Interpersonal Reconstitution

THEORITICAL BACKGROUND

The body is more than the sum of it’s parts. This holds as a granite truth

more than ever , as knowledge about the origins , nature and purpose of human

beings expand, discovered and re –discovered. Human beings can also be

considered as a concrete example of an open system. An open system reacts

and adjusts itself to the environment.

Betty Neuman (Neuman & Fawcett ,2002) , a community health nurse and

clinical psychologist, developed a model based on the individuals relationship to

stress , the reaction to it, and reconstitution factors that are dynamic in nature.

Reconstitution is the state of adaption to stressors.

Neuman used Selye’s definition of stress, which is the
Neuman categorizes stressors as intrapersonal stressors those that

occur within an individual; interpersonal stressor those that occur between

individuals and extrapersonal stressor those that occur outside the person. The

individuals reaction to stressors depends on the strength of the line of defense.

When the line of defense fail, the resulting reaction depends on the strength of

the line of resistance. As part of the reaction, a person’s system can adapt to a

stressor, an effect known as reconstitution. Nursing interventions focus on

retaining or maintaining system stability. The interventions are carried out on

three preventive levels.

Neuman adapts the concept of levels of prevention from Caplan’s

conceptual model and relates these prevention levels to nursing. Primary

prevention is used to protect the organism before it encounters a harmful

stressor reducing the possibility of encountering the stressor or strengthening

the organism to decrease it’s reaction to stressor. Secondary