Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 25, 2026

A Modified Trier Social Stress Test for Vulnerable Mexican American Adolescents
Published on: July 10, 2017
Acculturation stress and allostatic load among Mexican immigrant women
Karen Therese D'Alonzo1, Frances Munet-Vilaro2, Dennis P Carmody1
1Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey , School of Nursing , Newark , NJ , EUA .
Objectives:
this case-control study compared levels of stress and allostatic load (AL) among Mexican women in the US ( n =19) and Mexico ( n = 40).
Method:
measures of stress included the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) and the Hispanic Women's Social Stressor Scale (HWSSS). A composite measure of 8 indicators of AL (systolic and diastolic blood pressure, body mass index (BMI), waist-to-hip ratio, total cholesterol, glycated hemoglobin (hemoglobin A1C), triglycerides and C-reactive protein) was calculated.
Results:
there were no significant group differences in AL between Mexican and Mexican immigrant women ( t = 1.55, p = .126). A principal component factor analysis was conducted on the 8 AL indicators; a 2-factor solution explained 57% of the variance. Group differences in the two AL factors were analyzed using MANOVA. BMI and waist-to-hip ratios were lower, but blood pressure and triglycerides were higher in the US group and were mediated by time in the US. Greater acculturation stress was significantly related to increased waist-to-hip ratio ( r = .57, p = .02).
Final Remarks:
findings suggest some measures of AL increased with time in the US, and acculturation stress may be a significant factor.
Related Concept Videos
Stress: General Loading Conditions
The shearing force, possessing potential directionality within the plane of the section, is simplified into two component forces running parallel to the x and y axes....
Stresses under Combined Loadings
The process begins by slicing the tube at critical points and analyzing the internal forces and stress components at these sections, focusing on the centroid. Normal stresses, generated by axial forces and bending moments, are either compressive or tensile and vary across the section from...
Responses to Salt Stress
Impact Loading
In cases of elastic deformation,...
Eccentric Loading
Distributed Loads
For example, consider a bookshelf filled with books stacked vertically adjacent to each other. The weight of the books is evenly distributed over the length of the shelf. As a result, the pressure at different locations on the surface of the...

