HealthPsyc2 Flashcards
Health behaviour: • behavioural pathogens:
Matarazzo (1984)
• the health damaging/health risk behaviours such as
excessive alcohol consumption, smoking, fatty diet.
Chronic disease in Australia
“heart disease, stroke, cancer and other chronic
diseases looming epidemics that will take the
greatest toll in deaths and disability” (WHO, 2005)
• Chronic diseases impact heavily on:
• Burden upon patients/carers
• Rates of death/disability
• Use of health services
• Healthcare expenditure
See slide for graphs of behavioural contributors
Primary causes of death in Australia
Coronary heart disease
-Smoking -Diet -Exercise -Alcohol
Stroke (and other cerebrovascular diseases)
-Smoking -Diet -Alcohol -Exercise
Cancer (primarily lung, breast, prostate, colorectal)
-Smoking -Alcohol -Diet -Health Screening -Self-Examination
Dementia
-Smoking (?) -Alcohol(?) -Exercise (?) -Diet (?)
Smoking Risks
Increased risk of: • Coronary heart disease • Stroke • Peripheral vascular disease • Cancer
Daily Smoking Prevalence in Australia
2001: 19% 2013: 13%
Never Smoked >100 cigarettes (14+ years)
2001: 51% 2013: 60%
Factors associated with smoking
• Location
o Remote and very remote areas (2x more likely than major cities)
• SES
o Lower SES (3 x more likely than highest SES)
• Indigeneity
o Indigenous Australians
(2.5x more likely than non-Indigenous)
• Sexual orientation
o Homosexual and bisexual (more likely to
smoke daily than heterosexual)
Why start smoking?
- Modelling (peers, siblings, parents)
- Social pressure, social learning and reinforcement
- Weight control
- Risk-taking or problem behaviours
- Health cognitions (unrealistic optimism)
Why continue smoking?
- Enjoyment
- Habit
- Physical and/or psychological addiction
- Stress/anxiety management
- Low self-efficacy
Alcohol
“the second most widely used
psychoactive substance in the world
(after caffeine)”
(Julien, 1996, p101)
Alcohol Recommendations (for healthy adults who are not pregnant)
• For reducing long-term harm, no more than: 2 drinks a night
For reducing short-term harm (i.e. injury), no more than: 4 drinks a night
Standard drink= 10g of alcohol
Alcohol Leads to Increased risk of…
Short Term
-Road and other accidents
• Domestic and public violence
• Crime
Long term • Liver disease • Cancer (oral, oesophagus, larynx) • High blood pressure • Pancreatitis • Brain damage
Alcohol Prevalence • Exceeding guidelines for reducing long-term harm:
2001: 21% 2013: 18%
Alcohol Prevalence Exceeding guidelines for reducing short-term harm:
2001: 29% 2013: 26%
Factors associated with risky drinking
- Location:
- Remote and very remote areas (2x more likely than major cities)
- SES:
- Higher SES (more likely to drink in risky quantities than people with lowest SES)
• Indigeneity:
• Indigenous Australians: more abstinence but (if
drinking) more risky
- Sexual orientation:
- Homosexual and bisexual (more likely to drink in risky quantities)
Why higher amongst same-sex attracted people?
Negative reactions to disclosure of orientation
• (Baiocco et al., 2010)
• Experiences of bisexual-negativity
(Molina et al., 2015)