Building on earlier Stress process theory, proposes that stress emerges from discrepancies between socioenvironmental demands and individuals characteristics — needs, values, resources, skills — so that stressors are patterned across social strata. Social position influences both exposure to stressors, vulnerability to their effects and the available coping strategies. Structural stressors, as consequences of social organization, often prove to be more influential than individual coping efforts.
Developed by Carol Aneshensel, 1992.