It appears from a review of the literature that stress is directly related to physical and mental illness at all ages of development and across all socio-economic strata. From infants who have a higher asthma morbidity because of stress-related factors to workers who suffer burnout and illness from occupational-related stressors, increasing numbers of Americans are suffering from the physical and mental effects of stress. This research will focus on the correlation between stress and physiological illness.
Stress-related physiological illness is increasing in the United States. While some people become physically ill from the effects of stress, others seem able to cope with it in a more effective manner “Stress is anything that exerts our bodies physically, mentally, and/or emotionally. We all have observed people who experience stress and handle it effectively; and we have observed others who experience similar stress, but become irritable, tense, and/or physically ill” (Berry, 1999, 1). Stress from emotional tension appears more likely to be associated with physiological illness than stress from work or exercise. Further, research has shown that Type A personalities are more susceptible to the deleterious health effects of stress (Berry, 1999, 1).
While many people experience stress in the workplace, stress and its negative impact on health appears to effect people at all ages of development. Recent studies conducted on inner city children where high levels of asthma morbidity and mortality were reported have shown that behavioral and psychosocial factors affect asthma morbidity in children, including stress “Participants had limited asthma-solving skills, multiple adults managing their asthma, high levels of life stress, elevated levels of child behavior problems, and elevated levels of caretaker psychological symptoms” (Weil et al., 1999, 1-2). Researcher theorize that higher le
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