophic, Situational, and Unexpected Stressor Events Ambiguous Stressor Events Clear Stressor Events Volitional Stressor Events Nonvolitional Stressor Events Stressor Situations Acute Stressor Events Cumulative Stressor Events Isolated Stressor Events

Cumulative Stressor

The accumulation of stressor events is a phenomenon in which several stressor events or situations occur at the same time or in quick sequence, thus compounding the degree of pressure on the family. Boss,(p. 41)

Fight-or-flight

The body's stress reaction that includes an increase in heart rate, respiration, blood pressure, and serum cholesterol. Greenberg, (Page 3).

Bracing

The contraction of muscles for no obvious purpose.Some people appear as if they are always ready to defend themselves or to be aggressive. They seem "at the ready." Greenberg (Page 6, 37).

Allostatic Load

The cumulative biological wear and tear that results from responses to stress that seek to maintain body equilibrium.

Contextual Model, basic premise

The end result of the stress process, whether the family and its members manage to avoid or survive crisis, is influenced by their internal and external contexts.

External context

The external context of the CMFS consists of culture, history, the economy, development, and heredity, each of which constrains the management of stress because each is outside of the family's control. Boss (p. 31)

Internal context

The internal context of the family is composed of three micro dimensions that are classified as structural, psychological, and philosophical. Change in the family's internal context is more readily possible because the family has relatively more control over it.1 It comprises the family's values and belief systems and broadens the multicultural application of the contextual stress model.

Subcortex

The lower part of the brain responsible for various physiological processes necessary to stay alive. Greenberg(Page 26)

Hippocampus

The part of the brain that "sounds the alarm" that stress is present. Greenberg, (Page 29).

Cerebral cortex

The upper part of the brain responsible for thinking functions. Greenberg, (Page 26).

Angell

This finding is consistent with Buckley's (1967) systems theory and, most significant, with the work of early family stress researchers (Angell, 1936/1965; Hill, 1949/1971) who found that the families that coped best with stress were strong as a unit and as individual members.

Volitional Stressor

Volitional events are those that a family controls and implements. Making a move willingly or planning a pregnancy are examples of volitional stressor events. Thus, these events are classified by the degree of choice and control of the family members and the system as a whole. Boss (p. 39)

Ruben Hill

When Reuben Hill (1958) formulated his ABC-X model, he provided a heuristic model for the scientific inquiry of family stress. He presented this model to a group of social workers in 1957, thus linking the work of family sociologists to that of practitioners.

Normative Sressor

While normative stressors are usually expected events (e.g., children grow up), the normal and expected development of a child to adolescence, for example, tends to increase family stress, especially if the parents do not acknowledge the maturation and change. Boss(p. 38)

Lazarus and DeLongis

are supporters of this general approach, but they consider routine stressful life events more significant than major ones that happen infrequently. They argue that daily hassles, though appearing less important by themselves, add up and therefore are more stressful than major events.

Roller Coaster Theory

developed by Hill in 1949 and adapted by others (Boss, 1987; Hansen & Hill, 1964) illustrates familial adjustment to crisis. According to the model, crisis is the period of disorganization and immobilization in which previous interactions and behaviors for managing and solving problems become inadequate, frozen, inoperable, or blocked. The system hits bottom. Depending on the amount of time needed to shift gears or change, the family reaches a turning point, begins to move again, reorganizes, and enters what Hill (1949/1971) called the period of recovery. The family reaches a new level of reorganization that is higher, lower, or equal to the one experienced before the onset of the stressor event (see Figure 2.5). Boss (p. 47).

Thomas Holmes and Richard Rahe

emerged. Thomas Holmes and Richard Rahe showed that the more significant the changes in one's life, the greater the chance of the onset of illness. Greenberg,(Page 6).

Catecholamine

in stress reactivity, the adrenal medulla (the inner portion of the adrenal gland) is activated and then secretes the catecholamines epinephrine (commonly called adrenaline) and norepinephrine (commonly called noradrenaline). Greenberg, (Page 31).

Endocrine system

includes all the glands that secrete hormones. These hormones alter the function of other bodily tissues and are carried through the circulatory system to various targets. (the pituitary, thyroid, parathyroid, and adrenal glands, as well as the pancreas, ovaries, testes, pineal gland, and thymus gland. Greenberg (Page 29).

The Z of the ABC-X Model*

Family Crisis Family stress sometimes results in crisis (Figure 2.4). A family crisis is (1) a disturbance in the equilibrium that is so overwhelming; (2) a pressure that is so severe; or (3) a change that is so acute that the family system is blocked, immobilized, and incapacitated. At least for a time, the family does not function. Family boundaries are no longer maintained, customary roles and tasks are no longer performed, and family members can no longer function at optimal levels, physically or psychologically. Boss, (pp. 45-46)

Sympathetic nervous system

Part of the autonomic nervous system responsible for expending energy. (e.g., increasing respiratory rate) Greenberg(Page 33)

Medulla oblongata

Part of the subcortex responsible for the regulation of the heartbeat and breathing. Greenberg,(Page 26).

Hardiness Theory

Developed by Kobasa and colleagues, they argue that if you perceive potentially stressful events as a challenge instead of as a threat, less stress will result. This buffering effect—buffering between stress and the development of illness and disease—is termed hardiness (Page 8).

All stressors being or end where?

In the family

General Systems Theory

Developed by Hans Selye (1978, 1980), he was the first and most prolific researcher to study stress from a systems perspective. Families are living organisms. This means that they are systems with interdependent parts. They have a structure with boundaries to maintain and functions to be performed, thus ensuring the system's growth and survival. Systems theory states that the system is greater than the sum of its parts. In families, this means that the collection of family members is not only a specific number of people but also an aggregate of particular relationships and shared memories, successes, failures, and aspirations. Each family has a special unity of its own. The unique systemic strength that mobilizes a family is often observed when one of its members is in trouble. That family becomes more than the sum of its individual parts, taking on an extra power, like strands of steel bound together in one huge cable that holds up a suspension bridge. Joining forces and pulling in the same direction helps many families through adversity.

Life-events Theory

Developed by Holmes and Rahe, proposes that stress occurs when a situation requires more resources than are available. DeLongis and her colleagues are supporters of this general approach, but they consider routine stressful life events more significant than major ones that happen infrequently. They argue that daily hassles, though appearing less important by themselves, add up and therefore are more stressful than major events.

The ABC-X Model*

Developed by Reuben Hill 1958 he provided a heuristic model for the scientific inquiry of family stress. Boss(p. 34).

eustress

Good things to which one has to adapt and that can lead to a stress reaction. Greenberg (Page 5)

Perception

Hill originally called the C factor the "definition of the event," but that term was too narrow (Boss, 1988, 2002). Boss preferred the term "perception" because it included more than the family's definition of the stressor; it included—and elevated—the value of a family's subjective interpretation and meaning of a stressful event. Boss (p. 43)

Blood pressure

In addition, cortisol mobilizes free fatty acids from fat (adipose) tissue, breaks down protein, and increases arterial blood pressure. Cronic Stress can cause Diastolic blood pressure to increase Average young adult is 120/80 Greenberg(Page 30).

Family Stress

In family stress theory, a systems view helps us understand why one person has a particular response when he or she is alone but another when the kids come home from school, or dad comes home from work, or a noncustodial parent arrives for a visit. In other words, the stress level of the whole is qualitatively different from the sum of its parts—the stress levels of individual family members. Boss (pp. 9-10)

Stressor Situations

In the A of the ABC-X Model* A chronic stressor is defined as a stressful situation (rather than an event) because it is characterized by (1) a long duration; (2) the probability of occurrence with other events, especially normal developmental transitions; and (3) the potential for high ambiguity in its origin (etiology), progression, and conclusion. The situation is difficult to change—that is, the stressor persists. Such chronic stressors may be an illness (e.g., alcoholism or Alzheimer's disease), an economic situation (e.g., poverty), or a social condition (e.g., discrimination against race, gender, and sexual orientation). Other examples of chronic stressors are living in constant danger (e.g., terrorism, persecution, or high murder rate in neighborhood). Other chronic situations may not be dangerous but are nevertheless a constant irritation (e.g., noisy atmosphere for people living near an airport or in some college dormitories). The key point is that a chronic stressor is a long-term situation rather than a one-time event and thus, more problematic.

Stress management

Our goal should be to limit the harmful effects of stress while maintaining life's quality and vitality. Greenberg(Page 14).