Women & Stress
  “Fight-or-fight” behavior has long been considered the typical way we  respond  to stress. But psychologists  at  the University of California, Los Angeles say  that women have more in their stress-response arsenal than just aggression or escape.
  According  to research  led by Dr. Shelley E. Taylor and Dr. Laura C. Klein (now at Pennsylvania State University), females under “attack” are  less  likely  to  fight or  flee and more apt  to attempt  to protect  their children and seek help from others, particularly other  females. The  researchers call  this pattern of behavior “tend-and-befriend”, and  they suggest an evolutionary explanation  for  the difference. 

  In many situations  it could be disastrous  for a woman who is pregnant, nursing, or caring  for young children  to  fight or fee. Befriending, on  the other hand, establishes a social support system for the mother and child and may also help to defend women against male violence.
  The UCLA  scientists analyzed hundreds of biological and behavioral  studies of both animals and humans. For example,  they  looked at  research  showing  that crowding heightens stress among male rats (as measured by levels of the hormone cortisol) but  tends  to calm  female  rats. One study found that fathers often wanted to be left alone when they got home from work. And if they had been under stress during the day, they were more likely to incite confict in the family. Women who held  jobs outside  the home, however, were more  likely  to cope with a  tough day  at work by concentrating on their children.
  The authors believe  that hormones are one  reason  for the difference, especially  sex hormones and  the pituitary hormone oxytocin. Oxytocin, which  induces  relaxation and  lowers anxiety,  is produced at a high  level  in nursing mothers.  It’s also  released  in  response  to  stress by both males and females—but  its effects are enhanced by female hormones and  reduced by male hormones.  In contrast,  the fight-or-flight  response activates  the nervous  system and causes  the secretion of  the stress hormones adrenaline and cortisol. Both  sexes  release  these hormones under  stress, but men also  release  testosterone, which  tends  to  increase hostility and aggression.
  Because  female  aggression  is  less  closely  linked  to nervous system arousal,  the  authors  suggest,  it’s more easily moderated by  learning and culture, although  they don’t deny  that women’s social networks can also produce stress and confict. Nor are they saying that men cannot tend and befriend under stress—only  that  they do so  less easily and less often.
  Taylor and her colleagues  think  the  tend-and-befriend response has been  ignored  largely because  researchers studying  stress have concentrated until  recently only on men. The UCLA scientists are now conducting studies on oxytocin and stress.

女人与压力

  长期以来，人们认为“对抗或逃避”是我们回应压力的典型方式。但洛杉矶加利福尼亚大学的心理学家们认为女人们面对压力时有更多的解决方式，不只是对抗或逃避。雪莉 • E •泰勒博士和宾夕法尼亚大学的劳拉 • C • 克莱恩博士的研究表明：女人在受到 “侵袭” 时很少抗拒或逃避，而是要设法保护孩子并且从他人、尤其是其他女性那里寻求帮助。研究者把这种行为方式称作“照顾和帮助”行为，他们建议从进化论的角度对这一不同反应进行诠释。多数情况下抗拒或逃避使怀孕、正在哺乳或照料小孩子的女人的情况变得糟糕。另一方面，交朋友也可以为母亲和孩子建立社会扶持体系并且保护女人不受男性暴力侵害。

  洛杉矶加利福尼亚大学的科学家们分析了对动物和人类的生物和行为所做的几百个研究。例如，他们看到有一份研究(通过对荷尔蒙皮质醇的测量)显示拥挤现象能增加雄性老鼠的压力，但却会减轻雌性鼠的压力。还有一项研究发现父亲们下班后回到家往往希望独处。如果他们白天一直处在压力之下，就很有可能激发家庭冲突。而在外工作的女人们通常会把精力集中在她们的孩子身上，所以更容易应付艰难的工作。

  研究报告的作者认为荷尔蒙是导致其不同反应的原因之一，特别是性激素和催产素。促使人们放松并减少压力的催产素会在哺乳期的母亲身上大量产生。男性和女性回应压力时，催产素会被释放——但它的作用会被雌性荷尔蒙增强，而被雄性荷尔蒙降低。相反，抗拒或逃避反应刺激神经系统并导致压力荷尔蒙肾上腺素和皮质醇的分泌。男人和女人在压力下都会释放激素，但男人们还会释放增加敌意和攻击性的睾丸激素。

  研究报告的作者说，他们承认女人们的社会关系网也会产生压力和冲突，但由于她们的对抗反应与神经系统的唤醒关联甚微，所以很容易通过学习和训练得到缓解。

  他们也不是说男人们在压力下不会照顾和帮助，只是说男人们不易做到而且也不经常这样做。泰勒及其同事们认为，因为研究压力的学者们一直以来把精力集中在男性身上，所以照顾和帮助反应被人们大大忽视了。目前，洛杉矶加利福尼亚大学的科学家们正在着手对催产素和压力的关系进行研究。
——选自《我爱读英文》