Health Stress and Coping

Devoted to understanding psychological influences on health, illness, and responses to illness.
Early conceptions connected illness to evil spirits.
The biopsychosocial model incorporates psychological, social, and biological factors.
Key theories include:
- Health Belief Model
- Protection Motivation Theory
- Theory of Reasoned Action
- Theory of Planned Behavior
Despite awareness of health risks, many engage in health-compromising behaviours like obesity, smoking, and high-risk sexual behaviours.

Individual Barriers
- Most individuals recognize harmful practices, yet engage in them due to immediate rewards.
- Example: Smoking alleviates stress temporarily.
Family Barriers
- Health behaviours are modeled by caregivers. Health-related habits established in childhood often persist.
Health System Barriers
- Focus of the biomedical model on treatment rather than prevention.
- Lack of regular health check-ups can delay preventive measures.
Community Barriers
- Norms of the community influence health behaviours (e.g. alcohol use).
- Programs like BreastScreen Australia increase awareness and encourage preventive screenings.

Defined as challenges to an individual's capacity to adapt.
Types of Stressors:
- Life Events (e.g., death, divorce)
- Catastrophes (e.g., natural disasters)
- Daily Hassles (e.g., work pressure)
Physiological and Emotional Responses:
- General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS) by Hans Selye: Alarm, Resistance, Exhaustion.
- Stress is perceived as a transaction where demands exceed resources.

Stress impacts psychological and physiological functions, leading to health issues.
Can weaken the immune system:
- Stress affects T cells, B cells, and natural killer cells.
- Chronic stress linked to illnesses like cardiovascular disease, cancer.
Influences health-seeking behaviour:
- Can cause individuals to ignore symptoms or overreact to minor problems.
Personality Factors:
- Traits like Type A behaviour (hostility, competitiveness) correlate with higher stress and heart disease.
- Optimism and Pessimism influence health outcomes; optimistic individuals are generally healthier.

Problem-focused Coping: Attempts to change the stressor.
Emotion-focused Coping: Regulating emotional responses to stress.
Social Support: Crucial for psychological and physical health, it can buffer effectively against stress.
- Emotional support can enhance wellbeing and reduce feelings of isolation.
Emotional Disclosure: Expressing feelings can lead to better health outcomes.

Trends towards integrating environmental influences in health behaviour studies.
Health psychologists will increasingly work in community settings and with public policy.
Focus on reducing health disparities, particularly among marginalized groups.
Understanding how modern threats (e.g., epidemics, terrorism) shape health behaviours is crucial.

Acculturative Stress: Stress from adapting to a new culture.
Psychoneuroimmunology: Study of interactions between psychosocial factors and the immune system.
General Adaptation Syndrome: Three-stage response to stress.
Health Belief Model: Predictive model focusing on health threats.
Self-Efficacy: Belief in one’s ability to abstain or engage in behaviours.