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Current Issues and Future Directions in Research into the Stress Process

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Handbook of the Sociology of Mental Health

Part of the book series: Handbooks of Sociology and Social Research ((HSSR))

Abstract

This chapter presents an overview of the stress process, which is the conceptual framework that examines the interrelationships among the stressors to which people might be exposed, and the mediating and moderating conditions that help to regulate the impact of the stressors on various aspects of people’s mental health. Of salient sociological importance, the stress process also takes into account the bearing of status placement on the stressors people experience, the mediating and moderating resources and conditions to which they have access, and the symptoms of mental health they manifest. Over the 30 years since its inception, it has helped to lead researchers to a greater understanding of the connections between mental health and its complex psychosocial causes. Yet, there are many gaps in this understanding, and some of these have been singled out here as promising targets for future research.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Sociology, University of Maryland, College Park, 3100 Shore Drive, # 1053, Virginia Beach, VA, 23451, USA

    Leonard I. Pearlin

  2. Department of Sociology, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada

    Alex Bierman

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  1. Leonard I. Pearlin
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  2. Alex Bierman
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Correspondence to Leonard I. Pearlin .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Community Health Sciences Fielding School of Public Health, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Carol S. Aneshensel

  2. Department of Sociomedical Sciences Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA

    Jo C. Phelan

  3. Department of Sociology, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada

    Alex Bierman

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Pearlin, L.I., Bierman, A. (2013). Current Issues and Future Directions in Research into the Stress Process. In: Aneshensel, C.S., Phelan, J.C., Bierman, A. (eds) Handbook of the Sociology of Mental Health. Handbooks of Sociology and Social Research. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-4276-5_16

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