[5] Chronic strains are defined as persistent events which require an individual to make adaptations over an extended period of time (ex.
[5] When stress becomes chronic, one experiences emotional, behavioral, and physiological changes that can put one under greater risk for developing a mental disorder and physical illness.
This can include low social status in society or in particular groups, giving a speech, interviewing with potential employers, caring for a child or spouse with a chronic illness, meeting new people at a party, the threat of or actual death of a loved one, divorce, and discrimination.
[26][27] The purpose of this type of measure is to probe the participant to elaborate on their stressful life events, rather than answering singular questions.
In the TSST, participants are told that they have to prepare and give a speech about why they would be a great candidate for their ideal job.
There was a simultaneous increase in the total correlation between the 19 major public fears in the Ukrainian society (by about 64%) and also in their statistical dispersion (by 29%) during the pre-crisis years.
[38] Research has consistently demonstrated that social stress increases risk for developing negative mental health outcomes.
[39] One prospective study asked over fifteen hundred Finnish employees whether they had "considerable difficulties with [their] coworkers/superiors/inferiors during the last 6 months, 5 years, earlier, or never".
[41] Researchers deduce that the LGBT people's higher risk of mental health issues derives from their stressful social environments.
Minority groups can face high levels of stigma, prejudice, and discrimination on a regular basis, therefore leading to the development of various mental health disorders.
[57] Posselt and Lipson found, in 2016, that undergraduates had a 37% higher chance of developing depression if they perceived their classroom environments as highly competitive.
[59][61] Social anxiety disorder is defined as the fear of being judged or evaluated by others, even if no such threat is actually present.
[62] Research shows a connection between social stress, such as traumatic life events and chronic strains, and the development of anxiety disorders.
[63][64] A study that examined a subpopulation of adults, both young and middle-age, found that those who had diagnosed panic disorder in adulthood also experienced sexual abuse during childhood.
[64] In 2016, an analysis of 40,350 undergraduates from 70 institutions by Posselt and Lipson found that they had a 69% higher chance of developing anxiety if they perceived their classroom environments as highly competitive.
[69] Similarly, outpatients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder show greater psychotic symptoms if the most influential person in their life is critical[70] and are more likely to relapse if their familial relationships are marked by tension.
[69] In regard to substance abuse, cocaine-dependent individuals report greater cravings for cocaine following exposure to a social stressor.
[71] Traumatic life events and social stressors can also trigger the exacerbation of the symptoms of mental health disorders.
People who have fewer social contacts are at greater risk for developing illness, including cardiovascular disease.
[81] The lower one's social status, the more likely he or she is to have a cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, musculoskeletal, neoplastic, pulmonary, renal, or other chronic diseases.
[82] In one laboratory study, researchers interviewed participants to determine whether they had been experiencing social conflicts with spouses, close family members and friends.
[86] Exposure to social stress in childhood can also have long-term effects, increasing risk for developing diseases later in life.
[88] The Adverse Childhood Experiences study (ACE), which includes over seventeen thousand adults, also found that there was a 20% increase in likelihood for experiencing heart disease for each kind of chronic familial social stressor experienced in childhood, and this was not due to typical risk factors for heart disease such as demographics, smoking, exercise, adiposity, diabetes, or hypertension.
[93] For HIV-positive females, who have also contracted the HSV virus, stress is a risk factor for genital herpes breakouts.
If stress persists in the long run, then blood pressure remains elevated, leading to hypertension and atherosclerosis, both precursors to cardiovascular disease.
[95] There are a number of studies that link social stress and indications of a disrupted HPA axis; for instance, monkey infants neglected by their mothers show prolonged cortisol responses following a challenging event.
[107][108] Although these studies point to a disrupted HPA system accounting for the link between social stress and physical health, they did not include disease outcomes.
Although acute inflammation is adaptive, chronic inflammatory activity can contribute to adverse health outcomes, such as hypertension,[110] atherosclerosis,[111] coronary heart disease,[112][113] depression,[114] diabetes,[115] and some cancers.
[120][121][122] Increases in inflammation may persist over time, as studies have shown that chronic relationship stress has been tied to greater IL-6 production 6 months later[123] and children reared in a stressful family environment marked by neglect and conflict tend to show elevated levels of C-reactive protein, a marker of IL-6, in adulthood.
For instance, cortisol tends to have a suppressive effect on inflammatory processes, and proinflammatory cytokines can also activate the HPA system.