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‘Ask a hundred people, you get a hundred definitions’: A comparison of lay and expert understanding of stress and its associations with health.

Wezyk, A. B., Arden-Close, E. and Turner-Cobb, J. M., 2024. ‘Ask a hundred people, you get a hundred definitions’: A comparison of lay and expert understanding of stress and its associations with health. Stress and Health, 40 (3), e3328.

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DOI: 10.1002/smi.3328

Abstract

The understanding an individual holds about stress can influence their appraisal of it and have implications for subsequent health, yet knowledge of such understanding is scarce. This study explored discrepancies between lay and expert understanding of stress and links made between stress and health. Twenty-six lay members of the local community aged 18–62 years, and seven expert stress researchers, participated in individual semi-structured interviews. Thematic analysis of the two datasets was conducted separately, then findings compared to identify similarities and differences between lay and scientific understanding. Whilst many similarities were identified, we found three important discrepancies: (i) Lay participants demonstrated a strong awareness of the indirect effects of stress on health via health behaviours; (ii) compared to experts, lay participants showed less awareness of a direct path between stress and physical health; (iii) lay participants showed less understanding of social determinants of stress and collective measures for stress management that went beyond individual responsibility. Discrepancies identified serve to highlight potential misunderstandings in lay conceptualisation of stress and its links with health. These findings have potential to facilitate the work of practitioners who serve as intermediaries to translate scientific knowledge into therapeutic benefit, through improved awareness and communication surrounding stress understanding.

Item Type:Article
ISSN:1532-3005
Uncontrolled Keywords:coping; health; lay conceptualisation; psychosocial stress; stress understanding
Group:Faculty of Science & Technology
ID Code:39151
Deposited By: Symplectic RT2
Deposited On:17 Nov 2023 16:07
Last Modified:03 Jul 2024 15:53

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