Crisis Theory and Model of Stress
All kinds of different life events can cause stress and lead to a crisis. These life events can be going on for a long time or just suddenly happen. Eric Lindermann and Gerald Caplan both did research on crisis theory. Barabra Dohrenwend was the developer of the model of stress. Crisis and stress are different but when combined can cause greater pain and aggravation for people.
Crisis is derived from a Greek root word that means "to decide." According to Ashford and LeCroy (2010), The reference to crisis in this context is "any rapid change or encounter that provides an individual with a 'no exit' challenge, no choice but to alter his or her conduct in some manner." In everyday terms this is a critical point in which one knows that a good or bad decision is ahead.
Stress plays an important role in understanding the adaptation of people. Ashford and LeCroy (2010), have stated that stress represents "any event in which environmental demands, internal demands, or both tax or exceed the adaptive resources of an individual, social system, or tissue system."
Lindermann who developed the crisis theory and Caplan, a colleague of Lindermann's from the Harvard School of Public Health both did research on the subject of crisis. Lindermann is most well known for his work with the relatives of the victims who died in the unfortunate nightclub fire at the Coconut Grove Dance Hall in Boston in 1941. Lindermann discovered through interviewing the victims loved ones that the way they coped with the stress of losing their loved ones was by detaching and forming new bonds with other people. Caplan supported Lindermann's theory of crisis but also added his own twist by saying there are other events , not just the loss of something or someone that can cause stress and in turn cause people to develop mental disorders. Caplan determined that any substantial life change can cause a person to create psychological problems. This in turn becomes a crisis because this is beyond a person's ability to cope with internal adjustments or external adaptations.
Dohrenwend's model of stress makes the connection between both environment and people. Dohrenwend makes the assumption that human response to stress is determined by such moderating factors as personal characteristics and social resources. According to Ashford and LeCroy (2010). "a moderating factor is considered to be operative when, if in its presence, the relationship of stress to illness (mental or physical) is weaker than its absence." While Lindermann's, crisis theory and Dohrenwend's model of stress are comparable, there are some differences. The crisis theory states that "the outcome from stressors are a function of the environmental supports and psychological mediators available to a person (Ashford and LeCroy, 2010). Dohrenwend's model of stress shows how different psychosocial and situations play a part in the process.
The crisis theory and model of stress are very important tools to study to figure out how people cope with stress. When people can not deal with loss, other people or their environment this stress can quickly turn into a crisis.
Ashford, J.B. & LeCroy, C.W. (2010). Huamn behavior in the social environment: A multidimensional perspective (4th ed.). Australia: Brooks/Cole, Cengage Learning.
Social workers need a good awareness of the causation of stress leading to crisis in various situations. What causes stress and a crisis in one person would not cause the same reaction in another. Also, as this learner's colleague points out, people deal with crisis in different ways - positively or negatively. Lindermann found that people created new relationships and distanced themselves from the deceased in order to cope. In addition, Caplan points out that anything that happens to a person to overwhelm their capacity to cope can become a crisis. The learner has found recently that this seems to be true and that engaging the person in coping skills and a plan of action seems to alleviate much of the crisis.
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