| Abstract: | Uses theoretical formulations and findings from experimental personality research on stress and coping to evaluate common stress management techniques in the behavioral medicine domain. A distinction is made between procedures that attempt to regulate internal stress arousal (fear-control techniques) and those that focus on personal coping activity and the mobilization of environmental counter-threat resources (danger control techniques); the primary focus is on danger control techniques. A preliminary theoretical framework is advanced for considering the danger control aspects of behavioral medical interventions; this framework focuses on informational factors pertaining to the controllability of stressor events. Impediments to stress management in the behavioral medicine setting suggested by stress-relevant deficits and anomalies associated with psychopathology are also discussed. Tentative implications for improved stress management procedures in behavioral medicine are proposed. (French abstract) (56 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) |
