Stress, Social Support, And Social Relationships
Social relationships are basically regarded to have positive and negative effects on the capability of human bodies to resist infection. However, these relationships and support sometimes contribute to social conflicts, which are in turn the common causes of stressful environments. The social conflicts emerging from social relationships and social support contribute to stressful life events including chronic problems at home and the workplace as well as stressful incidents that involve family, work colleagues, school mates, and friends. As a result, these three issues have been the subject of various studies and researches that seek to illuminate the significance of social relationships and support in dealing with stress. This article presents a summary and analysis of three articles conducted on this issue in light of emotions, social relationships, and health.
Summary of Article One
Bowen et al. conducted a study on the stress-buffering impacts of purposeful social support on ambulatory blood pressure (p.1440). This research was carried out on the premise that social support is a valid indicator of cardiovascular health. The study by these researchers was also based on the hypothesis that social support may be associated with health since it decreases stress evaluations or deteriorates the link between stress and negative health results and outcomes. In their study, the researchers recognize that previous analyses examine stress-buffering through internal belief that support is available in a person's network when needed rather than actual enacted support based on the structure of an individual's network. They state that analyzing particular support functions provides necessary information about mechanisms beneath the link between global support and health. Consequently, the researchers focused on evaluating certain links to personal support functions, especially emotional and informational support that are regarded as the most consistent stress-buffering functions.
The study was conducted on a group of participants comprising 94 healthy heterosexual couples from the community. The research methodology involved the use of Interpersonal Support Evaluation List (ISEL), Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), Ambulatory Blood Pressure (ABP), and Ambulatory Diary Record (ADR). The results in each of these measures were analyzed through PROC MIXED model and preliminary analyses. The researchers found that informational support constantly buffered the association between temporary stress and both ambulatory systolic and diastolic blood pressure (Bowen et al., p.1443). In essence, global support as well as emotional, tangible and informational support only restrained the impacts of temporary stress but not global stress. The researchers conclude by suggesting that perceived availability of social networks of support that can offer beneficial information or advice is a specific relevant support resource with regards to stress as opposed to global support exclusively. In the face of temporary stress, information support buffering impacts may safeguard against cardiovascular morbidity over time through lessening ambulatory blood pressure.
Summary of Article Two
Christian J. Merz, Oliver T. Wolf and Jurgen Hennig conducted a research on the issue of how stress damages retrieval of socially relevant information. The research was based on the fact that various studies have indicated that stress damages retrieval of memory though their findings are not unequivocal (Merz, Wolf & Hennig, p.288). The research was also influenced by the fact that previous studies have not examined memory for social relevant information. Consequently, their research focused on assessing the effects of stress on the retrieval of information or memory that is socially relevant.
In their study, these researchers utilized a randomized balanced cross-over experiment over a group of 29 participants, which comprised 15 women. The experiment involved conducting two tests on the cognitive performance of these participants as well as testing their social memory in a stress session. In this case, the participants were subjected to a short standardized psychosocial laboratory stressor whose performance was compared to cognitive performance in a stress-free control session. These researchers found that the retrieval of social memory was significantly lessened after stress due to cortisol response. Cortisol response was characterized by considerable changes in cortisol mood and secretion following the successful stress induction. Generally, exposure to stress generated an increase in cortisol concentrations and significant changes in various mood measures. In addition, the retrieval of declaratory memory for information that is socially relevant is damaged after exposure to acute stress just like other forms of declarative memory. The authors conclude by stating that their study demonstrates that acute stress significantly damages the retrieval of information that is socially relevant (Merz, Wolf & Hennig, p.292).
Summary of Article Three
The third article is a research that was carried out by Niall Bolger and John Eckenrode based on the common perception that social relationships buffer the impacts of stress on mental...
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