ABSTRACT
This chapter aims to survey existing conceptual models of stress in order to evaluate the contribution each has made to present understanding of stress phenomena. It describes the major conceptual models of stress and discusses the conceptual model is critically evaluated in terms of its contribution to existing knowledge. The chapter attempts to derive a unified, comprehensive stress model. Two basic types of mediating factors are identified: those that determine the amount of external constraint associated with stress, and those that determine the amount of inner constraint. The chapter identifies the several major limitations of existing models of stress. These are referents for the concept of stress differs from one model to another; the models are field-specific in the sense that they cannot be extended to all levels of human functioning without seriously distorting the phenomena at each level.
