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Journal of Community Health
Published in: Journal of Community Health 1/2013

01-02-2013 | Original Paper

The Perception of Stress and its Impact on Health in Poor Communities

Authors: Sue A. Kaplan, Vivienne Patricia Madden, Todor Mijanovich, Ellenrita Purcaro

Published in: Journal of Community Health | Issue 1/2013

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Abstract

With the increased understanding of the relationship between stress and disease, the role of stress in explaining persistent disparities in health outcomes has received growing attention. One body of research has focused on allostatic load—the “wear and tear” that results from chronic or excessive activation of the stress response. Other research has looked at the link between stress and health behaviors. In this study, we conducted 7 focus groups with a total of 56 people to understand how people living in Highbridge, South Bronx, New York, a low income community with poor health outcomes, perceive stress and its relationship to health. Focus group participants described a direct causal pathway between stress and poor health as well as an indirect pathway through health behaviors, including uncontrolled eating, sleep deprivation, substance abuse, smoking, violence and aggression, and withdrawal and inactivity. Participants articulated a number of theories about why stress leads to these unhealthy behaviors, including self-medication, adaptive behavior, discounting the future, depletion of willpower, and competing priorities. Their nuanced understanding of the link between stress and health elucidates the mechanisms and pathways by which stress may result in disparities in health outcomes and create challenges in changing health behaviors in poor communities like the South Bronx.
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Metadata
Title
The Perception of Stress and its Impact on Health in Poor Communities
Authors
Sue A. Kaplan
Vivienne Patricia Madden
Todor Mijanovich
Ellenrita Purcaro
Publication date
01-02-2013
Publisher
Springer US
Published in
Journal of Community Health / Issue 1/2013
Print ISSN: 0094-5145
Electronic ISSN: 1573-3610
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10900-012-9593-5

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