Health Psycolgy

Biopsychosocial and Behavioral Contributions to

Health

Health Psychology

A subfield of psychology that uses cognitive and behavioral principles to prevent and treat illness and to promote well-being

The aim in health psychology is

to get people to increase behaviors that promote good health

Health Psycolgy states that those who are truly healthy enjoy

a positive state of subjective well-being.

Health Psycolgy says Attaining subjective well-being includes both

physical and psychological health.

Many cultures adopt

a broad model for health

American psychologists now prefer a

more holistic biopsychosocial model.

Biological Factors That Influence Health (4)

-Genetic factors

-nervous system

-endocrine system

-immune systme

Genetic factors

provide protection from, or susceptibility to, a variety of illnesses

Genitch factors branches of the

nervous system and endocrine system are at the root of many health concerns

The immune system

rovides protection against short-term assaults on the body.

Other physiological systems include

those associated with key organs in the body.

Type A Personalities

• common idea

• Research has found that anger and hostility are reliably related to risk for heart attack, not personality type

• Type B is less likely to have heart attacks

Common idea

Hard driving, ambitious, highly competitive, achievement-oriented and striving

Hardy Personalities

-Unusually resistant to stress

- Commitment to self and other values, sense of control over life and work, sees life as a series of challenges

- Strong connection between hardiness, optimism and happiness

Social Factors That Influence

Health

Social networks

-can be a barrier to change
-can spread healthy behaviors

Poverty

Linked to lower life expectancy

- Relative poverty
- Income inequality

COVID-19 infection and death more like to occur amoung poor because

- Less money to pay for health care
- Less ability to isolate and take sick days from work

Cultural Factors That Influence health is highly

tied to cultural frameworks:

Other Cultural Factors That Influence Health

-Religion/spirituality
-Accessibility and trust in biological medicine
-Varying opinions on the role of the mind
-Preventative vs reactive treatment

Behaviors Risk Factors (2)

-Lifestyle diseases

-Behavioral risk factors

Life style diseases

Involve risky, health-damaging behaviors

Behavioral risk factors

-Actions that people choose to take that increased risk of disease, injury, or early death

Risks you take now greatly affect your

health, happiness, and life expectancy years later

Types of Stressors

-Stressor

-Hassles

Stressors

- Condition or event that challenges or threatens a person

- Positive life events can be stressful

- Social readjustment rating scale (SRSS)

- Higher chance of illness or accident when SRSS is above 300

Hassles

- Microstressors

- Frustrations and irritations

- Too much to do

- Frequent and severe hassles are better predictors of day-to-day health

- Closely linked to immediate health and well-being

Responding to Stressors include

Primary appraisal

Secondary appraisal

Primary appraisal

Very basic decision about whether a situation is relevant or irrelevant, and is positive or threatening

Secondary appraisal

Assess resources, determine if you can deal with the stressor, and choose a way to meet the threat or challenge

At least four factors contribute to primary and secondary appraisals

1. Control, or perceived lack of control
2. Competence
3. Unpredictability
4. Pressure

Control, or perceived lack of control

The belief that you can directly influence your actions, choices, and the outcomes of your life.

Competence

The belief that you have the skills, knowledge, and ability to handle a situation successfully.

Unpredictability

means you have no idea what is going to happen next, or when it will happen.

Pressure

defined as a stressful psychological state that occurs when you face urgent expectations or demands to perform, achieve, or behave in a specific way.

General Adaptation Syndrome

Stress reaction that begins with the autonomic nervous system

Alarm reaction

Body mobilizes resources to cope with added stress

Stage of resistance:

Bodily adjustments to stabilize

Stage of exhaustion:

Bodily resources are drained and stress hormones depleted

illness and Psychosomatic Disorders

-Psychoneuroimmunology

-Psychosomatic disorders

Psychoneuroimmunology

Study of links among behavior, stress, disease, and the immune system

Psychosomatic disorders

Psychological factors contribute to bodily damage or damaging changes in bodily functioning

More on Psychosomatic disorder

- Gastrointestinal and respiratory problems

- Eczema, migraine headaches, arthritis, hypertension, colitis, and heart disease, in addition to lesser health complaints

- Stress management training can boost immune system functioning

Somatic Symptom

- Interpreting normal sensation as proof of a terrible disease

- Expressing anxiety through bodily complaints

- Disabling pain with no identifiable physical basis

Factitious Disorder

- Faking medical problems to get attention

- Imposed on self (Munchausen syndrome)

- Imposed on others (Munchausen by proxy syndrome)

Conversion Disorde

- Severe emotional conflicts converted into symptoms that disturb physical functioning

Somatic Symptoms and Related Disorders (3)

-Somatic Symptom

-Factitious Disorder

-Conversion Disorder

Learned Helplessness

Resignation in the face of a situation over which you believe you have no control

- Common reaction to repeated failure
- Similarities to depression in terms of despondency, powerlessness, and hopelessness

Mastery training

Responses to a threat or control over the environment are reinforced

Burnout

When workers are physically, mentally, and emotionally drained

Results in:

- Emotional exhaustion

- Cynicism

- Detachment

- Feelings of reduced accomplishment

-This can also occur in college students

Improving Health With

Treatment

Recognizing Illness (3)

-Biological Factors

-Psychological Factors

-Social Factors

Biological Factors

-More likely to take seriously symptoms that affect parts of the body that are highly
valued, and symptoms that cause pain

Psychological Factors

- Personality factors, particularly neuroticism, are associated with noticing and responding tosymptoms of illness

- Mood and emotion

Social Factors

- Lay referral network

- The Internet as a source to recognize
and interpret symptoms

Seeking Treatment include

-Factors Influencing Decision to Seek Treatment

-Type of Treatment

Factors Influencing Decision to Seek Treatment

- Sex
- Income
- Age
- Culture

Type of Treatment

- Over-the-counter medication

- Consultation with a medical professional

- Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), such as yoga, dietary supplements, acupuncture

Complying with Treatments

is imporant

Treatment noncompliance:

Failure to act on the recommendations of healthcare professionals
- Ignoring suggestions
- Misunderstanding, forgetting, or carrying out treatment incorrectly

treatment Noncompliance due to

- Cognitive factors
- Memory
- Relationship between care provider and recipient
- Emotions, including anxiety and depression

Addressing Noncompliance requries

- Good communication skills
- Stronger interpersonal skills
- Fostering trust that encourages people to assume a partnership role in treatment (rapport)
- Plan that reflects the person for whom it was
designed

Improving Health through

coping

Coping

The tendency to change cognitions and behaviors in an effort to manage illness and general demands that life places on us

Problem-focused coping:

Manage or correct distressing situation

More on problem-focused coping (3)

- Altering response to those conditions
- Change yourself to reflect coping that alters ability to manage stress, such as learning a new skill
-Eliminate conditions causing the stress

Emotion-Focused Coping

- Gain control of emotional reactions to situation and minimize distress
- Distraction
- Cognitive reappraisal
- Relaxation

Relationship-Focused Coping

- Relationships are key to a rewarding life, and maintaining them is an important goal
- Empathy
- Compromise
- Social support

Trauma and

Stressor-Related Disorders

Behavior patterns that are associated with high levels of fear or anxiety brought on by

experiencing traumatic stresses

Trauma- and Stressor-Related Disorder also include

-Adjustment disorder

-Extreme stress disorders

-Acute stress disorde

-Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

Adjustment disorder

Ordinary stress pushes people beyond their ability to cope

Extreme stress disorders

Stresses outside normal human experience

Acute stress disorder

Reactions last less than one month

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD):

Lasts more than a month

Managing Traumatic Stress

Produces psychological injury or intense emotional pain to cope:

More on produces psychological injury or intense emotional pain to cope:

- Identify what you are feeling
- Think about skills used to overcome adversity in the past, and apply them
- Get support from others – one of the worst things to do is isolate
- Give yourself time to heal

Human Diversity and Coping

Managing Acculturative Stress

Acculturative stress

Cause by adapting to a foreign culture

more on acculturative stress

- Integration
- Separation
- Assimilation
- Marginalization