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Stress Vulnerability Models

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  • First Online:
Encyclopedia of Behavioral Medicine

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Synonyms

Stress diathesis models

Definition

Vulnerability models are used to identify factors that are causally related to symptom development. Stress vulnerability models describe the relation between stress and the development of (psycho)pathology. They propose an association between (1) latent endogenous vulnerability factors that interact with stress to increase the adverse impact of stressful conditions, (2) environmental factors that influence the onset and course of (psycho)pathology, and (3) protective factors that buffer against or mitigate the effects of stress on pathological responses.

Description

The prevalence of stress-related mental disorders encompassing mood and anxiety disorders in Europe is above 20%. This morbidity is associated with high health-care costs, disability, and potential mortality. It is widely acknowledged that there are individual differences in how stressful people judge a particular event to be as well as in their ability to cope with adverse...

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References and Further Reading

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  • Curtis, W. J., & Cicchetti, D. (2003). Moving research on resilience into the 21st century: Theoretical and methodological considerations in examining the biological contributors to resilience. Development and Psychopathology, 15, 773–810.

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  • Huizink, A., & De Rooij, S. (2018). Prenatal stress and models explaining risk for psychopathology revisited: Generic vulnerability and divergent pathways. Development and Psychopathology, 30(3), 1041–1062. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0954579418000354.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Maastricht, MD, The Netherlands

    Conny W. E. M. Quaedflieg

  2. Department of Medical and Clinical Psychology, Tilburg School of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Tilburg University, Tilburg, The Netherlands

    Tom Smeets

Authors
  1. Conny W. E. M. Quaedflieg
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  2. Tom Smeets
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Conny W. E. M. Quaedflieg .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Behavioral Medicine Research Center, Department of Psychology, University of Miami, Miami, FL, USA

    Marc D. Gellman

Section Editor information

  1. Department of Psychology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria

    Urs M. Nater

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Quaedflieg, C.W.E.M., Smeets, T. (2020). Stress Vulnerability Models. In: Gellman, M.D. (eds) Encyclopedia of Behavioral Medicine. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-39903-0_65

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-39903-0_65

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-39901-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-39903-0

  • eBook Packages: MedicineReference Module Medicine

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