Construct validity of the self-report instrument of perceived stress in the general Costa Rican population of retirement age: CRELES study

Resumen

The term “stress” in living organisms was defined by (60), building upon the knowledge of the time that Bernard and Cannon had already defined about the milieu intérieur, which referred to the balance of the internal environment through the homeostasis of the interstitial fluid (1). Selye conceived the organism as a dynamic system seeking to maintain that internal equilibrium, known as homeostasis (2). He defined stress as “a non-specific response of the body to any demand for change” (3–6). Seyle conceptually distinguished stress from a “stressor,” with the stressor representing any condition or factor that elicits a response. The definition of stress put forth by Selye originated from experimental findings in animals, particularly rats (6, 7), and was subsequently extended to humans. Since being defined by Selye, stress has been widely studied, and numerous authors have expanded or adapted the concept as research on the subject has deepened. Miller et al. (8), drawing on Cohen et al.’s (9) definition, define stress “as a process involving a stimulus, the evaluation of the stimulus, and a response.”