The Stress Process Revisited

Abstract

Social research into stress and its consequences has burgeoned over the past 25 years or so. Indeed, the accumulated body of knowledge about social stress has contributed substantially to our understanding of the forces affecting the well-being of people. The expansion of knowledge has not occurred because sociologists are of one mind about stress and its consequences; far from it. Research into stress has moved in many directions, has examined multiple levels of social and personal life, and has focused on an array of issues. The notion of “the stress process,” a label first used in 1981 (Pearlin, Lieberman, Menaghan, Mullan, 1981), represents an attempt to give some conceptual organization to the diverse lines of research that were—and still are—underway. This is not a task that is easily or quickly brought to completion. Instead, it is a continuous challenge requiring an unending appraisal of what we know and of the future directions that merit attention. This chapter is part of that ongoing critical appraisal.