Stress can be defined as a real or interpreted threat to the physiological or psychological well being of an individual that results in physiological and behavioral responses. Stressors – or stress causing factors- can be external or internal, temporary or prolonged, and positive or negative and psychological and physiological responses to these stressors can greatly impact our health — both mentally and physically. In his 1994 book, “Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers,” biologist Robert M. Sapolsky explains how psychological stress from social interactions can affect biological stress and lead to an increased risk of disease (Sapolsky, 1994). The bodily stress response is associated with manifestations of various psychosomatic and psychiatric disorders and it is important to understand the underlying mechanisms that influence this association.
Moreover, men and women tend to react differently to stress–both
psychologically and biologically. For a large part of our history, due to
patriarchal norms, gender differences in providing interventions have largely
been ignored. Men have traditionally been used to study physiological stress so
that researchers would not have to account for hormonal changes, whereas
studies on women were assumed to require more complexity to allow for changes
in hormone levels due to ovulation (Taylor et. al, 2006). Research was
therefore performed on men and the findings were generalized across all
genders. However, recent findings have shown that women not only report higher
levels of stress, but are also likely to rate their life events as more negative
and less controllable than men and
exhibit more distress when faced with stressful situations (Matud, 2004). These differences need to be studied in order to have a
better understanding of the gender differences observed for many disorders,
which are likely to be further linked to gender difference in stress reactivity
and responses.
A primary cause for the observed gender differences in
stress reactivity is biological in nature and has to do with the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal
(HPA) system which is an important component of the initial bodily response to
stress. The hypothalamus releases corticotrophin-releasing hormone (or CRH)
into the bloodstream, which stimulates the pituitary gland. The pituitary then
secretes adrenocorticotrophic hormone (ACTH) which induces the adrenal cortex
to produce cortisol – a hormone that prepares the body for fight or flight
while inhibiting and delaying the innate immune response. In recent times, studies
have found greater acute HPA and autonomic responses as well as higher levels
of ACTH secretions in adult men as compared to adult women (Kajantie & Phillips,
2006 ). This could explain why men report lower levels of distress –
they are simply better equipped biologically to respond to stressors. On the
other hand, female sex hormones have been found to slow down HPA responsiveness
causing slower cortisol feedback on the brain and delayed containment of the
stress response. (Goldstein et al., 2005) This causes fatigue, exhaustion or a
sense of being unable to cope with the stressor and is also closely related to
higher rates of depression in women.
A second set of gender differences arise when it comes to an
individual’s psychological response to stressors. A new set of studies by
Taylor et al. (2006) has found that in addition to the “fight or flight”
response, people also react to stress through the “tend and befriend” response wherein
instead of preparing to fight or flee, they tend to show more affiliative
social behavior. While it has been observed that both men and women exhibit it,
this response has been found to be more prevalent in women, who tend to seek
out and value social support much more than men when stressed (Veroff, Kulka, & Douvan,1981). Like the “fight or flight” response, the “tend
and befriend” response also has its roots in evolutionary psychology: It has
been hypothesized that fighting or fleeing might have posed logistical
difficulties for a woman who’s either pregnant or nurturing an offspring
(Aronson et. al, 2013). As such, by tending (taking care of offspring) and
befriending (creating social networks), one could possibly have created a
safety net for themselves to offer protection from sources of stress
Finally, men and women also differ in
the specific stressors that impact them and the coping strategies they then employ
to deal with the cause of stress. A study in 2004 indicated that women
scored significantly higher than men in reporting chronic stress and minor
daily stressors, and listed family and health-related events as sources of
stress more frequently than men - who mostly listed finance and work-related
events (Matud, 2004). The same study also found that men showed higher rates of
emotional inhibition and detachment from the stressors as compared to women. As
it turns out, women are likely to focus on the mental repercussions of facing a
stressful situation and divert their attention towards alleviating the
emotional distress i.e. they use emotion-focused coping strategies. In
contrast, men are likely to detach themselves from the situation and use a
rational, more problem focused approach (
et al, 2009)
and early
learning may also determine how an individual reacts to stress. Considering
that individual differences in stress reactivity have been proposed as a
potentially important risk factor for gender-specific health problems, it
becomes increasingly important to study these differences in detail and apply
them in therapy or while designing psychological intervention programs and
stress reduction workshops so that they can be more tailored and thus more
effective.
References
Taylor,
S. E. (2006). Tend and Befriend. Current
Directions in Psychological Science,15(6), 273-277.
doi:10.1111/j.1467-8721.2006.00451.x
Matud,
M. (2004). Gender differences in stress and coping styles. Personality
and Individual Differences, 37(7), 1401-1415.
doi:10.1016/j.paid.2004.01.010
Kajantie,
E., & Phillips, D. (2006). The effects of sex and hormonal status on the
physiological response to acute psychosocial stress. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 31(2),
151-178. doi:10.1016/j.psyneuen.2005.07.002
Goldstein,
J. M. (2005). Hormonal Cycle Modulates Arousal Circuitry in Women Using
Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging. Journal of Neuroscience, 25(40),
9309-9316. doi:10.1523/jneurosci.2239-05.2005
Veroff,
J., Kulka, R.. & Douvan, E. (1981). Mental health in America: Patterns of
help-seeking from 1957 to 1976. New York: Basic Book
Aronson,
E., Wilson, T. D., Akert, R. M. (2013). Social Psychology. Boston: Pearson.
Brougham, R. R., Zail, C. M., Mendoza,
C. M., & Miller, J. R. (2009). Stress, Sex Differences, and Coping
Strategies Among College Students. Current Psychology, 28(2),
85-97. doi:10.1007/s12144-009-9047-0
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