A Dynamic Conceptual Framework of Generalized Adaptation to Stressful Stimuli
This paper reviews the currently popular definitions and theoretical arguments of the so-called “stress” perspective with the purpose of integrating this material into one general paradigm. The literature has been concerned primarily with two parallel processes which purport to account for the individual's coping and adaptive behavior, one characterized by the interplay of internal, psychological forces, and the other by external, environmental factors. These two general processes have been integrated in this paper by expanding upon the general models presented by Dohrenwend (7) to include important feedback processes. It is argued that adaptation to stress is a dynamic process and that the failure to adapt is often the result of a continuing process of past failures by the organism effectively to cope with less severe stressful stimuli, each failure feeding back to affect future attempts to cope with new environmental demands. The implications of the approach presented in this paper for future empirical investigation are discussed.