Secretory immunoglobulin A reactivity to acute and cumulative acute multi-tasking stress: relationships between reactivity and perceived workload

• Published in: Biological psychology Vol. 66; no. 3; pp. 257 - 270
• Main Authors: Wetherell, Mark.A, Hyland, Michael.E, Harris, Jack E
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Shannon Elsevier B.V 01-07-2004; Elsevier Science
• Subjects: Acute Disease; Acute stress; Adult; Behavioral psychophysiology; Biological and medical sciences; Cumulative acute stress; Female; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Humans; Immunoglobulin A - analysis; Immunoglobulin A - immunology; Immunology and behavior; Male; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychology. Psychophysiology; S-IgA reactivity; Saliva - chemistry; Stress, Psychological - immunology; Stress, Psychological - psychology; Surveys and Questionnaires; Workload; Workload perceptions; Workload perceptions; Acute stress; S-IgA reactivity; Cumulative acute stress; Human; IgA; Secretion; Information processing; Problem solving; Cognition; Stress; Workload
• ISSN: 0301-0511; 1873-6246
• DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2003.10.008

The effects of an acute stressor upon secretory immunoglobulin A (S-IgA) were assessed using a task that requires participants to attend and respond to several stimuli simultaneously and is therefore analogous to a variety of working environments. In two studies, the task was administered for periods of 5
min to healthy samples of men and women at two sessions 24
h apart (
n=49) and three times in succession within one session (
n=20). Multi-tasking stress was, at all sessions, associated with increases in S-IgA secretion. Inter and intra-session reliability of pre and post-stress S-IgA measures was observed, although the reliability of stress reactivity data was reduced. Classification of participants as either high or low S-IgA reactors revealed differences in their perceptions of task workload. Low S-IgA reactors consistently perceived the task to be more demanding and frustrating than did those who demonstrated high S-IgA reactivity. We conclude that S-IgA reactivity to stressful situations depends not just upon the task, but also upon individual perceptions of the stressor.