The Stress Seen as a Challenge or Threat and Rumination. Health Risk Factors

Abstract

Introduction. The human being must face challenges, duels and unexpected situations throughout his life, which in turn, generate negative emotions such as stress, negative and repetitive thoughts such as rumination whose consequences are evident in his health. However, all this will be determined by the way in which the person is positioned in situations of stress, that is, if they have the resources to face them, they will see them as a challenge and if exceeds those resources they will see them as a threat. Objectives. To know the relationship between stress, perception of challenge vs. threat and rumination on health in people with partners, and identify differences by age and schooling in the variables stress, perception of challenge vs threat, rumination and health. Methodology. The study design was correlational, cross-sectional comparative. The sample were 388 participants, with a non probability sample by quota. The stress, rumination and SF-36 physical and psychological health scales and two indicators of perception of challenge vs. threat to stress were used. Results. Negative correlations were evidenced mainly with some health factors; concluding that the presence of stress and rumination in a person’s life negatively affects their health and well-being (p<.01). Likewise, statistically significant differences were found in schooling and age (p<.05), especially in the age groups between 17 and 30 years old and secondary schooling. Discussion. As is known, a constant and frequent state of stress and rumination generates more exhaustion and less energy, which is a long term health risk. Likewise, there are sociodemographic variables that show the substantial change that is perceived at each stage, due to the lack of both physical and psychological resources available to them. Conclusion. From the aforementioned, it could be concluded that stress and rumination have an impact on the physical and mental health of people, due to the deficiency in the resources they have.