Outline and evaluate research into stress and the immune system.
Outline and evaluate research into stress and the immune system. One study that researched into stress and the immune system was Kiecolt-Glaser et al. (1984). This study was a natural experiment which investigated whether the stress of short-term, stressors had an effect on immune system functioning in medical students. The procedures involved taking blood samples one month before and a low stress point, and during the exam period which is a high stress point. Immune system functioning was assessed by measuring NK cell activity in the blood samples. Participants also completed a questionnaire to measure what other stressors they were experiencing in their lives. They found that NK cell activity had decreased significantly the sample taken during the exam period in comparison to the first sample. This suggests that short-term stressors reduce immune system functioning, increasing vulnerability to illness. They also found that those students who reported the highest levels of loneliness had the lowest NK cell activity.
There are some criticisms of studies such as these however, such as that stress and illness is not a ‘simple relationship’. Lazarus (1992) suggests several reasons why. Such as because health is affected by many different factors including lifestyle and genetic influences, resulting in little variance left that can be accounted for by stress. Also because health in generally fairly stable and as a result, it makes it difficult to demonstrate that exposure to particular stressors have caused a change in health. Another criticism of this research is that other studies have found that acute stressors can enhance the immune system, such as Evans et al. (1994) who found that stressors caused an increase in slgA in students. SlgA helps protect against infection. However most studies investigating the relationship between stress and the immune system have found a decrease in immune system functioning, studies such as Arnetz et al. Who found a decrease in
There are some criticisms of studies such as these however, such as that stress and illness is not a ‘simple relationship’. Lazarus (1992) suggests several reasons why. Such as because health is affected by many different factors including lifestyle and genetic influences, resulting in little variance left that can be accounted for by stress. Also because health in generally fairly stable and as a result, it makes it difficult to demonstrate that exposure to particular stressors have caused a change in health. Another criticism of this research is that other studies have found that acute stressors can enhance the immune system, such as Evans et al. (1994) who found that stressors caused an increase in slgA in students. SlgA helps protect against infection. However most studies investigating the relationship between stress and the immune system have found a decrease in immune system functioning, studies such as Arnetz et al. Who found a decrease in