The purpose of this study was to determine whether psychological stress, specifically examination stress, would decrease immune system functioning. Twenty-five first-year master's and doctoral students who volunteered to participate in the study were psychologically and immunologically assessed during two high- and two low-stress periods. Immunological assessments included a white blood cell differential count and nitroblue tetrazolium test (NBT) to measure neutrophil functioning. Psychological instruments administered at each assessment period included Clinical Analysis Questionnaire (CAQ), Bender Gestalt Test, State- Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) and a Brief Stress Questionnaire. Stepwise discriminant function analysis of data revealed five variables which contributed significantly to change under stress and yielded an average canonical correlation of .79 (p < .002) providing evidence of support for the hypothesis that increased psychological stress will alter immune functioning and heighten psychological responses.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:unt.edu/info:ark/67531/metadc500983 |
| Date | 12 1900 |
| Creators | Didriksen, Nancy A. (Nancy Andrews) |
| Contributors | Butler, Joel R., Goven, Arthur James, 1950-, Lawlis, G. Frank |
| Publisher | North Texas State University |
| Source Sets | University of North Texas |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis or Dissertation |
| Format | iv, 28 leaves, Text |
| Rights | Public, Didriksen, Nancy A. (Nancy Andrews), Copyright, Copyright is held by the author, unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved. |
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