Over 60 years ago, Selye1 recognized the paradox that the physiologic systems activated by
stress can not only protect and restore but also damage the body. What links these …

Social relationships—both quantity and quality—affect mental health, health behavior,
physical health, and mortality risk. Sociologists have played a central role in establishing the …

SES is consistently associated with health outcomes, yet little is known about the
psychosocial and behavioral mechanisms that might explain this association. Researchers …

Risky families are characterized by conflict and aggression and by relationships that are
cold, unsupportive, and neglectful. These family characteristics create vulnerabilities and/or …

The allostatic load model expands the stress-disease literature by proposing a temporal
cascade of multi-systemic physiological dysregulations that contribute to disease …

Poor children confront widespread environmental inequities. Compared with their
economically advantaged counterparts, they are exposed to more family turmoil, violence …

The notion that chronic stress fosters disease by activating the hypothalamic-pituitary-
adrenocortical (HPA) axis is featured prominently in many theories. The research linking …

Problems with measuring socioeconomic status (SES)—frequently included in clinical and
public health studies as a control variable and less frequently as the variable (s) of main …

Caring for a family member with dementia is generally regarded as a chronically stressful
process, with potentially negative physical health consequences. However, no quantitative …

The built environment has direct and indirect effects on mental health. Highrise housing is
inimical to the psychological well-being of women with young children. Poor-quality housing …