Adversity, Stress, and Psychopathology

"Adversity" involves exposure to unpropitious or calamitous circumstances. It occurs in extreme situations such as prolonged combat or natural disasters, both of which affect whole groups or communities of people simultaneously. It is found as well in more individually targeted events such as child abuse, bereavement, rape, physical illness, marital separation or divorce, unemployment, and homelessness. Exposure to adversity is not randomly distributed in society. It varies, for example, with…