the effects of daily life on stress levels
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The Effects of Daily Life on Stress Levels
by Chad Clippingdale & Shannon Birk
Abstract
Daily hassles, life experiences, and work are all predictors of stress, while sleep, exercise,
and social support have been found to reduce stress. To replicate these findings, thirty
participants, 15 males and 15 females (mean age of 30.4) were surveyed with a variety of
questionnaires. Significant positive correlations were found between stress and the factors of
daily hassles, life experiences, and work hours, while social support and stress were significantly
negatively correlated. However, expected relationships between sleep and stress, and between
exercise and stress, were not significant.
Introduction
Stress is a part of everyday life (Weiten, 2001). We experience stress each day, sometimes
positively and sometimes negatively. Without stress life would be dull; however, we must learn
to cope with all forms of stress to prevent it affecting our psychological and physical health
(Weiten, 2001).
Kohn, Lafreniere & Gurevich (as cited in Weiten, 2001) found that routine daily hassles can
have a significant effect on our mental health. Although minor hassles alone may not be
stressful, many hassles may build up and overwhelm an individual, causing stress. Also, Holmes
& Rahe (as cited in Weiten, 2001) and others have found that changes in life, positive or
negative, require adjustment. During this time of adjustment, one may be more susceptible to
stress. More changes in one's life may increase one's susceptibility to stress. However, not all
life experiences are stressful. Social support is very important to reducing stress (House, Landis
& Umberson, 1988). Having someone to listen and give empathy helps to justify our feelings
and makes us feel better. According to Davis, Morris & Kraus (1998), there is an inverse
correlation between social support and mental health.
Exercise and getting a good night sleep are also very important to coping with stress.
Exercise provides an opportunity to release frustrations and increases resistance to stress,
while sleep deprivation decreases it. When deprived of sleep, one might under-perform on
cognitive tasks, which itself may increase stress levels (Weiten, 2001).
Work stress is another important factor that has been the subject of much research. Weiten
(2001) noted that "pressure has turned out to be more strongly related to measures of mental
health than the SSRS" (p. 534), a measure of life change. A heavy workload, a hectic work
schedule, a poor work environment, and low job security are all factors that can cause stress at
work (Weiten, 2001). When one spends longer hours exposed to these factors, stress levels
may become greater.
This study was designed to replicate past research and investigate the correlations between
stress and daily hassles; social support; life experiences; exercise; sleep; and work levels.
Method
Participants
There were 30 participants in this study, 15 men and 15 women. Ages ranged from 13 to 59.
The mean age was 30.4. Participants were attending school, work, or both.
Materials
Information was gathered using the Hassles Scale (Delongis, Folkman, & Lazarus, 1988), Life
Experiences Survey (Sarason, Johnson, & Siegel, 1978), Stress Test (Weiten, 2001), and Social
Support Scale (Weiten, 2001). Participants were also asked to report their average hours of
work or school per week, average hours of sleep per night, and average hours of exercise per
week.
Procedure
Each participant was asked to complete the questionnaire package. Confidentiality was
emphasized and participants were asked not to include their names. The researchers then
scored the tests and correlated the results using the Pearson product-moment correlation.
Results
Pearson product-moment correlations were computed to measure the relationship
between stress levels and the other factors studied. The following table presents the findings.
Table 1
n = 30
Correlations between Stress & Various Stress
Factors
Factors Stress
Daily Hassles .47**
Social support -.35*
Life experiences .42*
Weekly exercise -.08
Hrs of sleep -.21
Hrs of work .39*
** p <.01, * p <.05
Daily hassles, life experiences, and hours of work were all significantly correlated with
stress. This indicates significant positive relationships exist between these factors and stress
levels. As hassles, life experiences, or work hours increase, so does stress.
The correlation between social support and stress was r = -.35 (p<.05), indicating a
significant negative relationship between the two. (That is, lower levels of social support are
associated with higher levels of stress, and vice versa).
However, the correlations between exercise and stress (r= -.08) and between sleep and
stress (r = -.21) were not significant.
Discussion
The finding of a significant positive correlation (r = +.47, p < .01) between daily hassles and
stress levels supports Kohn et al.'s research on the stress effects of daily hassles (as cited in
Weiten, 2001). One hassle by itself may be small and insignificant, but when hassles start to
build up they may cause a great deal of stress. The finding of a negative correlation (r = -.35, p <
.05) between social support and stress also supports past research (Davis, Morris & Kraus,
1998; House, Landis & Umberson, 1988). Social support can be very important in reducing
stress because it allows people to talk about, and have others listen to their problems.
The significant positive correlation (r = +.42, p < .05) between life experience and stress also
supports Holmes & Rahe's research (as cited in Weiten, 2001) that the more changes in life one
has, the more susceptible to stress one becomes.
The significant positive correlation (r = +.39, p < .05) between work hours and stress
supports Weiten's (2001) research on the subject. The work environment can be a very stressful
place and the more time one spends there, the higher their stress levels may become.
However, the absence of the expected inverse correlation between exercise (Brown, 1991)
and stress was unexpected. Brown has shown that exercise can be beneficial to reducing stress
levels. Perhaps more participants were needed in order to show an accurate correlation. Social
desirability bias (Weiten, 2001) may also have been a factor. The participants may have
reported the amount of exercise that they believed to be socially acceptable instead of the
amount of exercise they actually did.
The negative correlation between sleep and stress was not significant (r = -.21). A stronger,
more significant correlation was expected. A good night's sleep is essential to resisting stress.
One reason for these results might be that hours of sleep in this survey were all around eight
hours, while stress levels were scattered over a much larger range. Again, the small sample size
might be a factor; more participants might increase the accuracy of the results.
References
Brown, J. D. (1991). Staying fit and staying well: Physical fitness as a moderator of life stress
[Abstract]. Journal of
Psychology and Social Psychology, 60, 555-561.
Davis, M. H., Morris, M. M., & Kraus, L. A. (1998). Relationship-specific and global perception of
social support:
Associations with well-being and attachments. Journal of Psychology and Social Psychology,
74, 468-481.
Delongis, A., Folkman, S., & Lazarus, R. S. (1988). The impact of daily stress on health and mood:
Psychological
and social resources as mediators. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 54, 486-
496.
House, J. S., Landis, K. R. & Umberson, D. (1988). Social relationships and health. Science, 241,
540-545.
Sarason, I. G., Johnson, J. H., Siegel, J. M. (1978). Assessing the impact of life changes:
Development of
the Life Experiences Survey. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 46, 943-946.
Weiten, W. (2010). Psychology: Themes and variations (2nd Cdn. ed.). Toronto: Wadsworth.