PSYCH Chp 11: Health & Well-Being

Health Psychology

A field that integrates research on health & on psychology; it involves the application of psychological principles to promote health & well-being

Biopsychosocial model

A model in which health & illness result from a combination of biological, behavioral, & social factors

• Central to understanding the difference between the traditional medical model & the approach taken by health psychologists

• In this model, health & illness result from a combination of factors, including biological characteristics, psychological factors, & social conditions

Obesity

A level of excessive body fat for an individual that places that person at risk for health problems

Body mass index (BMI)

Compares an individual’s weight to their height

• Is useful when examining large groups of people

• Works poorly at the individual level

• Doesn’t consider age, sex, bone structure, or where the fat is stored

• May perform poorly in terms of assessing health risks for some ppl

• Developed mainly by assessing white men & their health

• Relationship between body fat & health might not be as meaningful for women or for ppl or of other races or ethnicities

Body weight is socially contagious

Friends tend to influence one another’s sense of appropriate body weight

Thus friends often have similar body types

Benefits of exercise

Benefits emotions & moods, in part b/d of its impact on neurotransmitters involved in reward, motivation, & emotion

Sexually transmitted infections (STIs)

Infections that can be but are not always transmitted from 1 person to another through sexual contact

• Generally transmitted through sexual contact w/a partner who carrier the bacteria, virus, or parasite that causes the infection. This contact often includes vaginal intercourse, anal intercourse, & oral-genital contact.

• Some STIs can be spread from a pregnant mother to her baby either before or during birth.- Can have devastating effects on the infant, ranging from blindness to death.

• + HIV can be transmitted through sharing needles that were used by an infected person

• Syphilis can be transmitted by touching the open sore of an infected person

Chlamydia: # of New Cases in U.S. Each Year

2,860,000

Gonorrhea: # of New Cases in U.S. Each Year

820,000

Herpes: # of New Cases in U.S. Each Year

776,000

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV): # of New Cases in U.S. Each Year

41,400

Human papilomavirus (HPV) : # of New Cases in U.S. Each Year

14,100,000

Syphilis: # of New Cases in U.S. Each Year

55,400

Trichomoniasis: # of New Cases in U.S. Each Year

1,090,000

Chlamydia: Type of infection

Bacterial

Gonorrhea : Type of infection

Bacterial

Herpes: Type of infection

Viral

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV): Type of infection

Viral (Retrovirus)

Human papillomavirus (HPV): Type of infection

VIral

Syphillis: Type of infection

Bacterial

Trichomoniasis: Type of infection

Parasite

Chlamydia: Symptoms

• 90% of ppl show no symptoms.

• Symptoms include:

• Thin, clear discharge from vagina or penis

• Irritation during urination

Gonorrhea: Symptoms

• Sometimes no symptoms.

• Painful urination

• Abnormal discharge from vagina

• Thick discharge (puslike) from the penis

• Swollen testicles

Herpes: Symptoms

• Burning or itching at site of infection

• Painful blisters that break & then crust over

• Fever & flulike symptoms

• Body aches & swollen glands

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV): Symptoms

• Often no symptoms

• Flulike symptoms

• Fatigue

• Weight loss

• Persistent headaches

• W/out treatment, HIV can progress to AIDS, where the person has a severely compromised immune system & is susceptible to numerous infections

Human papillomavirus (HPV): Symptoms

• Usually no symptoms

• Itchy genital warts

• Throat warts

• Various cancers

Syphilis: Symptoms

• Painless

• Round sores around the genitals

• Skin rash & fever

• Large sores on other body parts

Trichomoniasis: Symptoms

• Most ppl do not have symptoms

• Itching

• Burning or unusual discharge in the genitals

• Pain during sexual activity

Chlamydia: Treatment

Easily cured w/antibiotics

Gonorrhea: Treatment

2 different antibiotics at the same time

Herpes: Treatment

• No cure for the virus

• Infections can spread when blisters occur

• Antiviral drugs may relieve symptoms

Human deficiency virus (HIV): Treatment

• No cure for the virus

• Long-term treatment w/multiple antiretroviral drugs controls HIV

• W/out treatment, progression to AIDS is often fatal

Human papillomavirus (HPV): Treatment

• Treat symptoms

• Vaccinations may provide protection

Syphilis: Treatment

Long-acting antibiotic

Trichomoniasis: Treatment

• Easily cured w/drug therapy

• All sexual partners must be treated

Herpes is a very misunderstood STI

• Can be transmitted through kissing or other skin-to-skin contact, such as sexual activity

• Cold sores/fever blisters are caused by the Herpes virus

• Both forms of the virus can produce the same symptoms

• Both can be transmitted to another person on the lips, genitals or another area on the skin

Safe sex

Sexual behaviors that decrease the likelihood of contrscting a sexually transmitted infection

3 barrier methods of protection against STIs

• Male condoms (80% effective in preventing the transmission of HIV )

• Female condoms

• Dental dams

Stress

• Set of behavioral, mental, & physical processes that occur as an organism attempts to deal w/an environmental event or a stimulus that it perceives as threatening

• Both distress & eustress put strains on the body

Stress has 3 components

• Stressor

• Stress responses

• Mediating factors

Stressor

• An environmental event or a stimulus that an organism perceives as threatening

• Elicits one or more behavioral, mental, &/or physical stress responses

Stress responses

Behavioral, mental, &/or physical responses to stressor

Mediating factors

• Can increase/decrease the likelihood that a stressor will elicit a stress response

• May include personality & coping strategies

Eustress

• Stress of positive events

Distress

Stress of negative events

Major life stressors

Large disruptions, especially unpredictable & uncontrollable catastrophic events, that affect central areas of people’s lives

Daily hassles

Everyday irritations that cause small disruptions & can have effects that can add up to a large impact on health

Immune system

The body’s mechanism for destroying invading microorganisms, such as allergens, bacteria, & viruses

Early 1930s: endocrinologist Hands Selye (1936)

Found that different stressors produce roughly the same pattern of physiological response

These changes include:

• Enlarged adrenal glands

• Damage to the immune system, resulting in decreased levels of white blood cells in the blood

Selye concluded that these changes reduce the organism’s ability to resist infections & disease & represent a nonspecific physical stress responses, which Selye called general adaptation syndrome

General adaptation syndrome (GAS)

A consistent pattern of physical responses to stress that consists of 3 stages:

• Alarm

• Resistance

• Exhaustion

General adaptation syndrome (GAS): Alarm stage

• Effects prepare your body to respond physically

• Immediate bodily responses boost your physical abilities to fight or run away

General adaptation syndrome (GAS): Resistance stage

• The body physically prepares for a longer, more sustained attack against a stressor

• Immunity to infection & disease increases somewhat as the body maximizes its defenses

• Unfortunately, the body’s physical fight against stress is not sustainable

General adaptation syndrome (GAS): Exhaustion stage

• The body’s ability to respond to stress begins to decline

• Various physiological systems, such as the immune system, begin to fail

Fight-or-flight response

• The physiological preparedness to deal w/danger

• Adaptive

• Boosts our energy to deal w/the threat while simultaneously postponing less critical processes like digestion

Tend-and-befriend response

Female’s tendency to respond to stressors by protecting & caring for their offspring & forming social alliances

Type A behavior pattern

A set characteristics describing ppl who are competitive, achievement oriented, aggressive, hostile, restless, impatient w/others, & unable to relax

Type B behavior pattern

A set of characteristics describing people who are noncompetitive, relaxed, easygoing, & accommodating

Primary appraisals

Decisions about whether a stimulus is stressful or not

Richard Lazarus (1993)

Described a 2-part appraisal process:

• Primary appraisals

• Secondary appraisals

Secondary appraisals

Decisions about to manage & respond to a stressful stimulus

Susan Folkman & Richard Lazarus (1988)

Have grouped coping strategies into 2 general categories

• Emotion-focused coping

• Problem-focused coping

Emotion-focused coping

A type of coping in which ppl try to prevent having an emotional response to a stressor

Strategies include:

• Avoidance

• Minimizing problem

• Trying to distance yourself from the outcomes of the problem

• Engaging in behaviors such as eating or drinking

Do not solve the problem or prevent it from happening again in the future

Problem-focused coping

A type of coping in which ppl take direct steps to confront or minimize a stressor

Strategies include:

• Generating alternative solutions

• Weighing their costs & benefits

• Choosing among them

Broaden-and-build theory

Positive emotions prompt ppl to consider novel solutions to their problems. Thus resilient ppl tend to draw on their positive emotions in dealing w/setbacks or native life experiences. As a result, they are able to bounce back quickly when bad things happen.

• Those who are highest in resilience are able to use their emotional resources flexibly to meet the demands of stressful situations

Positive psychology

The study of the strengths & virtues that allow ppl & communities to thrive

Positive psychology movement

• Encouraged the scientific study of faith, values, creativity, courage, & hope

• There is abundant evidence that being positive is associated w/better health outcomes across a wide range of measures, including heart disease, cancer, HIV, & diabetes

• Happy ppl live longer & have better health

According to positive psychologists, happiness has 3 components

• Positive emotion & pleasure

• Engagement in life

• Living a meaningful life

Mindfulness

Describes a state of mind in which you are sensitive to the present moment