Stress, social support and health-related behavior: a study of smoking, alcohol consumption and physical exercise - PubMed

Stress, social support and health-related behavior: a study of smoking, alcohol consumption and physical exercise

A Steptoe et al. J Psychosom Res. 1996 Aug.

Abstract

The effects of academic examination stress on health behavior was assessed in university students. It was hypothesized that the anticipation of examinations would lead to increases in cigarette smoking and alcohol consumption, and to decreases in physical activity, and that effects would be particularly salient in students with low social supports. One hundred eighty students were divided into exam-stress (51 women, 64 men) and control (49 women, 16 men) groups, and were assessed at baseline and then within 2 weeks of exams, or an equivalent point for the control group. Perceived stress, emotional well-being and health behaviors were assessed by questionnaire and interview. The exam-stress group reported significant increases in perceived stress and emotional distress between baseline and exam sessions, but responses were not affected by social support availability. The controls showed no systematic changes in health behaviors. In the exam-stress group, smoking increased by an average of 54.7% between sessions in women with few social supports, but remained stable in men. There was a decrease in alcohol consumption of 17.5% in students with high social support between sessions, while those with low social supports showed an average increase of 18.5%. Physical activity decreased between baseline and exam sessions in the exam-stress group, but was not affected by social support. The results are discussed in relation to the effects of naturally occurring episodic stress on health behaviors, and the role of social support in moderating responses.

Similar articles

• Effects of academic examination stress on eating behavior and blood lipid levels.

  Pollard TM, Steptoe A, Canaan L, Davies GJ, Wardle J. Pollard TM, et al. Int J Behav Med. 1995;2(4):299-320. doi: 10.1207/s15327558ijbm0204_2. Int J Behav Med. 1995. PMID: 16250770

• Predictors of health behaviours in college students.

  Von Ah D, Ebert S, Ngamvitroj A, Park N, Kang DH. Von Ah D, et al. J Adv Nurs. 2004 Dec;48(5):463-74. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2648.2004.03229.x. J Adv Nurs. 2004. PMID: 15533084

• Alcohol consumption and smoking and their associations with socio-demographic characteristics, dietary patterns, and perceived academic stress in Puerto Rican college students.

  González AM, Cruz SY, Ríos JL, Pagán I, Fabián C, Betancourt J, Rivera-Soto WT, González MJ, Palacios C. González AM, et al. P R Health Sci J. 2013 Jun;32(2):82-8. P R Health Sci J. 2013. PMID: 23781624

• Effects on birth weight of smoking, alcohol, caffeine, socioeconomic factors, and psychosocial stress.

  Brooke OG, Anderson HR, Bland JM, Peacock JL, Stewart CM. Brooke OG, et al. BMJ. 1989 Mar 25;298(6676):795-801. doi: 10.1136/bmj.298.6676.795. BMJ. 1989. PMID: 2496859 Free PMC article.

• Close relationships, inflammation, and health.

  Kiecolt-Glaser JK, Gouin JP, Hantsoo L. Kiecolt-Glaser JK, et al. Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2010 Sep;35(1):33-8. doi: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2009.09.003. Epub 2009 Sep 12. Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2010. PMID: 19751761 Free PMC article. Review.

Cited by

• Delay discounting as a mediator of the relationship between perceived stress and cigarette smoking status in adolescents.

  Fields S, Leraas K, Collins C, Reynolds B. Fields S, et al. Behav Pharmacol. 2009 Sep;20(5-6):455-60. doi: 10.1097/FBP.0b013e328330dcff. Behav Pharmacol. 2009. PMID: 19730366 Free PMC article.

• A Mixed-Methods, Randomized Clinical Trial to Examine Feasibility of a Mindfulness-Based Stress Management and Diabetes Risk Reduction Intervention for African Americans with Prediabetes.

  Woods-Giscombe CL, Gaylord SA, Li Y, Brintz CE, Bangdiwala SI, Buse JB, Mann JD, Lynch C, Phillips P, Smith S, Leniek K, Young L, Al-Barwani S, Yoo J, Faurot K. Woods-Giscombe CL, et al. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2019 Aug 14;2019:3962623. doi: 10.1155/2019/3962623. eCollection 2019. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2019. PMID: 31511777 Free PMC article.

• Anxiety, Depression and Sleep Disturbance among Customer-Facing Workers.

  Kang D, Yang JW, Choi WJ, Ham S, Kang SK, Lee W. Kang D, et al. J Korean Med Sci. 2019 Dec 16;34(48):e313. doi: 10.3346/jkms.2019.34.e313. J Korean Med Sci. 2019. PMID: 31833267 Free PMC article.

• Parenting stress: A novel mechanism of addiction vulnerability.

  Rutherford HJ, Mayes LC. Rutherford HJ, et al. Neurobiol Stress. 2019 May 15;11:100172. doi: 10.1016/j.ynstr.2019.100172. eCollection 2019 Nov. Neurobiol Stress. 2019. PMID: 31193862 Free PMC article. Review.

• Chronic stress does not impair liver regeneration in rats.

  Andersen KJ, Knudsen AR, Wiborg O, Mortensen FV. Andersen KJ, et al. Regen Med Res. 2015 Dec 2;3:2. doi: 10.1186/s40340-015-0011-8. eCollection 2015. Regen Med Res. 2015. PMID: 26634123 Free PMC article.

Publication types

MeSH terms

LinkOut - more resources

• Full Text Sources

  • Elsevier Science

• Medical

  • MedlinePlus Consumer Health Information
  • MedlinePlus Health Information