Douglas Carroll

The present study examined the relationship between habitual physical activity, life events stress, the diurnal rhythms of cortisol and DHEA, and the cortisol:dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) ratio in older adults. Thirty-six participants aged ≥ 65 reported their habitual physical activity, and indicated if a particular event happened to them in the past year (stress incidence) and how stressful they perceived the event to be (stress severity). Older adults with higher stress severity demonstrated a significantly higher cortisol:DHEA ratio. Individuals with higher stress incidence scores and who did not participate in aerobic exercise had a significantly higher cortisol:DHEA ratio and flatter DHEA diurnal rhythm compared with those who regularly participated in aerobic exercise. In conclusion, life events stress may have a negative impact on the cortisol:DHEA ratio in older adults. Under conditions of high stress exposure, exercise may protect older adults from an increased cortisol:DHEA ratio and flatter DHEA diurnal rhythm.

Gender, health and stress, Douglas Carroll and Catherine A. Niven women, mood and the menstrual cycle, Cynthia Graham and John Bancroft reproductive issues - decisions and distress, Marie Johnston women and the experience of pain, Karel Gijsbers and Catherine A. Niven cardiovascular health and disease in women, Kathleen A. Light and Susan S. Girdler cancer, Barbara L. Anderson women and HIV/AIDS - challenging a growing threat, Michele Goldschmidt, et al women, food and body image, Vivien J. Lewis and Alan J. Blair women and depression, Raymond Cochrane medical screening for women, Gillian McIIwaine contraception, Elizabeth Alder gender, social circumstances and health, Douglas Carroll, et al.

This work, designed for A-Level and undergraduate students, describes how behaviour can interact with stress to produce ill-health and, conversely, how stress can be managed to avoid the dangers of heart disease and other illnesses. Health psychology has a relatively short history, but the past decade has witnessed an explosion of interest in this topic. It is designed to be accessible to the beginning psychology student but to take that student, or any other interested reader, to a depth sufficient to enable them to feel a sense of satisfaction in being able to co me to grips with the major theoretical and empirical perspectives that are influential in contemporary psychology. Professor Carroll has, himself, a distinguished record of research in health psychology and his own research and writing has substantially influenced the development of this field in Britain..