The Stress Process and the Quality of Life

Investigator(s):

Walter Ensel (PI)

Sponsor:

SUNY at Albany, NY 12222 5184374550

Start Date/Expiration Date

2003-08-01 to 2005-07-31 (amended 2003-07-21)

Awarded Amount to Date:

$68,287

Abstract: SES-0307133 Walter Ensel SUNY Albany Sociological research on the stress process to date has focused, primarily, on psychological well-being as the outcome of interest. This study takes a different approach in examining the stress model. Responding to recent calls for the study of multiple health outcomes that have appeared in the literature on the sociology of health and social behavior, this project study expands the concept of well-being to include psychological, physical, and social well-being. Taken together, these three concepts are viewed as reflecting health related quality of life. The project also returns to the roots of stress research by re-examining the role of stressors in the stress process. While sociological research has focused on current stressors or stressors in the recent past (last 1-3 years), the current project expands the time frame for the measurement of stressors to include childhood stressors as well as more moderate (last 15 years) and recent stressors. The major research question explored is "Does childhood adversity impact the quality of life in adulthood? If so, what is the nature of this pathway? The study involves secondary analysis of data from a five-wave panel study that spans the period 1979-1994. Specifically, the study will: (1) examine bivariate relationships between childhood stressors and three types of well-being, (2) examine 3 separate models of the life stress process in which childhood stressors, along with other stressors are examined for their effects on three types of well-being, (3) examine the extent to which recent stressors mediate/moderate the effects of earlier stressors on three types of well-being, (4) examine the direct and mediating/moderating effect of resources on well-being, and (5) test a general stress model that simultaneously includes all three indicators of health related quality of life. A broader impact of the current project will be the enhancement of our understanding of the effect which exposure to stressful life events early in life can have on our current health-related environment. It holds promise for informing health researchers and policymakers as to the importance of past stresses and strains and the role these psycho-social risk factors play in effecting current every day life. A reduction in the effects of these risk factors would result in an improvement of the health of all subgroups in the population. Results of the work will be broadly disseminated to an interdisciplinary audience.

NSF Org:

SES - Division of Social and Economic Sciences

Award Number:

0307133

Award Instrument:

Standard Grant

Program Manager:

Patricia White
SES Division of Social and Economic Sciences
SBE Directorate for Social, Behavioral & Economic Sciences

NSF Program(s):

SOCIOLOGY

Field Application(s):

Program Reference Code(s):

UNASSIGNED, 0000

Program Element Code(s):

1331