Structure of Daily Stress in Ordinary Situations and in Situations of Ambiguity

Abstract

Background. In the modern reality, a person faces many daily troubles, which accumulate and have a negative impact on mental and physical health. In this regard, the relevance of studying the structure of daily stress (DS) is obvious, as it allows to understand the specifics of the relationship between daily stressors depending on the life situation. Understanding the structure of daily stress that occurs in a person's ordinary situation and in a situation of uncertainty is important not only for scientific knowledge, but also for the psychological practice in terms of developing effective coping behavior programs and crisis counseling.

Objective. To study the relationships of various stressors in the structure of DS in everyday life and in a situation of uncertainty (under the influence of a global macrostressor — COVID-19).

Study Participants. The study involved 771 respondents aged 20 to 68 years, including 530 women and 241 men: 407 people before the pandemic period and 364 people during the pandemic period.

Methods. Everyday Stressors Questionnaire (Petrash et al., 2018), comparative analysis, multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA), structural modeling method "path model".

Results. The study revealed certain differences in the severity of DS characteristics indicating an increase in the intensity of subjective stress experience and a decrease in the level of sensitivity to daily stressors during the pandemic period. The comparative analysis demonstrated gender differences in the intensity of DS experience and the level of sensitivity to everyday stressors. The results of structural modeling identified the specifics in the structure of DS in everyday life (before the pandemic) and in a situation of uncertainty (during the pandemic).

Conclusions. The specificity of the interrelations of stress factors in the structure of daily stress varies depending on the living conditions of a person. In habitual living conditions, the leading stressor is "violation of plans". Under conditions of a macrostressor, a "stress complex" of a situation of uncertainty arises, the triggers being the stressors "expectations", "violation of plans", "affairs/work", associated with the unknown consequences and uncertainty of the future, including employment. The level of stress in the area of family relations in a situation of uncertainty tends to increase in both men and women, but in men this increase is more pronounced. At the same time, women show a more pronounced decrease in the level of sensitivity to daily stressors. In general, under conditions of a macrostressor, the severity of daily stress and its characteristics is higher in women.

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