Mental and Physical Health Flashcards
WHO (1948) definition of physical health
“a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity”
Is there a bidirectional Link between mental and physical health ?
There is a bidirectional link between mental and physical health. English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA, Ohrnberger et al., 2017)
Included 10,693 participants and found that past mental and physical health have strong direct and indirect effects on current mental and physical health.
What did the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study 2019 (UK data; Murray et al., 2020) find
The Factors that drive the most death and disability combined:Tobacco, High body mass index, High blood pressure
The Factors less likely to drive the most death and disability combined:Drug use and Air pollution
What did Everest et al., 2022 say about risk prevention
Smoking, poor diet, physical inactivity and harmful alcohol use are all leading risk behaviours driving preventable ill health and premature mortality
Lifestyle choices are critical prevention targets
What do health psychologists do for physical health?
- use their knowledge of psychology and health to promote general well-being and understand physical illness.
- are specially trained to help people deal with the psychological and emotional aspects of health and illness as well as supporting people who are chronically ill.
- promote healthier lifestyles and try to find ways to encourage people to improve their health.
- use their skills to try to improve the healthcare system (e.g., doctor-patient communication) and health policy
What is personological epidemiology ?
The study of the links between personality traits and health & disease
What is cognitive epidemiology ?
The study of the links between intellectual abilities and health & disease
What did Murray & Booth (2015) systematic review find
They found that personality traits (in particular conscientiousness and neuroticism) have small but important effects on health and longevity (long life). E.g cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, high blood pressure
Strong link between personality and illness
What are the four links between personality and physical health according to Suls and Rittenhouse (1990) and Smith and Williams (1992).
- Personality -> behaviours -> illness
- Personality -> biological activities -> illness
- Biological causes -> personality -> illness
- Illness -> personality
Explain the Personality -> behaviours -> illness link
Having certain personality traits causes individuals to engage in (health) behaviours that influence their health/increase the risk of illness. Risky behaviours, e.g., smoking, substance abuse, unprotected sex
protective behaviours, e.g., proper nutrition, weight control, physical activity, sleep, immunizations, safe driving.
Research related to Personality -> behaviours -> illness link
- Lee et al., 2012 - Physical inactivity identified as one of the leading risk factors of global mortality
- Allen et al., 2014 - Personality traits associated with sport performance (athletic success) and physical activity (exercise participation) but also unhealthy exercise behaviour
- Allen et al., 2011 - athletes competing in national/international competitions report higher conscientiousness and lower neuroticism than do those competing in regional competitions
- Rhodes & Smith, 2006 - high extraversion and conscientiousness and low neuroticism relate to high levels of physical activity
- Tolea et al., 2012 - older adults with high extraversion have greater muscular strength
- Lichtenstein et al., 2014 - Excitement seeking (extraversion), achievement striving (conscientiousness), and straightforwardness/compliance (agreeableness) have strongest associations with exercise addiction
- Hakulinen et al. (2015); meta-analysis of 9 cohort studies
non-smokers: higher extraversion and lower conscientiousness predicted smoking initiation. ex-smokers: higher neuroticism predicted smoking relapse - Hajek et al. (2020); meta-analysis of 15 studies
higher neuroticism linked to; increased use of general practice/physician visits, dental care use, use of medication, use of any emergency department
Explain the link between Personality -> biological activities -> illness
Personality may directly influence biological activities that influence the development of a physical disease
Explain the link between Personality -> biological activities -> illness and coronary heart disease
Friedman and Rosenman (1959) identified a coronary-prone behaviour pattern which they labelled Type A personality
What are Type A personality traits
- Achievement oriented and competitive
- Hardworking and at high levels of alternness
- Unhappy with time wasting and serious about deadlines
- Easily roused to anger when goals are obstructed
What are Type B personality traits
- Less interested in achievement and competition
- Relaxed and unhurried
- Rarely driven in a compulsive manner
- More likely to take life as it comes
What is the hypothesis for Type A and coronary heart disease
Individuals with scores towards the Type A end are more likely to develop coronary heart disease than those towards the Type B end of the Type A/B continuum
Critique of Type A/B and coronary heart disease
Booth-Kewley & Friedman (1987); meta-analysis.
Type A reliably but modestly associated with coronary heart disease
studies using interviews to assess Type A/B produced more reliable results than studies using self-report questionnaires
Explanation for the effects of Type A
Chida & Steptoe, 2009, meta-analysis - hostility/anger was associated with a 20% increased risk of coronary heart disease and led to poorer outcomes in patients with coronary heart disease
Explain the link between Biological causes -> personality -> illness
Correlational link – the same biological process might underpin personality traits and illness outcomes
Example: – A specific kind of coronary heart disease was found to be linked to a gene, which also causes a predisposition towards being a hostile person
Causal link: Illness produces changes in personality.
Explain the link between Illness -> personality
- Stephan et al., 2014 - Personality traits are shaped by exercise participation. physically active adults declined less on conscientiousness, extraversion, openness, and agreeableness than did less physically active adults
- Jokela et al., 2014 - Chronic diseases (i.e., heart disease, stroke, diabetes, cancer, hypertension, arthritis, respiratory disease) influence personality. Consistent decreases in extraversion, emotional stability, conscientiousness, and openness to experience after onset of chronic disease
What are the four responses to stressful situations ?
What three models did Smith (2006) highlight as effects of personality in appraisal and coping in stressful situations.
- Experience of negative emotions (e.g., anxiety, fear)
- Physiological response (e.g., fight or flight)
- Cognitive response (e.g., appraisal, defence mechanisms)
- Behavioural response; healthy (e.g., exercise, seeking social support) or unhealthy (e.g., drugs) coping behaviours
What is the health behaviour model
- Personality influences engagement with health behaviours, and can also influence appraisals and our coping strategies when faced with stressful situations
What is the interactional stress moderation model
Personality moderates both appraisals of potentially stressful circumstances and coping responses, which in turn alter physiological processes involved in disease etiology
What is the transactional stress moderation model
- It extends the interactional model by including the bidirectional effect of personality on exposure to stressful life circumstances
What is Lazuras’ theory of emotion
- stress is viewed as an interaction between the person and the environment
- When a demand occurs in the environment, the individual undertake primary appraisal to assess the perceived demands (“Am I fine or am I in trouble?”)
- Then, the individual appraises their capabilities to cope with the perceived demands, resulting in secondary appraisal (“What can I do about it?”)
- Finally, the perceived demands are compared to the perceived capabilities an - if the perceived demands are greater than the perceived capabilities - stress results.
Explain the link between intelligence and health
Higher intelligence is associated with living longer
Lower intelligence in youth is also associated with, e.g.,
– various diseases (e.g., cardiovascular disease, hypertension, respiratory disease, diabetes)
– all-cause mortality (death from cardiovascular disease, external causes including accidents, suicide and homicide)
– health-care use, treatment compliance
What are Whalley and Deary (2001) four possible explanations for intelligence and physical health
- Health and deprivation affects intelligence scores in childhood & youth
- The common genetic basis of these constructs supports the notion of “system integrity”.
- Intelligence in childhood and youth might be associated with health literacy & subsequent uptake of health-related behaviours
- Intelligence is associated with higher educational attainments and, thereby, entry to safer and healthier environment
What is WHO (2004) definition of mental health
“…a state of well-being in which the individual realizes his or her own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to his or her community”
What does the Saltugenic Mental Health model Keyes (2014) say ?
The presence of mental illness does not imply the absence of mental health
The absence of mental illness does not imply the presence of mental health
What is Subjective Wellbeing
The extent to which people think and feel that their lives are going well (aka happiness)
Explain the cognitive component of subjective wellbeing
constituted by a cognitive component and an
affective component
- Cognitive (reflective) judegment - an individuals judgement that their life is going well, aka life satisfaction
Explain the affective component of subjective wellbeing
Affective experience – positive and negative affect (emotions) individuals experience as they live their life e.g irritable
What factors influence SWB
- Diener & Ryan, 2009
- Basic needs (food, safety, shelter, meaningful relationships) - Psychological needs (competence, autonomy, freedom) and Personality
- Age, gender, ethnicity, education, employment status, income, religiosity/spirituality
relevance of factors varies cross-culturally
Explain the link between SWB and personality
- SWB is moderately heritable (~ 40-50%)
– SWB is moderately stable over time (“setpoint level of happiness”), though major life events may have large and lasting effects
– SWB has been linked to specific personality traits
– SWB’s correlations with personality traits tend to be much larger than correlations with demographic predictors/life circumstances
What is the five factor model
it tested 5 dimensions: Extraversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Neuroticism and Openness to Experience
- Highly extraverted individuals are assertive and sociable
- Agreeable individuals are cooperative and polite
- Conscientious individuals are task focused and orderly
- Neurotic individuals are prone to experiencing negative emotions
- highly open individuals have a broad range of interests and are sensitive
