How do early handling and early separation appear to influence the development of stress response in animal studies?

What is the fetal programming hypothesis?

How might stress experienced by a mother prior to birth influence her baby’s stress response system?

Stress & Coping Final Exam Study Guide 12/7/16 9:34 PM Class 11A: Stress, early development, and family life 1. How might stress experienced by a mother prior to birth influence her  baby’s stress Don't forget about the age old question of our ability to fulfill our potential through greater self-understanding
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response system? • Longitudinal studies suggest that: o Prenatal stress levels are associated with ADHD symptoms in  children at age 7 o Prenatal maternal anxiety and cortisol levels predict child  cortisol reactivity following immunization shots at age 5 • Animal studies also find effects of prenatal stress on later  functioning of offspring, including: o Cognitive impairment and decreased attention  o Behavior that parallels anxiety or depression o Changes in immune functioning  • Under high maternal stress, glucocorticoids cross the placental  barrier  2. What is the fetal programming hypothesis? • Fetal programming hypothesis: exposure to glucocorticoids in  utero appears to shape fetus’s developing nervous system • In animal studies, fetal exposure to cortisol decreases receptors in  the hippocampus, which is a down-regulator of HPA activity  3. How do early handling and early separation appear to influence the  development of stress response in animal studies? • Handling of rat pups: o Alters receptor functioning in hippocampus through  demethylating specific genes o Leads to better down-regulation of HPA axis in the face of  stressors • Female rat pups that are handled grow up to engage in more licking  and grooming of their pups, which leads to better down-regulation  in the face of stress 4. What do we mean when we say that the infant stress response is  “inherently dyadic”? • Inherently dyadic = infants and young children depend on  caregivers for cognitive, behavioral, and emotional regulation o Infant behavior signals distress o Primary caregiver addresses distress 5. What are the central principles of Bowlby’s behavioral systems model of  development? • Bowlby hypothesized a genetically driven pattern evolving due to  long period of physical helplessness in human infant • Behavioral Systems Model of Development o Infant/toddler is motivated to explore o But also motivated to seek a secure base in the face of threat • Bowlby suggested there were individual differences in  attachment security, reflected in: o The child’s behavior in the face of threat o The child’s capacity to down-regulate when reunited with  the caregiver  6. What is the Strange Situation, and how is it used to study attachment? • The Strange Situation: Experimental method for evoking infant  arousal through brief separation, and studying patterns of behavior  and down-regulation on reunion  • Steps in Strange Situation: o Parent and infant are introduced to the experimental room o Parent and infant are alone. Parent does not participate while  infant explores o Stranger enters, converses with parent, then approaches  infant. Parent leaves inconspicuously  o First separation episode: stranger’s behavior is geared to that  of infant.  o First reunion episode: parent greets and comforts infant, then  leaves again o Second separation episode: infant is alone o Continuation of second separation episode: stranger enters  and gears behavior to that of infant o Second reunion episode: parent enters, greets infant, picks  up infant; stranger leaves inconspicuously  7. What is attachment style? • Attachment is a special emotional relationship that involves an  exchange of comfort, care, and pleasure. Attachment style for  individuals varies between three major styles: secure, anxious ambivalent, and avoidant8. What are the major forms of attachment style? • Secure o When parent is present, child will explore freely and engage  with strangers o When parent leaves, child will be visibly upset and unwilling  to engage stranger o When parent returns, child will be happy to see parent return,  and be easily comforted • Anxious-ambivalent o When parent is present, child will be anxious in exploration  and be anxious with strangers o When parent leaves, child will be extremely upset and  unwilling to engage stranger o When parent returns, child will be ambivalent towards parent,  seek to remain close to parent but will be resentful, and will  be resistant when parent initiates attention • Avoidant o When parent is present, child will not explore much, and  avoid or ignore stranger and parent o When parent leaves, child will not show much change in  emotion o When parent returns, child will continue to avoid and ignore  parent  9. Gunnar studied toddler response to challenge. How did her concepts of  reactivity and regulation differ, and what did she find concerning attachment  style and cortisol response? • Attachment style in infancy and early childhood is associated with  ability to regulate emotion, even when child is by nature likely to  be more reactive to stress • Reactivity: children varied on temperamental characteristic of  behavioral inhibition (tendency to restrict approach to new  situations and people), which involves stress reactivity (have a low  threshold for activation of stress response) • Regulation: also assessed by attachment security (ability to re regulate after stress by using parent as a safe base)• Higher cortisol level in saliva was found in the insecure  attachment styles, and showed high reactivity to stress 10. What is reactive attachment disorder, and what is likely to cause it? • Reactive attachment disorder (RAD): o Failure to form normal attachment to caregiver in life period  of 6 months to 3 years  o Children with RAD show markedly disturbed and  developmentally inappropriate ways of relating socially in  most contexts ???? Persisent failure to respond, or excessive sociability • Likely to cause it: more extreme levels of caregiver behavior are  associated with disorganized attachment and RAD o Severe early experiences of neglect/abuse o Abrupt separation from caregivers between the ages of 6  months and 3 years o Frequent change of caregivers  11. What parenting factors influence a young child’s capability to regulate  emotions? • Parental sensitivity: speed and accuracy with which parents attend  to, identify, and respond to discomfort with caretaking behaviot  matched to child needs o Supportive presence o Low intrusiveness o Clarity of instruction  Class 11B: Stress and development in childhood and adolescence 1. Bronfenbrenner coined the terms “microsystem” and “mesosystem” as  ways of describing the developing child’s world. What do these refer to? • Microsystems: child development is shaped by interactions with  immediate others o Parents, siblings, peers, teachers, the internet • Mesosystems: the effects of these microsystems are influenced by  their interactions with each other o Parent-parent-child-sibling, neighborhoods, school settings 2. Why are periods of transition of central importance in understanding  stress during childhood and adolescence? • Periods of transition are of central importance because:o Potentially times of greater challenge and stress o Lack of control and predictability o Old sources of support, comfort, facilitation may suddenly be  less available o Child must develop new skills in meeting challenges 3. What is the difference between normative and non-normative transitions,  and what would be examples of each? • Normative transitions: o Qualitative changes in social fields, types of demands o Common, expected, predictable  o Within a particular geographical setting o Within a particular local culture o Can also involve physical changes • Examples: starting school, moving to the next grade, shifting from  single teacher to multiple teachers • Non-normative transitions: o Changes within as well as across social fields, relatively  unexpected, unpredictable, possibly less common o Commonly involve loss of some form • Examples: parental separation, death, or divorce, child removed  from home and placed in foster care, family has to relocate after  job loss or change 4. What do we mean by parental protection or parental exposure? • Example: study of 1323 families of 3rd-5th grade children • Assessed parent monitoring, child TV and video game use, child  adjustment • More parent monitoring reduced exposure to violent media,  which was associated with less prosocial and more antisocial  behavior  5. What do we mean by parental hostility, and what is the impact of chronic  hostility or aversive parenting on children and adolescents? • Aversive or hostile parenting defined as o Coldness and anger o Physical control o Criticism, verbal attack  • Impact of aversive parenting:o More insecure attachment o Slower development of emotion self-regulation o Slower development of inhibitory control o More aggression towards peers 6. What is the emotional security hypothesis? • Emotional security hypothesis: family conflict contributes to  child emotion regulation through increasing sense of insecurity  7. We discussed Cummings’ study following adolescents and their parents  from 7th to 9th grade. What influenced adolescent sense of security, and  what does it lead to? • Higher family conflict linked to later insecurity, and in turn linked to  peer problems, depression, and anxiety  8. How did Vygotsky define the term “scaffolding,” and what is an example? • Scaffolding is a driver of development • Elements of parental scaffolding o Awareness of child’s current capability o Placing child in situations that are at or slightly past the edge  of capability (“zone of proximal development) o Providing enough guidance and aid so that the child can  achieve success • Example: moving to a new school – parents enabled proximity to  peers and facilitated encouraging activities with peers 9. Sandler and Wolchik developed two programs to help children deal with  stressful transitions. What were those programs, and what effects did they  have? • Sandler and Wolchik developed the Family Bereavement Program  (FBP) and New Beginnings Program for divorced families • Effects of FBP:  o Reduced intrusive grief thoughts for both boys and girls o Reduced anxiety/depression for girls and for those who  started with more severe symptoms (boys and girls) o Reduced negative appraisals for new stressors for girls who  started with more negative appraisal o More authoritative parenting • Effects of New Beginnings: o Lower rates of diagnosable mental and emotional disordersClass 12A: Transitions and emerging adulthood 1. What is meant by “normative”? Give an example of how this might vary  across region or class • “Normative” = Exploration; finding your niche, exploring the  broader world on your own • Expectations and values may vary across region/class o Beliefs or appraisals about “what most people do” o Values concerning “what people should or shouldn’t do” 2. What defines “on-time” versus “off-time” transitions? • Timely completion of a developmental task in relation to: o Biological norms (puberty, height, stature) o Personal beliefs about the timing and sequence of life events o The real or imagined situation of similar-age peers 3. What might influence one’s appraisal or being on-time or off-time? • Age • The voices of others (e.g. parents voicing concern) • The inner voice (internalized norms) • The examples of others in similar circumstances (friends, media) • Concrete circumstances (such as stable sources of income) 4. How does the timing of puberty affect adolescent adjustment? • Risk for depression in adolescence increased for: o Early daters (compared to norm) o Girls with early pubertal maturation  5. Salmela-Aro studied timing of life trajectories by following Finnish  undergrads for 17 years. What did they learn about timing and later  adjustment? • Found a variety of “on-time” and “off-time” trajectories using  culturally normative timing  Class 13A: Stress and Relationships 1. What is social undermining, and what forms of undermining are most  likely to trigger a stress response? • Social undermining: interactions that increase stress response o Social exclusion and rejection o Critical attack o Physical attack • Most likely to trigger a stress response:o Salient rejection or criticism o Exclusion or rejection o Chronic forms of social exclusion, e.g. loneliness, peer  victimization  2. What are some of the long-term health effects of exposure to more  severe social undermining?  • More depression in both males and females in troubled marriages • Marital conflict, worries, and demands predict: o Higher allostatic load, cardiovascular disease, progression of  atherosclerosis, recurrent coronary events, reduced chance of  survival after heart attack • Divorce predicts coronary atherosclerosis, coronary events  3. Social support has been defined in a number of ways by social  psychologists. What are these different definitions? • Support structure or social integration: o Number of people providing support o Presence of best friend or confidant • Sources of support: o Family, friends, pets • Received support: others provide o Information and guidance o Resources o Comfort • Perceived support o Beliefs or appraisals that others are available when needed  4. What is the general benefits hypothesis concerning social support? • Social integration (presence of others in your life) o Decreases cardiovascular risk • Similar effects for all-cause mortality rates for o Isolation and subjective loneliness o Effects were stronger for middle-aged than older 5. What evidence is there for the general benefits hypothesis? • 29% less coronary heart disease • 34% fewer strokes 6. What is the buffering hypothesis concerning social support?• Stress buffering hypothesis: with few stressors, support makes little  difference, but when stressors occur, those with more support are  protected from stress response 7. What evidence is there for short-term buffering? • Stress buffering occurs if those with support show reduced  reactivity or faster regulation than those without • Verbal “support” increased both sympathetic and HPA response 8. What evidence is there for long-term buffering? • In children o Evidence is consistent for stress buffering on depression when  faced with medical challenges, but not consistent for other  stressors o Also evidence that some stressful contexts may dampen the  general positive effects of support • In adults o Evidence for support buffering on depression when faced with  community-wide disasters like floods/hurricanes 9. What does Lakey’s Relational Regulation Theory predict about the effects  of social relationships on stress response? • Relating to others helps us regulate our emotions, thoughts, and  actions during hard times • This usually happens in established relationships where people  regulate each other 10. What specific elements of relationships appear to modulate the effects of  stress? • Goal support: activities by other that support personal goals, or  meaningful objectives people pursue in daily life • Support equity or reciprocity: balance of giving and receiving • Support visibility Class 14A: The science of mindfulness 1. What is a randomized clinical trial? • Randomized group comparison designs • Randomization: assign people to intervention or comparison group  so that each person has equal probability of being in one or the  other 2. What is the evidence for the efficacy of mindfulness-based interventions?• Positive impact on depression, general anxiety, stress, quality of  life, physical functioning • In a range of populations (cancer, chronic pain, existing mental  disorders) • Against various types of controls (waitlist, treatment as usual) 3. What is the evidence that mindfulness-based interventions influence  physiological stress response systems? • Moderately low effects on cortisol change (in healthy direction) • But effects were greater with more sessions of MBI, more hours in  program  • Positive effects on pain intensity and disability 4. Peters studied mindfulness and rejection sensitivity in college students.  How were these associated with negative affect? • For those low in nonjudging facet of mindfulness, higher rejection  sensitivity predicted more negative affect Class 14B: Stress and coping in social groups and social settings 1. What is work-family spillover, and how might it affect individual stress  response? • Spillover between work and family o Work pressures influence parenting, marital relationship o Family demands can affect work-life • Work-life conflict associated with: o Lower marital satisfaction o Lower satisfaction with family life o Higher depression, physical symptoms, alcohol abuse 2. In Lester’s study of military families of children aged 0-10, what were  some of the likely impacts of deployment on children and families? • Deployment of military parent associated with greater: o Anxiety in young children (3-5) o Emotional, conduct, and peer problems in children 6-10 o More problems in family interaction (emotional involvement,  problem solving) o More marital instability  3. What are potential primary and secondary appraisals associated with  communal coping? • Primary appraisals: where is the problem?o “Our problem” versus “your problem” o “We take on each other’s problems” • Secondary appraisals: can we do something about it? o Collective efficacy: beliefs about the effectiveness of the  collective in handling the situation 4. What does it mean to have a “communal orientation,” according to Lyons? • Identifying the stakeholders, and emphasizing inclusiveness • Finding “common ground” (identifying shared goals and values) • Valuing other people’s goals • Valuing the “collective” 5. What is the evidence that communal coping has an impact on stress  response? • Cooperative action o Working out strategies together o Coordinating who does what o Keeping the group together • Communal coping is associated with increases in social support,  which in turn were associated with more positive emotional  experience  6. What are some possible negative effects of attempts at communal coping? • Conflict • Exclusion/rejection • Burden  Class 14B: Stress and the macrosystem 1. What are health disparities, and how are they related to the SES  gradient? • Health disparities are differences in the health status of different  groups of people • Lowest SES: 4 times the prevalence of diseases and mental health  problems compared to highest SES • Effects follow a gradient: for every step down the scale, health  gets worse 2. What is the evidence for health disparities due to race and ethnicity? • Lowest life expectancy in non-Hispanic blacks and in non-Hispanic  white males • Higher prevalence of diabetes in racial minorities3. How do both personal income and the general level of income inequality  in one’s community combine to influence health? • Income inequality: disparity of income and assets across groups • Living in a context of income inequality associated with health  disparities even for the highest income class 4. What are the mechanisms through which adversity contributes to health  disparities? • Early adversity and health disparities o Gene methylation o Inflammatory response o Allostatic load • Childhood disadvantage associated with substantial methylation  5. What is the John Henry effect, and how might it account for findings  concerning adversity and African American adolescents? • John Henry effect: striving for success has positive impacts, but in  the face of large challenges, it may also have negative impact on  health  • African American adolescents: o experiencing more discrimination prior to age 18 associated  with higher allostatic load at age 2012/7/16 9:34 PM12/7/16 9:34 PM