The Stress Process: An Appreciation of Leonard I. Pearlin

Abstract

Abstract For more than 60 years, Leonard I. Pearlin's contributions to theory and research fundamentally shaped the sociology of mental health, medical sociology, and the sociology of aging and the life course. He died last year, and this article is an expression of appreciation for the person and his work as expressed by his colleagues, students, and friends. The testimonials collected here explain his seminal work and why it altered the field, describe how his intellectual leadership affected our own work, attest to his generous mentoring of students and young academics, and try to convey his character and why he has engendered such affection. The material quoted from selected Pearlin publications articulates most clearly why this work continues to resonate with sociologists concerned with the impact of society on the mental health of its members. Keywords stress process, stress proliferation, life course Leonard I. Pearlin created a body of work that has set the course for the sociological study of stress since its inception and did so with a warmth and grace equal to the preeminence of his scholarship, qualities that endeared him to his colleagues. He died July 23, 2014, at the age of 89 after a brief illness. For more than 60 years, his contributions to theory and research have fundamentally shaped the sociology of mental health, medical sociology, and the sociology of aging and the life course. In this article, his colleagues explain the seminal impact of his work on the field and their own scholarship and express their appreciation, esteem, and affection