Toward an integrative approach to the study of stress

Considers stress and coping as part of a process involving environmental events, psychosocial processes, and physiological response. The concept of stress as it involves recognition of and response to threat or danger as well as approaches to its study are discussed. Links between coping and perceived control are described, and measurement approaches are evaluated. Research indicates that although a single, acute event may be more intensely stressful while it lasts, chronic and repetitive stressors may ultimately be more costly. The usefulness of integrated approaches to the study of stress, emphasizing expansion of both conceptual and methodological perspectives, is discussed. (32 ref)