Measuring Stress in Humans

The purpose of this 2006 book is to present non-invasive methods of measuring the biological responses to psychosocial stress in humans, in non-laboratory (field) settings. Following the pathways of Seyle's General Adaptation Syndrome, the text first describes how to assess the psychosocial stressors of everyday life and then outlines how to measure the psychological, behavioral, neurohumeral, physiological and immunological responses to them. The book concludes with practical information on assessing special populations, analyzing the often-complicated data that are collected in field stress studies and the ethical treatment of human subjects in stress studies. It is intended to be a practical guide for developing and conducting psychophysiological stress research in human biology. This book will assist students and professionals in designing field studies of stress. Review of the hardback: '... this practical state-of-the-art guide is recommendable for all those, who are involved in non-invasive methods for measuring the biological responses to stress in field settings.' Anthropologischer AnzeigerForeword; Part I. General Principles: 1. Conducting a field study of stress: general principles Gary D. James and Gillian H. Ice; Part II. Measuring Stress Responses: 2. Cultural fimensions of the dtress process: measurement issues in fieldwork William Dressler; 3. Measuring the emotional and behavioral response to stressors Gillian H. Ice; 4. Measuring hormonal variation in the sympathetic adrenal medullary system: catecholamines Daniel Brown; 5. Measuring hormonal variation in the hypothalamic pituitary adrenal axis (HPA): cortisol Tessa Pollard and Gillian H. Ice; 6. Measuring physiological changes in the cardiovascular system: ambulatory blood pressure Gary D James; 7. Measuring immunological markers Thomas W. McDade; Part III. Practical Issues in Studying Stress: 8. Special populations Sharon R. Williams; 9. Study design and data analysis Gary D. James and Gillian H. Ice; 10. Ethics in human subjects research Gary D. James and Gillian H. Ice; 11. Epilogue: summary and future directions Gary D. James and Gillian H. Ice.