Affective Reactivity to Daily Stressors and Long Term Risk of Reporting a Chronic Physical Health Condition
BackgroundDaily stressors, such as an argument with a spouse or an impending deadline, are associated with short term changes in physical health symptoms. Whether these minor hassles have long term physical health ramifications, however, is largely unknown.PurposeThe current study examined whether exposure and reactivity to daily stressors is associated with long term risk of reporting a chronic physical health condition.MethodsParticipants (N 435) from the National Study of Daily Experiences completed a series of daily diary interviews between 1995 and 1996 and again 10 years later.ResultsGreater affective (i.e. emotional) reactivity to daily stressors at time 1 was associated with an increased risk of reporting a chronic physical health condition at time 2.ConclusionResults indicate that how people respond to the daily stressors in their lives is predictive of future chronic health conditions.
Annals of behavioral medicine a publication of the Society of Behavioral Medicine