General nonspecific reactivity as integrative indicator of human propensity to functional and mental maladaptation: retrospective study

INTRODUCTION . The individual level of general nonspecific organism reactivity (GNORL), based on the ratio of catatoxic and syntoxic response mechanisms, endowed with appropriate psychophysiological and psychoemotional support, somehow predetermines the severity of the risk of functional and mental maladaptation development in a person. As a result of previously performed own research the possibility of express-assessment of GNORL by means of questionnaire testing was substantiated. OBJECTIVE . To identify and characterize the links of the GNORL with the main indicators of a person’s propensity to functional and mental maladaptation. MATERIALS AND METHODS . The study involved 379 participants: 151 men and 228 women, 18-25 years old, native residents of the Republic of Crimea, Volgograd, Vologda and Arkhangelsk regions. The test subjects were students of state universities. The propensity of the study participants to functional and mental maladaptation was assessed through the use of standard methods of psychophysiological and psychological testing. Statistical analysis of the data was performed by calculating the Spearman correlation coefficient and Fisher’s F-criterion. RESULTS . The results of the study confirm the presence of statistically significant correlations of the GNOR level with the indicators of men’s and women’s propensity to functional and mental maladaptation. First of all, it is necessary to emphasize stressreactivity, reflecting the physiological component of the organism’s response to an exogenous stimulus. The obtained result indicates an increase in stressreactivity and, accordingly, in the tendency to maladaptation with the growth of GNORL. Subsequent distribution of subjects with different GNORL into groups of high, medium and low degree of manifestation of risk indicators of functional and mental maladaptation development allowed us to specify the significance of differences in the frequency of occurrence of representatives of each level of reactivity in all selected groups. For the absolute majority of psychosomatic indicators in groups with a high degree of maladaptation risk, both male and female subjects are either completely absent (heart pain) or their number is limited to single cases (headache, stomach pain, abdominal pain, allergization, physical fatigue, insomnia). With regard to psychological indicators, a similar situation arises in the high-risk maladaptation groups, with the exception of depression in males, where those with high GNORL account for 46% of the total number of males with high GNORL. In groups with a low degree of maladaptation risk, the maximum concentration of expression of this trait is manifested in men and women with low GNORL, reaching a statistically significant level of difference with respect to representatives of high GNORL. Moreover, in men this difference is most pronounced for the whole spectrum of psychosomatic indicators, and in women - for the indicators of psychological risk of maladaptation and separate indicators of psychosomatic tension (headache, stomach pain, physical fatigue). The groups of men and women with an average degree of maladaptation risk for most of the analyzed indicators demonstrate intermediate expression of the frequency of occurrence of representatives of each level of reactivity relative to the groups of men and women with an average and low degree of propensity to maladaptation. DISCUSSION . There have been revealed systemic interrelations of physiological manifestation of stress reactivity, determined by the expression of nociceptive sensitivity of the organism and subjective self-perception of a person in relation to various situational presentations of exogenous stimuli, retrospectively evaluated by means of questionnaire testing. Unidirectional positive correlation of GNORL with psychosomatic and psychological indicators of maladaptation risk confirms the complex nature of homeostasis organization in humans depending on their individual psychophysiological status. The presented data substantiate the expediency of using GNORL as an indicator of a person’s propensity to functional and mental maladaptation. CONCLUSION . As a result of the performed research the links of GNORL with the main indicators of a person’s propensity to functional and mental maladaptation have been revealed and characterized. The use of questionnaire express-metho- dology of GNORL determination is able to optimize the primary assessment of the risk of systemic human maladaptation.