Ch 6: health behaviors Flashcards
Health behavior
any activity people perform to maintain or improve their health (or prevent disease and illness), regardless of perceived health status or whether the behavior is effective
Well behavior
any activity people undertake to maintain or improve current good health and avoid illness (e.g. eating a healthy diet, exercising, getting vaccinated)
Symptom-based behavior
any activity people who are ill undertake to determine the problem and find a remedy (e.g. complaining about symptoms, seeking advice)
Sick-role behavior
any activity people undertake to treat or adjust to a health problem after deciding they are ill and identifying the illness or being diagnosed (e.g. adhering to medical advice, staying home from school/work)
2 health-compromising behaviors that become clinically relevant with severity
poor diet and nutrition, and alcohol consumption
7 risk factors associated with poor physical health and increased mortality
smoking cigarettes, drinking alcohol excessively, obesity, physical inactivity, eating between meals, skipping breakfast, sleeping less than 7/8 hours
10 factors most closely associated with death
current smoker, history of divorce, history of alcohol abuse, recent financial difficulties, history of unemployment, history of smoking, lower life satisfaction, never married, history of food stamps, negative affectivity
3 findings on consistency of health habits
(1) health habits are fairly stable but often change over time; (2) particular health behaviors aren’t strongly tied to one another; (3) health behaviors don’t seem to be governed by the same set of attitudes or response tendencies
2 avenues for the ongoing advances in health
efforts to prevent illness and improvements in medical diagnosis and treatment
3 types of efforts to prevent illness
behavioral influence, environmental measures, and preventive medical efforts
3 levels of prevention (of an illness)
primary, secondary, and tertiary
What actions are involved in each level of prevention?
efforts done by oneself (in our well, symptom-based, and sick-role behaviors), one’s social network, and health professionals
Primary prevention
actions taken by the individual or society to prevent the onset of or avoid disease/injury; can begin even before a person is born or conceived
Examples of primary prevention
exercise, wearing a seatbelt, flossing, immunization/vaccination, handwashing, physical distancing, wearing a mask
Secondary prevention
actions taken to identify and treat an illness or injury early with the aim of stopping or reversing the problem
Examples of secondary prevention
medical exams, cancer screening, symptom-based behavior of seeking medical care for pain, sick-role behavior of taking medication, treating the flu or pneumonia
Tertiary prevention
actions taken to contain or slow the lasting and irreversible damage caused by a serious injury or disease, prevent disability or recurrence, and rehabilitate the patient
Examples of tertiary prevention
physical therapy for people with arthritis, taking medication to control pain, providing comfort for people with terminal cancer
Factors within the individual that influence the promotion of wellness
attitudes and perceptions regarding health behaviors (e.g. how appealing or convenient they are), difficulty changing habits and addictions, lack of cognitive resources, low self-efficacy, impact of one’s moods and energy levels
3 kinds of factors that play a role in the promotion of wellness
factors within the individual, interpersonal factors (e.g. family), and community factors (e.g. government and health professionals)
3 types of consequences to health-related behaviors developed through operant conditioning
reinforcement, extinction (if the reinforcement is stopped), punishment
How do people develop health behaviors through classical conditioning?
a stimulus (e.g. cigarette pack) can eventually become a cue for behavior (e.g. smoking) when it elicits a response through association with an unconditioned stimulus (e.g. feeling relaxed after smoking)
When do people tend to model another person’s behavior?
when the model is similar to themselves in terms of sex, age, or race, and is a high-status person
Antecedents
internal or external stimuli that precede and set the occasion for a behavior, which may eventually become habitual
What personality trait is associated with practicing many health behaviors?
conscientiousness
What is the role of emotion in practicing health behaviors?
women who have low conscientiousness and have a close relative with breast cancer are often distressed about developing cancer themselves and are unlikely to get a mammogram; high-stress individuals are more likely to engage in unhealthy behaviors as a form of coping
Unrealistic optimism
the belief that one is at a relatively lower risk of developing an illness that occurs rarely and that hasn’t happened to them; leads people to take less preventive action
Reflexology
a practice that involves massaging specific areas of the feet to treat illnesses
Health belief model
the likelihood that a person will take preventive action or perform some health behavior directly depends on their assessment of threat regarding a health problem and the pros and cons (or benefits and barriers) of taking the action
3 factors that influence people’s perceived threat of a health problem
perceived seriousness of its effects, perceived susceptibility to it, receiving cues to take action
3 barriers to taking preventive action
financial considerations, psychosocial consequences, and physical considerations
2 limitations of the health belief model
(1) doesn’t account for health behaviors that people perform habitually without consideration of threats, benefits, and costs; (2) has no standardized measure for its components like perceived susceptibility and seriousness
Cognitive adaption theory
those who do not fully accept their physiological risk may have better mental health and be better able to cope with risk
Theory of planned behavior
people decide their intention in advance of most voluntary behaviors and intentions are the best predictors of what people will do
3 judgements that determine a person’s intention to perform a behavior
attitude regarding the behavior based on its likely outcome and whether the outcome is rewarding; subjective norm; perceived behavioral control (self-efficacy)
Subjective norm
the appropriateness or acceptability of behavior based on beliefs about others’ opinions and social norms
Self-efficacy
belief that one can execute a course of action or achieve a goal
Limitations of the theory of planned behavior
(1) intention and behavior are not strongly related; (2) the role of people’s prior experience with the behavior is not considered
Transtheoretical model (or states of change model)
people go through stages each associated with different psychosocial characteristics as they adopt health behaviors