The relationship between social support, stressful events, and menopause symptoms

Many women going through the menopausal transition experience vasomotor symptoms (VMS), and research has shown that there is a large amount of variation in their frequency and severity. Many lifestyle factors have been found to co-vary with VMS, including the level of social support received by the woman, and how stressed she is. Stress is well documented to worsen menopause symptoms, and there is some evidence that support eases them; however, there is little research into whether support is an effective buffer against the negative effects of stress on VMS. Using nine years of data from the Study of Women’s Health Across the Nation (n = 2718), we use multilevel Poisson regression with random effects to test: 1) if more social support is associated with decreased VMS frequency, 2) if increased life stress worsens VMS, and 3) if support acts as a buffer against stress. After adjusting for age, marital status, smoking, self-perceived overall health, ethnicity, and menopausal status, we find that stress increases the frequency of VMS. Contrary to our hypothesis, we did not find strong evidence that emotional support led to lower VMS frequency, or that support buffers against the effects of stress. Experience of a stressful event, but not amount of social support, was included in the best fitting model; with the degree to which the woman was upset by the life stressor having the largest effect on menopause symptoms. Here, women who said they were currently upset by a stressful event experienced 21% more VMS than women who had experienced no life stressor. This research highlights that social factors may impact the menopausal transition.

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Stressful Events in Old Age: Who are Most Exposed and Who are Most Likely to Overcome Them

Gerontology and Geriatric Medicine ◽

10.1177/2333721420970116 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 6 ◽

pp. 233372142097011

Author(s):

M. Soledad Herrera ◽

M. Beatriz Fernández

Keyword(s):

Social Support ◽

Older People ◽

Old Age ◽

Self Efficacy ◽

Stressful Events ◽

Social Characteristics ◽

Stressful Event ◽

Face To Face ◽

Protective Resources ◽

Solvable Problems

Objectives: This study investigated self-reported events that were rated as stressful and being affecting wellbeing among older people. It also examined the variables associated with the perception of overcoming these stressful events. Methods: Face-to-face survey on a representative sample of 1,431 older people in Santiago-Chile. Instruments included open-ended questions for distinguishing events as losses, problems, conflicts, and others’ difficulties. The associations between the occurrence and overcoming of events with individual and social characteristics were examined through multivariate logistic regression. Results: 39.5% mentioned at least one stressful event, being mostly perceived as solvable problems rather than losses. Higher-income, better health, self-efficacy, and social support were associated with a higher perception of event overcoming. Conclusion: The occurrence and the probability of events’ overcoming does not increase in old-old age in this sample group. Better health and individual and social resources such as self-efficacy and social support, are protective resources for overcoming the stressful events, but they are not generally considered in public policies.

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Perceived social support as predictor of treatment completion in methamphetamine dependent individuals

Revista Internacional de Investigación en Adicciones ◽

10.28931/riiad.2019.2.03 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 5 (2) ◽

pp. 21-29

Author(s):

Fara Arreola ◽

Perla Vargas ◽

Miriam Domínguez ◽

Elías Robles

Keyword(s):

Social Support ◽

Perceived Social Support ◽

Treatment Completion ◽

Stressful Events ◽

Negative Effects ◽

Therapeutic Success ◽

Addiction Severity ◽

The Social ◽

Beneficial Impact

Introduction: perceived social support (PSS) is considered an important factor to lessen the negative effects of stressful events. Likewise, the literature suggests a beneficial impact on the evolution of different diseases. However, little is known about the relationship between PSS and treatment completion in methamphetamine-dependent individuals who receive help in a forced manner. Objective: to evaluate the effect of perceived social support (PSS) on treatment completion in methamphetamine-dependent individuals. Methods: prospective study with a cohort of 67 men on whom PSS, addiction severity, anxiety, and depression were assessed. Results: analysis of variance of prospectively obtained data showed that age, years of drug use, and PSS differed between those who completed the treatment and those who did not. Logistic regression analysis showed that increases in PSS (Odds Ratio, OR = .970, Confidence Interval - CI 95 % = .943 - .999) were predictive of a decrease in the probability of completing the treatment, while age had the opposite effect (OR = 1.117, CI 95 % = .1.027 - 1.215). Discussion and conclusion: these results show that the role of social support in the treatment of chronic conditions is complex and suggest the need to study the nature and quality of the social interactions that lead to therapeutic success.

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Impact of stressful life events on central adiposity in the Pelotas Birth Cohort

Revista de Saúde Pública ◽

10.11606/s1518-8787.2018052000161 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 52 ◽

pp. 61 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Pamela J Surkan ◽

Kwame S Sakyi ◽

Alice Hu ◽

Maria T Olinto ◽

Helen Gonçalves ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Social Support ◽

Waist Circumference ◽

Birth Cohort ◽

Life Events ◽

Stressful Life Events ◽

Stressful Events ◽

Stressful Life ◽

Stressful Event ◽

Central Adiposity ◽

Waist To Hip Ratio

OBJECTIVE: To investigate how stressful life events and social support relate to central adiposity in Southern Brazil. METHODS: Data included information from 802 participants in the 1982 Pelotas Birth Cohort that was collect in 2004–2005 and 2006. Stratifying by sex, we studied self-reported stressful life events during the year before 2004–2005 in relation to change in waist circumference between 2004–2005 and 2006 and waist-to-hip ratio in 2006, using both bivariate and multivariate linear regression models. RESULTS: In adjusted models, the experience of stressful life events during the year before 2004–2005 predicted a change in waist circumference in 2006 in men and a change in both waist-to-hip ratio in 2006 and waist circumference between 2004–2005 and 2006 in women. Men who experienced two or more stressful events had on average a one centimeter increase in their waist circumference between 2004–2005 and 2006 (β = 0.97, 95%CI 0.02–1.92), compared to those reporting no stressful events. For women, those who had one and those who had two or more stressful life events had over a 1 cm increase in their waist circumference from 2004–2005 to 2006 (β = 1.37, 95%CI 0.17–2.54; β = 1.26, 95%CI 0.11–2.40, respectively), compared to those who did not experience any stressful event. For both sexes, social support level was not significantly related to either waist-to-hip ratio or change in waist circumference, and it did not modify the association between stress and central adiposity

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Early life stress and development: potential mechanisms for adverse outcomes

Journal of Neurodevelopmental Disorders ◽

10.1186/s11689-020-09337-y ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 12 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Karen E. Smith ◽

Seth D. Pollak

Keyword(s):

Individual Differences ◽

Life Stress ◽

Early Life ◽

Early Life Stress ◽

Adverse Outcomes ◽

Stressful Events ◽

Negative Effects ◽

Extreme Stress ◽

Wide Range ◽

Stress Influences

Abstract Background Chronic and/or extreme stress in early life, often referred to as early adversity, childhood trauma, or early life stress, has been associated with a wide range of adverse effects on development. However, while early life stress has been linked to negative effects on a number of neural systems, the specific mechanisms through which early life stress influences development and individual differences in children’s outcomes are still not well understood. Main text The current paper reviews the existing literature on the neurobiological effects of early life stress and their ties to children’s psychological and behavioral development. Conclusions Early life stress has persistent and pervasive effects on prefrontal–hypothalamic–amygdala and dopaminergic circuits that are at least partially mediated by alterations in hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis function. However, to date, this research has primarily utilized methods of assessment that focus solely on children’s event exposures. Incorporating assessment of factors that influence children’s interpretation of stressors, along with stressful events, has the potential to provide further insight into the mechanisms contributing to individual differences in neurodevelopmental effects of early life stress. This can aid in further elucidating specific mechanisms through which these neurobiological changes influence development and contribute to risk for psychopathology and health disorders.

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Clarifying the links between social support and health: Culture, stress, and neuroticism matter

Journal of Health Psychology ◽

10.1177/1359105312439731 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 18 (2) ◽

pp. 226-235 ◽

Cited By ~ 60

Author(s):

Jiyoung Park ◽

Shinobu Kitayama ◽

Mayumi Karasawa ◽

Katherine Curhan ◽

Hazel R Markus ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Social Support ◽

Empirical Evidence ◽

Life Stress ◽

Cultural Context ◽

Large Scale ◽

Cross Cultural ◽

Stressful Events ◽

Perceived Support ◽

Personal Style ◽

Moderating Factors

Although it is commonly assumed that social support positively predicts health, the empirical evidence has been inconsistent. We argue that three moderating factors must be considered: (1) support-approving norms (cultural context); (2) support-requiring situations (stressful events); and (3) support-accepting personal style (low neuroticism). Our large-scale cross-cultural survey of Japanese and US adults found significant associations between perceived support and health. The association was more strongly evident among Japanese (from a support-approving cultural context) who reported high life stress (in a support-requiring situation). Moreover, the link between support and health was especially pronounced if these Japanese were low in neuroticism.

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