Prevalence rates

Question 1

Prevalence rates

Answer 1

the frequency of a health problem within a given population

Question 2

Issue with stress

Answer 2

it is difficult to determine the prevalence rate as there are different ways to measure, causes of it, and different ways it can manifest itself

Question 3

Usually with prevalence rates

Answer 3

there are two ways to report prevalence – point prevalence reports the proportion of a population that has a health problem at a specific point in time

Question 4

Lifetime prevalence

Answer 4

Lifetime prevalence, on the other hand, is the proportion of a population that at some point in their life has ever had the problem.

Question 5

With stress

Answer 5

Variations in reports of stressful experiences across countries might be influenced by cultural or local interpretations of what defines stress, and by differences in how life experiences are integrated into personal judgments.

Question 6

According to research

Answer 6

According to the research one reads, stress can be an environmental trigger, the result of a cognitive appraisal or a biological response.

Given this wide definition, it is important to consider these differences when interpreting data about the prevalence of stress between cultures.

Question 7

A possible cause of differences in prevalence rates might be due to

Answer 7

location in terms of countries

Question 8

How can location lead to high levels of stress

Answer 8

due to culture and norms of the specific country

Question 9

When looking at the EU

Answer 9

22% of europeans experience stress at work but this differers between countries

Question 10

For example, in Greece

Answer 10

55% of workers reported stress compared to only 12% in the UK

This high difference therefore shows that location can have a significant impact on stress

Question 11

The EU is a good comparison as

Answer 11

it can reduce the extraneous variable of working laws as EU countries share similar rules to each other

Question 12

One study that investigates this is

Answer 12

Faresjö et al.

Question 13

Faresjö et al. investigated

Answer 13

whether stress levels measured by cortisol concentrations in hair were different between comparable Greek and Swedish young adults.

Question 14

Procedure of Faresjö et al.

Answer 14

All participants were required to answer a questionnaire and give hair samples. The questionnaire included questions on drug use, medications, serious life events, health status, and hope for the future.

Question 15

The results of Faresjö et al.

Answer 15

the Greek sample reported significantly more experiences of serious life events, higher perceived stress, higher scores on the depression and anxiety scales, lower scores for hope for the future, and more daily smoking.

Regular medication was significantly more frequent among the Swedes, and no differences between the Greeks and Swedes were found concerning self-reported health.

After adjustments for differences in sex and age distribution, it was found that Greek cortisol levels were significantly lower than comparable Swedish levels.

Question 16

Conclusion of Faresjö et al.

Answer 16

young Greek adults had significantly lower cortisol levels than comparable Swedish young adults, despite the fact that the Greeks reported higher perceived stress, reported more experience of serious life events, had lower hope for the future and had widespread symptoms of depression and anxiety.

Therefore, there is clearly a strong relationship between a number of social stressors in Greece and higher perceived levels of stress and therefore supports that location can have a significant impact on the prevalence rate of stress.

Question 17

Issue with Faresjö et al.

Answer 17

issue with the study is that the sample was not representative of the overall population of either country, as it was only college-aged students from a single university within that country, and the number of males in the Greek sample was disproportionately lower than in the Swedish sample therefore making the results not reliable on whether location was the actual cause or not.

Also, drawing conclusions from the results is limited by the correlational nature of the data.

There are a number of other possible explanations for lower levels of cortisol in the Greek participants, including a warmer climate that could quicken hair growth and dilute cortisol concentrations, and differences in levels of sunlight that could possibly affect cortisol levels by leaching.

Neither of these alternative explanations has been confirmed in any prior research.

Question 18

optimism and pessimism

Answer 18

In addition to location and culture which are more difficult to control and reduce and therefore might lack applicability, a prevalence rate that can be better controlled is optimism and pessimism

Question 19

Optimists

Answer 19

have a general tendency to expect positive outcomes

They have a hopeful view of life and tend to always find “the good side” in others and in situations.

Question 20

Pessimists

Answer 20

have a general tendency to expect negative outcomes. Pessimists like to hear what the problems are, so they can correct them. Part of why pessimists generate negative thoughts is that they believe it helps them perform better.

Question 21

Jobin

Answer 21

This difference has been found to have serious potential harm on individuals. This was found by Jobin et al who looked at the role of optimism on stress and health.

Question 22

Procedure of Jobin

Answer 22

Participants reported the level of stress they perceived in their daily lives. They also took a test to measure their level of optimism and pessimism. Researchers then measured cortisol levels over a 6 year period in a sample of 135 adults.

Question 23

Results of Jobin

Answer 23

Jobin found that on days where the participants experienced higher than average stress, that’s when the pessimists’ cortisol levels were elevated and those levels of cortisol were sustained for a longer period of time than was observed in the optimists. This therefore highlights how pessimism can have serious effect on the prevalence rate of stress.

Question 24

Issue with Jobin

Answer 24

However a key issue with measuring this prevalence rate is that compared to location, it is difficult to determine whether an individual is pessimistic or optimistic without them reporting it themselves and therefore there is the risk of the social desirability effect as pessimism is seen as negative compared to optimism. In addition with questionnaires there is also the risk of the screw you effect where participants try to skew the results. Therefore this makes the results less reliable.

Question 25

Usefulness of prevalence rates

Answer 25

Another useful way of using prevalence rates is to evaluate the success of a health campaign or new set of laws. A decrease in prevalence is often seen as a mark of success for a health promotion program.

Question 26

Shapiro et al

Answer 26

Shapiro et al supports that Mindfulness based Stress Reduction course can reduce the prevalence of stress.

Question 27

Shapiro et al procedure

Answer 27

In the study, participants were assigned to the course or to the waiting list. They both filled out a self report questionnaire assessing stress before the course and during exams. The study was designed to coincide with exams, since this is known to be a high stress period.

Question 28

Results of Shapiro et al

Answer 28

The researchers found no difference in stress levels between the two groups at the beginning of the term. However, people on the waiting list expressed more stress during exams compared to those who had participated in the course. They showed less levels of stress than at the start of the study. The study therefore suggests that Meditation course applied on a larger societal level could help people to cope with stress.