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Psychological stress, measured in terms of adverse social conditions, traumatic experiences, negative life events, or daily hassles, is related to a wide variety of unfavorable health outcomes—both unhealthy behaviors and clear physical consequences. Intense, persistent stress, from the prenatal period on, disrupts the brain’s inherent ability to manage stress, with long-term consequences. For individuals with childhood histories of stress, continuing stressful experiences combine with an impaired capacity to cope with stress, heightening the risk of adult health impairments. As SES decreases, exposure to diverse stressors rises—an association that plays an important role in the strong connection between low SES and poor health. Chronic stress is linked to overweight and obesity, diabetes, hypertension, and atherosclerosis. And in susceptible individuals, acute stress can trigger cardiac events, including heartbeat rhythm abnormalities and heart attacks. Stress interferes with immune system functioning, a link that may underlie its relationship to several forms of cancer. And by reducing digestive activity as blood flows to the brain, heart, and extremities, stress can cause gastrointestinal difficulties, including constipation, diarrhea, colitis, and ulcers. The many challenging tasks of early adulthood make it a particularly stressful time of life. Young adults more often report depressive symptoms than middle-aged people, many of whom have attained vocational success and financial security and are enjoying more free time as parenting responsibilities decline. Because of their longer life experience, middle-aged and older adults are better than young adults at coping with stress. Helping young adults establish and maintain satisfying, caring social ties is an important health intervention.
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