test 1 Flashcards
what is health psychology
branch of psychology that concerns individual behaviors and lifestyles affecting a persons physical health (formal definition)
what do health psychologists do
engage in academic research, professional practice and education and training across an array of health care settings
-health promotion, disease prevention, research in etiology and consequences, healthcare policy and suggestions
what are the factors that influence health
biological, psychological, behaviors, family, culture, environment, spirituality, and health system and policies
what is health
WHO: the state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease
definition has changed overtime: went from gods and spirits to absence of disease
what does the definition of health imply
that a person with a chronic illness could be healthier than a person without one
what are the main models of health
biopsychosocial, wellness model, and social ecological model
what is the biopsychosocial model
recognizes illness is a result of microorganisms (bacteria-> disease) and the influence of other health detriments
what are the criticisms of the biopsychosocial model
- doesnt incorporate everything (environment and spirituality)
- too much emphasis on bio, too little emphasis on psychosocial
explain the wellness model
-includes spirituality: not necessarily referring to any type of god or religion, but spirituality in this sense takes a broader meaning (life has a broader purpose)
- spirituality is important to include in health model because
1) beliefs influence how you handle stress and negative events
2) beliefs influence how you live your life (health enchanting behaviors)
3) beliefs influence quality of life and satisfaction - *all of these have a direct impact on psychological health**
explain the social ecological model
considers environment and health system and policy
what is the interdisciplinary view of health
parts of holistic health pie -> biological, psychological, sociological, environmental and health system/policy
what is important for health psychology from biological demographics? (factors that influence health and well being)
- age, race and sex
- biological genetics: if first degree relatives suffer from certain conditions (biological: heritable diseases)
- things you cant help, get it from parents
- multifactorial inheritance
what is multifactorial inheritance
caused by a combination of environmental factors and mutations in multiple genes
what are family behaviors that influence health
-things you learn from your family (ex. mimicking your family’s drinking or smoking behaviors)
what are environmental factors that influence health
- violence in community
- environmental health (trash, air quality, etc)
- rules and regulations
ex. Flint water crisis
what are sociological class factors that influence health
- health/being healthy costs money
- healthcare is expensive and there is limited access
- related to education which can help you be healthy
what are sociological beliefs that can influence health
-what is important for maintaining good health?
washing hands, vitamins, eat veggies, going to dentist (not everyone has that luxury)
what are sociological supports that can influence health
- having more social support can influence someones mental and physical health
- less symptoms, having support is more important and impactful than stressful life events
what are psychological things that can influence health
- perspective (half full v. half empty)
- coping tools
- risk-engaging in risky behavior
what are health systems and how can they influence health
ex. Affordable Care Act- directly affects one’s care and well being
- ability to get ambulance
- short and long term care
what is health policy and how can it influence health
- food safety inspections at restaurants
- wash hands at restaurants
what things that influence health are nature related and which things are nurture
nature: biological
nurture: sociological, environmental, health systems and policy
psychology is both
how has the leading cause of death changed
went from infectious disease to chronic disease from 1990-2000
how has life expectancy changed
-went from 47-74 from 1900-2000
-increased because of:
the decrease in infant mortality as an indirect result of several other factors (vaccinations, access to early care, what mothers should eat and do when expecting, and knowledge)
how does the US infant mortality rate compare to others
it is worse than other similar/comparable countries
what is the difference between mortality, morbidity and comorbidity
mortality: death
morbidity: state of being diseased
comorbidity: simultaneous afflictions
- very common
- could be because people have the same underlying risk factors (medical and mental)
what is incidence
- number of new cases of a disease in a specific population for a given time period
- if concerned with how quickly disease is spreading
what is prevalence
- total number of cases (old and new) of a specific disease in a population
- intended to represent those currently living with disease
what kind of data do you need to make comparisons
- raw data isn’t useful if we want to make comparisons
- we need to convert data to rates and percentages
- incidence and prevalence and mortality rates
what can we do with incidence prevalence and mortality rates
we can calculate the absolute and relative risk rates for developing certain conditions
what is the difference between absolute and relative risk
absolute risk: chance of developing an ailment
relative risk: risk of acquiring a disease by persons who are members of an exposed group
how are absolute risk and relative risk related
absolute risk is influenced by relative risk
- relative risk > 1: people with risk factor have higher risk of getting ailment
- relative risk < 1: people with risk factor have lower risk than people without risk factor
- relative risk = 1: people with risk factor have equal risk than people without risk factor
what is important to know about relative risk
even if you have a relative risk greater than one, if the underlying absolute risk is small, your chance of getting the disease is still very small
why are relative risk factors important to know
- insight into factors related to illness
- possible to lower your risk, take precautionary measures
- compound risk factors increase relative risk
what are the two types of research
1) experimental: experiments, interventions, quasi designs
2) non experimental: correlational, case study, focus groups
explain qualitative v quantitative
qualitative: a lot of data from a small number of people
quantitative: a lot of data from a lot of different people
what is a case study
an in-depth exploration of one person, which allows fora great wealth of knowledge about that person
-useful with a very rare condition
what is a focus group
group of individuals that share a common trait or characteristic
- gather info from the individuals
- generate insight to that group of individuals
- explore decision making and encourage interactions
what is correlational
uses statistical methodology (will always generate an “r” to represent correlation)
- r reports the association between variables on a scale from -1 to 0 (no relationship) to 1
- number represents strength of relationship
what does a -1 r mean
- negative correlation, not bad or weak
- one goes up as the other goes down
what is “p”
measure of statistical significance and how likely it is that the results are due to chance
- r and p always go together
- with r a big value is good
- with p a big value is bad, should be < 0.05
what is important to remember about r and p
correlation does not equal causation
what are experiments
experiments must have at least one variable that is manipulated by the experimenters and at least one variable that is measured (IV and DV)
what is the difference between independent and dependent variables
- dependent variable is the measured variable that the values will be a result of the participants behaviors, choices, etc
- independent variable is the manipulated variable that researchers are actively controlling how the participants experience that variable
if there is an effect between the two, the outcome of the DV depends on the IV
what is a control group
neutral condition, absent of manipulation
what is random sampling
who is chosen to be in your study, who is part of your sample
- there is a population of interest
- study sample is smaller than the population but it should be representative of the population (probability sampling)
what is random assignment
once you’ve chosen your sample, how do you decide who is in which group
-control for confounding factors
-if the sample is large enough, this should result in an adequate distribution of participants such that no group is homogenous
what is a longitudinal design
observing changes over an extended period of time
what is a cross-sectional experiment
- collecting data from a sample of participants at one time
- if its a “typical” experiment
explain the pros and cons of longitudinal and cross-sectional studies
longitudinal: need more time, need more money, need less people, participant attrition is a problem because people can drop out
cross-sectional: need less time, need less money, need more people because a lot of participant variability
what are interventions
looking for the extent to which some type of treatment or program improves one’s mental or physical health
- always do a pre-test or baseline measure
- then introduce intervention with different groups
- post-test
- *control groups are important for intervention to try and prove the change is not attributable to some other factor**
- have to use randomized clinical trials
what is expected in the placebo group
you should expect change but the intervention group should experience a lot more change
what are quasi designs
very much like true experience with IVs and DVs, but experimenters do not have full experimental control
explain the timeline of ethics in research
1947: humane treatment of research subjects
1979: the Belmont report established respect for persons, beneficence, and justice
what are respect for persons, beneficence and justice
1) respect for persons
- treat individuals are autonomous agents (choice and freedom) and protect those who can’t protect themselves
- consent forms
2) beneficence: minimize any potential mental or physical risk to participants, benefits greater than risk
3) justice: should have a fairness in distribution and avoid unjust treatment
what is the IRB
- institutional review board
- makes sure you aren’t doing anything you’re not supposed to
- there is a set of standards the IRB follows that prevents unethical research from being done at their institution
what is an endemic
occurs in a particular region, doesn’t tend to spread from those regions
what is an epidemic
occurs in different regions usually in clusters and is spreading
what is a sporadic
occurs spread out geographically and at low rates
what is a pandemic
occurs in different regions around world and is spreading
endemic v epidemic
- endemic is a usual occurrence in a geographic area
- epidemic is in excess of normal
ex. malaria in Africa v malaria in US
epidemic v pandemic
- epidemic is large # of infected within one geographic area
- pandemic spreads to large geographic regions of the world (ex. flu)
what are some wide spread health concerns the are not eradicated but exist less commonly
- black plague
- cholera
- tuberculosis
- polio
it is difficult to eradicate a disease
how can pandemic change behavior
- less social, stay isolated
- monitor what we eat
- wear masks in public
- take medicine
what do health psychologists do when it comes to epidemics/pandemics
- look at heath status of communities
- identification of high-risk groups
- development of intervention, prevention and treatment groups
what is the 4 in 1 vaccine and why don’t people get it
rids of childhood diseases: measles, mumps, rubella, varicella (Chicken pox)
-religion, cost, access, fear, health concerns (allergies)
what are actual risk factors of vaccines v. false fears of vaccines
risk factors: soreness/swelling, fever, rash, mild moderate and severe problems (sometimes leading to death but not common)
fear: started with illusionary correlations, article that vaccinations cause autism (belief autism symptoms and vaccinations occur at same time, this is not true)
why is there an outbreak of measles?
- because of anti-vaxers
- vaccines hesitancy is located on WHO top ten health concerns
government regulates vaccines and you cannot go to school without them but religious and philosophical reasons are exempted
what is herd immunity
reverse to the protection a mostly vaccinated population gives to unvaccinated groups, the protection weakens as the vaccination numbers fall
-also called community immunity
what is the omission bias and an example
tendency to do nothing to avoid having to make a decision that could be interpreted as causing harm
-people are influence by the idea of having to accept responsibility for the potential outcomes. we are always looking for justification for our outcomes
ex. not getting a flu shot bc 5% risk of dying from it even though the risk of dying from the flu is 10%
how is omission bias affected when choosing for other people
higher % chooses flu shot when asking for hospital, for patient and for child
what are most of the modern pandemics
chronic illnesses
leading cause of death in developed countries is chronic illness
what are diseases of affluence
chronic diseases that primarily affect Westerners with money
-this is not true, just a belief
what are the big 4 causes of death in US
1) cardiovascular disease
2) cancers
3) chronic respiratory
4) diabetes
what are identified risk factors for chronic illness
1) diet
2) physical activity (lack thereof)
3) tobacco
covariants that play role: SES and race
-indirect effects because they influence lifestyle choices and access to care, which in turn influences chronic illness likelihood
how is poor diet choices influencing americans
increase in consumption of fast food causing rise in obesity and diabetes
1/5 children are obese
explain diabetes and the two types
type 1: early onset (caused by uncontrollable factors)
type 2: adult onset (caused by health related choices, makes up most cases of diabetes)
some main countries life expectancies
highest: japan- 84 years
US is 79
lowest: Lesotho- 53 years
why can you not just look at life expectancy
because life expectancy is not representative of the impact that disease has on the population or quality of life
what is DALYs
disability adjusted life years
-sum of the years of life lost (YLL) due to premature mortality and years lived with disability (YLD)
how are the implications of poor health like a domino effect
affect individual, then family, then community, then economy
what individual factors can influence health
gender, race, age, sex
how can gender influence health
-men are less likely than women to seek medical care even when they have symptoms or history with illness would suggest them to do so
how can medical knowledge influence health
- what you don’t know can hurt you
- some countries have cigarette packs with the health warnings on them
- knowledge access issues: those who are uninsured or under-insured are less likely to seek medical care when needed and much slower to do so
how can peer pressure influence health
- you are influenced by your social network
- you can predict how likely is someone is to engage in a behavior
what are the theories of behavior
- expectancy value theory (EVT)
- theory of planned behavior
- transtheoretical model of behavior change
- health belief model
- social cognitive theory (SCT)
these models do not incorporate all factors that would contribute to extreme behaviors and addiction
what is social cognitive theory (SCT)
behavior is based upon learned behavior consequences, which are acquired through four types of processes:
1) direct experiences
2) inferred learning
3) vicarious experiences
4) persuasory learning
-if your pros > cons after you learn about it then the activity is worth it (expected value comes into play)
what is an example of the four types of processes in social cognitive theory
ex. Taco Bell
direct: you ate taco bell and got diarrhea so negative association is formed
vicarious: your friend ate taco bell and got diarrhea so negative association is formed (takes cognitive effort)
persuasory: learning based on information shared by others causes you to form negative associations (saw it on news)
inferred: learning derived from your own knowledge based on our assessment of probable outcomes (reading the ingredients)
persuasory and inferred learning are based solely on cognitive effort
what is reciprocal determinism (Bandura’s theory)
( draw on paper)
-cognitive factors, behavior, and environmental factors all influence one another so it makes it difficult to isolate any of these variables to determine direct impact
what are the problems with TRA and TPB
-it’s built upon the idea that people can ultimately control their behaviors meaning that it cant account for addiction or bad habits
what is the transtheoretical model of behavior (TTM)
- stage model: the process of change must start at the bottom and complete each step in order (can’t skip steps)
- change is happening as a process, not as a stain event
pre contemplation -> contemplation -> preparation -> action -> maintenance
what are the steps in the transtheoretical model of behavior (TTM)
pre contemplation: currently engaging in some type of unhealthy behavior, but not ready for change
contemplation: thinking about making a change, more cognitive effort spent on considering your options
preparation: I’m going to do this, but how am i going to do this? still just planning, plans not in motion yet
action: you are putting forth the effort to actually change the behavior by putting your plan into action
maintenance: less monitoring of behavior is required, because by this point you have gotten used to living without the behavior but not in clear yet
potential for recidivism always exists (go back to previous steps)
what are the considerations of the transtheoretical model of behavior (TTM)
- decisional balance in each of the stages (pros and cons list)
- consider situational self-efficacy at each of the stages
- problems: some people don’t go through all steps and people could use fewer stages and still change their behavior
what is social marketing
- techniques intended to promote a positive behavioral change
- the benefit to the individual should ultimately then extend to benefit society as a whole
- different than advertising because it’s selling a product and not a message
- still trying to sell something to you, but mostly an idea or a change in behavior, but its usually positive provides knowledge and gives potential resources for change
what are the 4 P’s of social marketing
1) product= desired outcome
2) price= tangible and intangible costs
3) place= distribution channel
4) promotion= overall strategy
explain product
- goal of the campaign
- marketers must find a way to associate an intangible concept with a tangible symbol that evokes the concept
explain promotion
- marketers decide what types of messages to use (what their angle will be)
- through marker segmentation marketers aim their promotion at a specific group
explain place
- a good distribution channel should be accessible and frequented by target audience
- could be an actual place or mass media venue
explain price
-costs of adopting the new behavior (what they must give up) including money, time as well as social and emotional effects
explain the article about drug campaigns
-30 different campaigns that looked at perceived effectiveness related to realism, amount learned and negative/positive emotion
1) ads focused on negative consequences of drug use
2&3) ads focused on bolstering self-efficacy and refusing to use drugs
4&5) ads focused on negative consequences of drug use
6) control group
results:
- half were more effective than control
- 1/5 of them less effective than control and the rest were not different
- realistic ads were more effective (what they learn, negative emotion, etc)
- “just say no” were not effective
conclusions: we need more research before doing PSA’s because it’s a waste of time if they don’t work
what is the boomerang effect
social marketing campaign obtains results in the opposite direction than intended (ex. increasing a bad behavior)
what is missing from social marketing
- no instant gratification
- no tangible object
- no impulse “buys” because it takes planning
what are the 6 main risks for youth that the CDC is considering improving
1) unintentional injury and violence
2) unhealthy eating habits
3) lack of physical activity
4) tobacco use
5) unsafe sexual practices
6) alcohol and drug use
we have data collected every 2 years from the CDC to monitor this behavior
explain unintentional injury and violence
- unintentional injury, suicide, and homicide included (unintentional injury most common, suicide second, homicide third)
- antecedents to unintentional injury: not wearing seatbelt, texting while driving, drinking while driving
- these trends have either not changed or decreased
- teen car accidents occur when interacting with other passengers, texting, etc
- other injuries: motor vehicles (biggest) and drowning, poison, fire, etc
explain Graduated Driver Licensing Laws (GDL)
- hours you must drive before license, no tolerance for drinking and driving, cell phone related laws for new drivers, limits on number of people in car
- the age you must be to drive varies by state (14 is youngest)
does GDL work
-yes, reduces fatal crashes in teens and it is a positive change which led to the biggest difference in health and well being
what is primary v secondary enforcement of texting
primary: can pull over for texting
secondary: can ticket for texting but only if pulled over for something else
explain carrying weapons
- decrease in carrying weapons, lowest rate
- school crime: adolescents and youth most likely to be affected by violent crime, we think school related deaths are increasing because the media covers them (availability), while homicide is the 2nd leading cause of death for 5-18 year olds only 1-2% happens at school
school shootings compared to other countries
is a problem when compared to certain countries
-doesnt appear to be that much of a problem when compared to others, depends where you get the data from
explain emotional/verbal violence
- bullied or cyberbullies
- cyberbullying: bullying takes place electronically and is more common in girls, includes spreading rumors, hurtful comments, threats, etc
- suicide rates higher among victims, bully victims and the bully themselves
- many anti-bullying campaigns have the boomerang effect (make the bullying worse)
explain suicide
- no change in rates over the recent years (was decreasing, but then increased)
- one of the top contributors of death
- global rates: 18th leading cause of death worldwide, lower SES=higher suicide rates (maybe because they can’t afford to seek mental care they need)
explain trends of alcohol use
decrease in alcohol use
- binge drinking = 5 drinks at a time
- heavy drinking = 5 days of binge drinking last 30 days
- adolescents have a much lower % of alcohol use than other age groups
explain illicit drug use
10% of US uses illicit drugs (marijuana most common, young adults at highest risk)
- marijuana has nonlinear pattern (along with cocaine) goes up and down
- inhalants, ecstasy and meth have a downward trend (adolescents are most at risk for using inhalants)
explain marijuana
- some states have legalized marijuana medically and recreationally, others just medically
- marijuana is considered a gateway drug: arguments against this are that most people who smoke pot do not use other drugs, could be the consequence of a purely temporal process that is a string of opportunities, some people use other illicit drugs before using pot
what is the common liability model (CLM)
people who develop addictions have underlying factors like genetic and individual vulnerability that make them more prone to developing addiction
what are the theories of substance use
- moral model
- disease model
- medical model
- cognitive social theories (tension reduction hypothesis and alcohol myopia model)
- social learning theory
what is the moral model
people have free will and choose to drink
- indicates that individuals are completely responsible for their choices
- *science indicates that the moral model doesn’t make sense**
what is the disease model
people with problem drinking have disease of alcoholism
what is the medical model
alcoholism has a genetic component
-RASGRF-Z variation in this gene leads to more dopamine release when rewards expected
what is the tension reduction hypothesis
people drink alcohol because it reduces tension
what is alcohol myopia model
people drink because it makes them feel better about themselves and alters their though process
research shows that behavior changes are partially due to placebo effect
what is the social learning theory
- drinking is a learned behavior that we acquire by observing others (the process of modeling)
- the behavior is then maintained due to other factors, like conditioning
- availability is a big factor (how easy it is to get alcohol)
how does age play a large role in addiction
- drug use, alcohol use and nicotine dependence are all more severe with early onset
- less likely to develop addiction when you start at older age
what addiction is the most common
gambling: 5%
alcohol: greater than 50%, 13% have AUD
illicit drugs: 3%
what are the trends of unsafe sexual practices
- adolescent sex decreasing, but some notable differences based on various demographic traits
- more males in HS are having sex, increases every grade level from 9th-12th grade, blacks more likely to have sex than whites
what makes sex risky
-the act of sex is not necessarily unsafe, depends on who, what, where, when,etc
age of onset: how old you are when you first start engaging in sexual activity
alcohol: can be a cause for inhibition, but influences who you have sex with, using protection and your expectations (men are less likely to use condoms when drinking and having sex with casual partner)
- those with high expectations that alcohol will lead to less sexual safety were less likely to use condoms (except alcohol will be a disinhibitor)
explain birth control trends
decrease in sexual activity overall, but an increase in some unsafe sex practices
- decrease in condom use (maybe because other forms of birth control, but no protection against STD)
- some methods of birth control are more effective than others
- black people and females are more likely to get tested for HIV
explain STDs
- adolescents are less than 30% of sexually active population, but account for 50% of STDs
- increases in chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis (could be because of decrease in condom use or increase in screening and accuracy of tests)
- gonorrhea is developing resistance to antibiotics (only one antibiotic could cure it)
- HPV is most common STD (80% will get HPV, but there is a vaccine for it)
why are young people more vulnerable to STDs
- insufficient screening
- confidentiality concerns
- biology: young women’s bodies are more susceptible
- lack of health care access
- multiple sex partners
