(PSYC) Health compromising behaviour

Window of vulnerability (HCB trait)

in adolescence, this refers to how this age group is susceptible to picking up certain Health compromising behaviours

Gradual development (HCB trait)

HCB have potential to get worse

adverse childhood experiences (HCB)

abuse, neglect, household dysfunction are known to negatively impact health through changes in brain development

Genetics and epigenetics (HCB)

genetics and epigenetics (the environmental influences on one’s gene transcription) play a role in alcohol and substance use disorders

pleasure seeking (HCB)

Health-compromising behaviours are pleasurable and some represent thrill-seeking, which can be rewarding in its own right

Temperament (HCB)

difficult temperament (biologically based pattern of emotional and behavioral reactions), poor self-control, and deviance-prone attitudes are related to adolescent substance-use

peer culture and self presentation (HCB)

adolescents learn from and imitate the peers they admire and focus on self-presentation with efforts to appear sophisticated, cool/tough

coping with stress (HCB)

Adolescents may use substances as a way to cope with stressful or traumatic events, and the synergistic effect of stress + substances is especially dangerous during developmental periods

Substance use disorder

a condition that arises when an individual uses a substance repeatedly, leading to functional or clinical impairment

Criteria to diagnose substance abuse

risky use, impaired control, social impairment, pharmacological effects

Risky use (SUD diagnose)

refers to using a substance despite experiencing problems associated with its use (e.g., drinking w liver disease, unsafe sex after drinking)

Impaired control (SUD diagnose)

high levels of use, craving, and quantities of the substance

Social impairment (SUD diagnose)

don’t meet important work or family obligations or abandon important recreational, occupational, or social events

Pharmacological effects (SUD diagnose)

the focus on withdrawal, tolerance, and addiction of substances

Tolerance

process by which the body increasingly adapts to the use of a substance, requiring larger and larger doses of it to obtain same effects

Withdrawal

the unpleasant symptoms (psychological, and physical) that people experience when they stop using a substance on which they are dependent

Societal costs for substance abuse

health care resources, law enforcement, loss of productivity – costed Canada 46b$ in 2017

harms reduction

interventions aimed at reducing the negative effects of health behaviours without necessarily extinguishing the problematic health behaviours completely or permanently

insite program

Canada’s first safe injection site which offers disposable injection kit, sterile tools, medical support

benefits of Insite program

• reduces rates of transfer of infection disease

• lowers long-term costs to the healthcare system

• More access to health care services

• brings stability to the community, safer environment

three main classes of illicit drugs

opiates (e.g. heroin), cocaine, amphetamine-type stimulants (adderall)

Consequences of illicit drug use

physical issues (physiological damage, infectious disease), mental health issues, social issues (risky sexual behaviours)

Alcohol abuse in Canada

8000 deaths/yr in Canada + 77,000 hospitalizations caused by alcohol

(physical) Health impacts - AUD

alcohol use disorder is linked to health issues including high blood pressure, liver damage, and fetal-alcohol syndrome

Alcohol and the pandemic

unhealthy alcohol use increased during the pandemic as a coping strategy to the isolation and stress

AUD common treatments

alcoholics anonymous, cognitive behavioural therapy, detoxification (Clearing the alcohol from your body), medications (ie. naltrexone, which weakens the rewarding effects of alcohol)

AUD treatment factors

alcoholic’s age (maturing out of alcohol use), socio-economic status, access to care and social support

Cigarette death toll

single greatest cause of preventable death with 8 million deaths/yr worldwide, smoking accounts for 30% of all cancer deaths

Smoking risks (disease)

cardiovascular disease, lung cancer and other cancers, chronic bronchitis (chronic coughing)

Synergistic Effects of Smoking

when you smoke and have another health issue (like high cholesterol), they don’t just add together, instead they work together to make things much worse than either one would on its own

Synergistic effects of smoking examples:

• smoking * cholesterol → cardiovascular disease

• Smoking * depression → increased chances of cancer

Smoking treatment types–Primary strategies

smoking prevention (long-term benefit), smoking cessation (“short” term benefit)

Specific smoking treatment strategies

changing social views (i.e. media), nicotine replacement therapies (nicotine gum, nicotine nasal spray), cognitive behavioural therapy

Evans’ Social Influence Model

Because adolescents start smoking by observing and imitating parents and peers, prevention programs must counteract this by featuring high-status non-smokers as positive role models

Behavioral Inoculation Strategy

Exposes individuals to a weak peer pressure argument and trains them on how to refute it, so they are prepared to resist strong pressure later

life-skills-training approach (Smoking)

the rationale for the intervention is that if adolescents are trained in self-esteem and coping enhancement as well as social skills, they will not feel as much need to smoke to bolster their self-image

E-cigarette & Vaping

these devices are controlled in Ontario, sale is limited to those over 19 yrs

Vaping benefits?

safer than traditional cigarette smoking, fewer adverse events, better manage addiction, less impact to local environment

Vaping cons

long-term health consequences are unknown, inappropriate usage amongst youth, potential pulmonary illness

VALI

vaping-associate lung illness (VALI) rates are on the rise in Canada, with symptoms like shortness of breath, cough, chest pain

Eating disorder prevalence

typically starts during adolescence and more prevalent in women

(Unhealthy) weight loss tools

diet pills, restricted diet, use of laxatives, self-induced vomiting

Anorexia nervosa

is an obsessive disorder amounting to self-starvation, with weight loss dropping below a sub-optimal level

Bulimia

characterized by alternating cycles of binge eating and purging

Bulimia behaviours (purging)

vomiting, use of laxatives, extreme dieting, fasting

Binge vs purge (bulimia)

the binge phase is an out-of-control reaction of the body to restore weight while the purge phase is an effort to regain control over weight

Barriers to treatment (bulimia)

many people do not seek treatment as either they do not believe that their problem is a serious one, or they do not believe that any medical intervention will help

Bulimia treatment

Cognitive behavioural therapy + medication has been effective treatment method