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The Effect of Examination Stress on Phagocytic Immune Functioning (open access)

The Effect of Examination Stress on Phagocytic Immune Functioning

The purpose of this study was to determine whether psychological stress, specifically examination stress, would decrease immune system functioning. Twenty-five first-year master's and doctoral students who volunteered to participate in the study were psychologically and immunologically assessed during two high- and two low-stress periods. Immunological assessments included a white blood cell differential count and nitroblue tetrazolium test (NBT) to measure neutrophil functioning. Psychological instruments administered at each assessment period included Clinical Analysis Questionnaire (CAQ), Bender Gestalt Test, State- Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) and a Brief Stress Questionnaire. Stepwise discriminant function analysis of data revealed five variables which contributed significantly to change under stress and yielded an average canonical correlation of .79 (p < .002) providing evidence of support for the hypothesis that increased psychological stress will alter immune functioning and heighten psychological responses.
Date: December 1985
Creator: Didriksen, Nancy A. (Nancy Andrews)
System: The UNT Digital Library