Psychological Influences on Health Flashcards
What is the direct pathway between psychological factors and health?
Psychological factors directly affect physical health
What is the indirect pathway between psychological factors and physical health?
Psychological factors impact health behaviour which impacts physical health
What are the leading causes of disease?
1) Behaviour (50%)
2) Biology and environment (20%)
3) Access (10%)
What is behaviour?
The actions or reactions of an individual to a situation
What is health behaviour?
Behaviour that may have implications for health
What were the leading causes for death in the US in 2000?
1) Tobacco use
2) Poor diet and physical activity
3) Alcohol consumption
What can people engage in to prevent death?
Not smoking
Being physically active
Only drinking alcohol moderately
Eating 5 portions of fruit and veg a day
How much more likely are people to die if they do not do any of the following:
not smoke
be physically active
drink alcohol moderately
eat 5 portions of fruit and veg a day
4x
What are the different parts of the BMI?
Underweight
Normal weight
Overweight
Obese
What BMI is underweight?
<18.5
What BMI is normal weight?
18.5-24.9
What BMI is overweight?
25-29.9
What BMI is obese?
>30
Is obesity improving or not?
Becoming a worse problem
What are some behaviour risk factors for chronic disease?
Smoking
Overweight
Poor diet
Lack of physical activity
Excessive alcohol consumption
What diseases is smoking linked to?
Cardiovascular disease (such as high blood pressure, coronary heart disease, stroke)
COPD
Some cancers
What diseases is being overweight linked to?
Cardiovascular disease
Type 2 diabetes
Some cancers
What is a poor diet?
High saturated fat
Low fibre
Low fruit and veg
High salt
High red/processed meat
Low fish
What diseases is a poor diet linked to?
Obesity
Type 2 diabetes
Cardiovascular disease
Some cancers
What is considered to be a lack of physical activity?
<30 mins moderate intensity activity on 5+ days per week
or
<20 mins vigorous intensity activity on 3+ days per week
What is considered to be excessive alcohol consumption?
>14 units for women per week
>21 units for men per week
Binge drinking is 6 units for women or 8 for men on one occasion
What diseases is excessive alcohol consumption linked to?
Obesity
Liver disease
Cardiovascular disease
Some cancers
Diabetes
Oesteoporosis
Pancreitis
Psychiatric disorders
What are some determinants of health behaviour?
Background factors
Stable factors
Social factors
Situational factors
What are background factors?
Characteristics that define the context in which people live their lives
What are stable factors?
Individual differences (personality) in psychological activity that are stable over time
What are the 3 ways that stable factors influence appraisal?
Determine if, and to what extent and even is salient, meaning the sensitivity towards particular types of events
Provide a generalised framework for understanding and evaluating the event, such as a threat or challenge
Make available or suggest potential responses such as initial response options
What are the 3 broad types of individual differences?
Emotional dispositions (psychological processes involved in both the experience and expression)
Generalised expectancies (psychological processes incolved in formulating expectations in relation to future outcomes)
Explanatory styles (psychological processes involved in explaining the causes of negative events)
What are emotional dispositions?
Psychological process involved in both the experience and expression
What does appraisal mean?
Understanding
What are examples of emotional dispositions?
Negative affect (tendency toward the experience of negative affective states such as hostility, depression and anxiety)
Emotional expression (the low expression of negative emotional experience, but unconscious repression and conscious suppresion)
What is negative affect?
Tendency towards the experience of negative affective states such as hostility, depression and anxiety
What does negative affect lead to?
Appraisal bias for heightened arousal and increased frequency
What is emotional expression?
The low expression of negative emotional experience, but unconscious repression and conscious suppresion
What does emotional expression lead to?
Appraisal bias for neutralising threat or extreme intensity, both leading to maladaptive responses
What is generalised expectancies?
Psychological processes involved in formulating expectations in relation to future outcomes
What are examples of generalised expectancies?
Locus of control (expectations that future outcomes will be determined by factors that are either internal or external)
Self-efficacy (belief in one’s own ability to organise and execute a course of action and the expectation that the action will result in or lead to the desired outcome)
What is locus of control?
Expectations that future outcomes will be determined by factors that are either internal or external
What is locus of control associated with?
Favourable outcomes and performance of health behaviours, but very dependent situational factors
What is self-efficacy?
Belief in one’s on ability to organise and execute a course of action and the expectation that the action will result in or lead to the desired outcome
What does self-efficacy lead to?
Appraisal bias for challenge rather than threat and expectation of success
What are explanatory styles?
Psychological processes involved in explaining the causes of negative events
What are different kinds of explanatory styles?
Optimism (expectation of positive future outcome despite current negative event)
Attributional style (casual explanations of negative evens as internal (self), stable (time) and global (location)
What is optimism?
Expectation of positive future outcome despite current negative event
What does optimism lead to?
Appraisal bias for brief low levels of physiological reactivity and promoting active coping responses
Associated with better physical health, illness recovery and health behaviour performace
What is attributional style?
Casual explanations of negative events as internal, stable and global
What are social factors?
Social connections in the immediate environment, mostly stable but can be fragile
What are situational factors?
Appraisal of personal relevance that shapes responses in a specific situation
What does our understanding (appraisal) determine in most situations?
Our behaviour
What self-efficacy in 3 words?
Ability to change
What does self-efficacy underpin?
Goal setting
Effort investment
Persistance in face of barriers
Recovery from setbacks
What attempts to explain the relationship between social cognitions and behaviour?
Social cognition theories
What do social cognition theories do?
Try to explain the relationship between social cognitions (beliefs, attitudes, goals etc) and behaviour
What are examples of social cognition theories?
Health Belief Model
Theory of Planned Behaviour
Transtheoretical Model
What are examples of social cognitions?
Beliefs
Attitudes
Goals
What do commercial organisations use to change behaviour?
Psychological knowledge
What are examples of NICE principles interventions and programmes aimed at populations?
Fiscal and legislative interventions
National and local advertising and mass media campaigns
Point of sale promotions and interventions
How do NICE interventions and programmes target communities?
Support organisations and institutions that offer opportunities for local people
Planning and delivery of services
Promote reilience and build skills
How do NICE interventions and programmes target individuals?
Feel positive about the benefit of health
Plan their changes in terms of easy steps over time
Recognise how their social contexts and relationships may affect their behaviour
Plan coping strategies to prevent relapse
