The Effect of Resilience on Subjective Stress Response and Salivary Secretory Immunoglobulin a (sIgA)

Abstract

Background: The concept of resilience as an individual characteristic has attracted recent attention. The clarification of the relationships between stress, resilience, and immune function may contribute to the prevention of psychosomatic disease. Therefore, we examined the effects of resilience on life stress through the measurement of psychological and physiological responses. Method: Subjects were 32 college students who complained of some stress during the experimental term (3 months). At the start of this study, participant resilience levels measured innate and acquired resilience. Stress level was additionally assessed with the Stress Response Scale-18 (SRS-18). Saliva was also collected so that levels of sIgA could be measured. Moreover, these parameters were evaluated again. Finding: The SRS-18 scores of the innate low resilience group were significantly higher than those of the high resilience group. The sIgA levels of the acquired high resilience group were significantly higher than those of the low resilience group. Discussion: These results suggest that high acquired resilience attenuates the subjective stress response and improves immune function.