Page 116 - Microaggressions in Everyday Live Race, Gender, and Sexual Orientation

90 microaggressive stress

Although the GAS model was developed to account for how the body deals
with biological stressors, research now suggests that psychological and social
stressors have comparable effects. Stress has been found to make a person
more susceptible to illness and may affect the course of a disease (Keltner &
Dowben, 2007; Underwood, 2005). For example, recently bereaved widows
are 3 to 12 times more likely to die than married women; tax accountants are
more susceptible to heart attacks around April 15; people residing in high - noise
airport areas have more medical complaints and hypertension; and air traffi c
controllers suffer from hypertension at a rate that is four times higher than the
general population (Luoma, Pearson, & Pearson, 2002; Wilding, 1984).

PSYCHOLOGICAL/SOCIAL STRESSORS AND
CONSEQUENCES

Taking into account the GAS model of physical response to biological stressors,
De La Fuente (1990) proposed that psychological and social stressors activate
a similar internal process within the cognitive, emotional, and behavioral
make - up of the person. The model was developed from his intensive work
with earthquake victims, but De La Fuente felt it was applicable in explain-
ing psychological responses across a wide range of stressful events. Briefl y,
his Crisis Decompensation Model (CDM) also contains three stages: impact,
attempted resolution, and decompensated adjustment.
In the first stage, the impact of a crisis or other stressors induces confusion

and disorientation. In interviewing earthquake victims, he found that many
expressed bewilderment and had a hard time understanding what had or
was happening, and why it was happening. Anxiety, guilt, anger, dissocia-
tion, and depression were common emotional reactions. If we compare our
process model of microaggressions to the CDM, the impact of microaggres-
sions appears to have a comparable effect on targets (initial confusion and
disorientation). The disequilibrium of the fi rst stage is generally followed by
attempted resolution in which all the resources of the person are mobilized
to deal with the situation. The coping strategies and available resources often
determine the outcome of this stage. For example, it was found that social

support from significant others was crucial to a successful resolution. Indeed,
De La Fuente found that successful coping led to a precrisis level of func-
tioning and, at times, a growth adjustment phase. Similarly, in Chapter 4 we
described many attempts by marginalized groups to resolve their internal

1/19/10 6:10:07 PM
c05.indd 90 1/19/10 6:10:07 PM
c05.indd 90