Explaining illness and coping behaviours Flashcards
What does it mean to be ill? (Lau)
Beliefs about illness dependent on beliefs about health but more than not being well.
- Having bodily signs/physical sensations (pain/tired/nausea)
- Sensations are novel and/or non-attributable (attention)
- Not feeling normal (perception)
- Not being able to do what normally do (behaviour)
- Having symptoms for some time
What factors affect symptom perception?
- Attention: focus/distraction/context
- Societal mores: stereotypes eg me get CVD, soicism
- Mood: happy, sad, anxious
- Experience: lifespan, learning and illness experience
What is the ‘sick role’ (Parsons)?
Society ‘gives’ people a sick role when identifies and accepts them as ill, and symptoms help:
- Societal expectations about how people should behave:
- Exemption from normal social roles but must be legitimised by an authority (e.g. mum/ course leader)
- Exemption from responsibility for illness (e.g. Sick must be looked after/ not your fault)
- Illness is undesirable
- Seek appropriate help (e.g. See a doctor, stay in)
- Time limited (e.g. acute)
What is Leventhal’s self-regulation theory of illness?
Framework linking illness representations with coping, and actions.
Stage 1 - Illness representation (identity/cause/consequences/timeline/cure/)
Stage 2 - Coping behaviour for illness control (approach to control (problem-focused) or avoidance (emotion-focused)
Stage 3 - Appraisal of coping outcomes - evaluate coping strategy with illness problem.
Why did Goff et al find that 90% of women with ovarian cancer experienced symptoms prior to presenting? 70% for 3 months and 15% for 1 year.
Dynamic adjustment to illness - initial response is denial/over compensate. 2 week period of dysphoria - short-term coping. Then adaptation (indefinate) - readjustment to status quo.
What percentage of medication is not taken as prescribed?
30-40%
How might a person’s illness perceptions affect their adherance to treatment?
Affect on life. Beliefs about treatment (fear it is addictive, not effective), lack of understanding, beliefs about medication in general (doctors prescribe too many drugs).
