Chapter 5 - Psychology and Physical Health Flashcards
What is health psychology concerned with?
How psychosocial factors relate to the promotion and maintenance of health and with the causation, prevention, and treatment of illness
What does the biopsychosocial model hold?
That physical illness is caused by a complex interaction of biological, psychological, and sociocultural factors
What does coronary heart disease result from?
A reduction in blood flow through the coronary arteries, which supply the heart with blood
What is atherosclerosis?
The principal cause of coronary disease, the gradual narrowing of the coronary arteries usually caused by a buildup of fatty deposits and other debris on the inner walls
What situation can narrowed coronary arteries eventually lead to?
The heart temporarily deprived of adequate blood low
What condition does the temporary deprivation of adequate blood flow to the heart cause?
Myocardial ischemia
What can myocardial ischemia be accompanied by?
Brief chest pain called angina, and a shortness of breath
What condition is caused when a coronary artery is completely blocked?
Myocardial infarction (heart attack) due to abrupt interruption of blood flow
What is CRP and what do its levels in the blood indicate?
C-reactive protein in blood can help estimate individuals coronary risk as well as the development of hypertension
What is Type A personality?
Involves self-imposed stress and intense reactions to stress
What can Type A personality correlate to?
Coronary risk
What does this correlation mean in terms of unexplained health problems?
People who are not at high risk for developing coronary disease from usual factors still have the potential to develop the disease because of this personality type
What three elements does the Type A personality include?
- A strong competitive orientation
- Impatience and time urgency
- Anger and hostility
What is Type B personality marked by?
A relatively relaxed, patient, easy going, amicable behaviour
What specific aspect of Type A personality is strongly correlated to increased coronary risk?
Anger and hostility
What does hostility refer to?
A persistent negative attitude marked by cynical, mistrusting thoughts, feelings of anger, and overtly aggressive actions
Rather than hostility, what is a stronger predictor of heart disease in women than men?
Anxiety, or a person’s predisposition to worry
What is a distinction between anger and hostility?
Anger is an unpleasant emotion that is accompanied by physiological arousal, whereas hostility involves a social component - negative attitude and often reaction toward others
Why is anger less of a risk factor in comparison to hostility in the development of heart disease?
Because in life it is unavoidable
What four explanations link anger and hostility (1)?
Anger prone individuals appear to exhibit greater physiological reactivity than those lower in hostility
(2)
Hostile people probably create additional stress for themselves
(3)
Thanks to their antagonistic ways of relating to others, hostile individuals tend to have less social support than others
(4)
Perhaps because of their cynicism, people high in anger and hostility seem to exhibit a higher prevalence of poor health habits that may contribute to the development of cardiovascular disease
Does hostility always lead to the development of cardiovascular problems?
No! May be a decided risk factor for some people but not others, just as it may exert its influence on promoting heart disease through some other pathway
How are emotional reactions considered risk factors for heart disease?
Brief periods of mental stress can the resulting emotions can tax the heart
Is it good to express emotions despite this fact?
Keeping negative emotions to oneself is potentially harmful
What is rumination?
Engaging in repetitive and negative thinking about some event (negative coping strategy that increases people’s risk for cardiac problems)
Is depression a major risk factor for heart disease?
Yes! The emotional dysfunction of depression may cause heart disease
What direction is the relationship between depression and heart disease?
Bi-directional - heart disease can also increase the vulnerability for depression
What does cancer refer to?
Malignant cell growth, which may occur in many organ systems in the body
What is the overall conclusion about the relation of stress to cancer?
Stress is related to but not necessarily causally linked to cancer
Despite the fact that there are weak findings linking psychological factors to the onset of cancer, how is stress and personality related to the course of the disease?
There is convincing evidence for this
Why is stress and personality related to the course of cancer?
Patients are subject to aversive treatments, side effects, career disruptions, etc. and these stressors can contribute to the progress of the disease
How does stress relate to other illnesses?
People with higher stress levels are more likely to become ill and can experience headaches and the development of the common cold
How is stress linked to prevalence of illness?
Stress can undermine the body’s immune functioning
What is the immune response?
The body’s defensive reaction to invasion by bacteria, viral agents, or other foreign substances
What two types of immune responses can chronic stress reduce?
Cellular immune responses and humoral immune responses
What does the cellular immune response attack?
Intracellular pathogens, such as viruses
What does the humoral immune response attack?
Extracellular pathogens, such as bacteria
What, specifically about a stressful event is a key factor in determining the impact of stress on immune function?
The duration of a stressful event
How can chronic stress affect immune system cells specifically?
Causes premature aging of immune system cells
What is the conclusion discovered about stress and it’s effect on immune function?
Stress can temporarily suppress human immune functioning, which can make people more vulnerable to infectious disease agents
Despite the promising research results about stress influencing physical health, why can’t we demonstrate conclusively that stress causes illness?
Because the research results are from correlational studies
What third variable can create the association between stress and illness?
Personality or some type of physiological predisposition makes people overly prone to interpret events as stressful and overtly prone to interpret physical sensations as symptoms of illness
