Introduction.The article substantiates the relevance of theoretical understanding of the concept of "social stress" in psychological science. The purpose of the article is to provide an overview of empirical research and attempts to theoretically understand the essence of social stress and on this basis to formulate their vision of its functions, specificity and types of stressors causing it.

The presented review revealed the weakness of theoretical generalizations in the study of social stress in the presence of a fairly large number of studies investigating its particular aspects.

The article attempts to determine the range of stressors that cause social stress, presents their classification.

The analysis of empirical materials allowed to conclude that social stress performs the following functions:

1) allows the individual to give a generalized emotional assessment of their interaction with the social environment,

2) induces the development of individual behavior aimed at optimizing its interaction with the social environment,

3) can mobilize people (and groups of people) to form social and political activity aimed at changing group interaction, to improve the social situation.

The necessity of complex studies of social stress and its impact on the socio-psychological adaptation of the individual. 

An overview of empirical research and theoretical understanding of the essence of social stress is presented,

Weak theoretical knowledge of social stress is revealed in the presence of quite a large number of studies investigating its particular aspects,

The author's vision of the functions of social stress is put forward,

Identified the main groups of social stressors.

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