Stress and the Risk of Psychological Disorder in College Women

This book describes three programs of research concerned with the risk of differing psychobiological disorders in college women -- anorexia nervosa, menstrual dysfunction, and Type A vulnerability to cardiovascular problems. The research was based on a new approach to developmental psychopathology in which risk factors for future disorder were isolated within a relevant normal population. These factors, most directly, hold implications for early detection of a disorder and intervention; less directly, they may contribute to the understanding of how disorders develop. The at-risk method of investigation designated a fraction of each random sample of college women as showing general vulnerability to a given disorder by using standard symptom measures. Those who report symptoms and who show the level of stress that should accompany the onset of serious problems were compared with appropriate control groups to study a new psychological variable in each study. Confirmation of the unique status of the at-risk group on this variable identified it as a critical risk factor. The evidence generated by the at-risk research is primarily directed toward mental health professionals and other personnel who are concerned with student problems on campus.