The available evidence supports a psychological
approach to the definition of stress,
and suggests that transactional models are
among the most adequate and useful of
those currently available. Within this
framework, stress is defined as a psychological
state which is both part of and reflects
a wider process of interaction
between the person and their (work) environment.
This process is based on a sequence of relationships
between the objective work
environment and the worker’s perceptions,
between those perceptions and the
experience of stress, and between that experience,
changes in behaviour and physiological
function, and health. This
sequence provides a basis for measurement,
but the different measures which
can be derived from the sequence cannot
be easily or defensibly combined into a single
stress index.
Logically the measurement of the stress
state must be based primarily on self-report
measures which focus on the appraisal
process and on the emotional
experience of stress. Measures relatin