Echoes of Stress: An Exploration of Biological, Psychological, and Social Dimensions in a Human Stress Model

Abstract

Stress is defined as the perceived balance/imbalance between demands and the resources available to meet them, resulting in the emergence of maladaptive cognitive and behavioral patterns, along with effects on the biological dimension at the level of neuroimmunoendocrine, genetic, and epigenetic biomarkers. This study investigates the relationships between psychosocial stress indicators, the functionality of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, and biomarkers of stress, oxidative damage, and cellular genotoxicity. A sample of adults experiencing psychosocial stress (n=19) was recruited from the Dionysos Center for Neurosciences, Psychiatry, Psychotherapies, and Human Development, along with a reference sample (n=19). No significant differences were found between the two groups in the cortisol circadian slope (p=.762). Similarly, the mean values of malondialdehyde and the antioxidant enzyme catalase activity—both indicators of stress and oxidative damage—were statistically similar between the groups (p=.271; p=.258). Lastly, the genotoxicity values also did not show statistical significance (p=.839). The results do not indicate an association between maladaptive cognitive and behavioral patterns and the biomarkers analyzed. These findings challenge traditional dichotomous models of stress by proposing a multidimensional approach that encompasses a continuum of cognitive and behavioral states ranging from well-being to affective disorders, accounting for their implications across different levels of analysis: genetic/epigenetic, psychoneuroendocrine, cognitive, and behavioral.