Chapter 16 Health Psychology. Cross-Cultural Concepts of Health Throughout history, the term health has been defined in many ways.

Chapter 16

Health Psychology

Cross-Cultural Concepts of HealthThroughout history, the term health has been defined in many ways.

A Comparison of the Biomedical and Biopsychosocial Models

• The biomedical model of health care emphasizes the use of drugs, surgery, and other procedures designed to correct physical ailments.

• The biopsychosocial model of health care emphasizes the effect of behaviors, thoughts, feelings, and culture on a person's physical health.

A Comparison of the Top 10 Causes of Death in 1900 and Today

• Comparing the leading causes of death at the beginning and end of the 20th century, notice that the leading cause of death, heart disease, did not change. But by 1996, the threat of infectious diseases had greatly diminished.

Public Health Measures versus High-Tech Medicine

• From 1900 to 1970, the death rate from eight infectious diseases diminished markedly. Most of these reductions came from improvements in public health rather than from drug interventions.

The Role of Health Habits in both Morbidity and Mortality

• Noncommunicable disorders correlated with death:– Smoking– Overeating– Excessive drinking– Lack of exercise

Social Connections and Life Expectancy• From age 50 to 70, both men and women remain healthier if they belong to

a social network of family and friends.

• Men who have few social ties are more likely to die than women with few social ties.

Behavioral Causes of Heart Disease

• Main categories of cardiovascular disease:– Coronary heart disease

– Hypertension

– Rheumatic fever

– Cerebrovascular disease

• Risk factors for CVD:– Family history of heart disease

– Physiological conditions such as hypertension and blocked arteries

– Lifestyle factors such as drinking, smoking, overeating, and lack of exercise

Saturated Fats and Cholesterol Levels

• Heart disease is related to hyperlipidemia, an unhealthy condition in which lipids are found in high numbers in the bloodstream.

• Moderate exercise and moderate alcohol intake increase levels of good cholesterol.

Body Mass Index• The BMI is a

general guide to obesity based on height and weight.

• BMIs of 25-29, 30-39, and 40 and above correspond to grades 1, 2, and 3 obesity, respectively.

Beneficial Effects of Aerobic Exercise

• This table shows the numbers of METs--the amount of oxygen used per kilogram of body weight per minute--associated with different kinds of exercise.

General Adaptation Syndrome

Alarm Resistance Exhaustion

Holmes-Rahe Social Readjustment Rating Scale

• Measures how psychological stress affects physical health.

• Scale ranks typical life events in terms of their level of stress.

• Many different researchers have found that psychological stress occurs at higher-than-chance levels prior to physical illness.

Hassles Scale

• Lazarus (1984) and Kanner and others (1981) compared the Hassles Scale with the Holmes-Rahe SRRS and found little correlation between them.

• The Hassle Scale predicts future illness better than the Holmes-Rahe scale.

Diathesis-stress Model

• People are genetically predisposed to develop specific illnesses in response to stress.

Hardy Personality

• Committed to self

• Has an external locus of control

• Perceives events as challenges rather than stressors

Coping with Stress

• Coping responses are intended to reduce or better tolerate the perceived stress of events.

• Not all coping responses are adaptive.

• Examples: touching and being touched, drug use, progressive relaxation and hypnosis, meditation, and psychological defense mechanisms.

The Psychoneuroimmunological Model of Health

• In the human body, four physiological systems--central nervous system, autonomic nervous system, neuroendocrine system, and immune system--communicate with each other via chemical messengers such as neurotransmitters and hormones. Thus the body and mind are intimately connected. A person's health is also affected by cultural influences.

Functions of the Immune System

• Immunosurveillance– To recognize and defend against foreign substances

such as infectious organisms, which can damage tissues and organs.

• Acquired Immunity– To form antibodies and sensitized lymphocytes in

response to the introduction of foreign substances.

Responses of the Immune Systemto Challenging Stimuli

• The immune system responds to challenges to the self from both the outside and the inside. Most of the time it functions smoothly, eliminating sources of disease. But occasionally it malfunctions, resulting in disease of one type or another.

Placebo Effect versus Nocebo Effect

• The placebo effect is a beneficial outcome of a treatment that cannot be related to specific causal properties of the treatment.

• The nocebo effect is sickness or pain resulting from negative expectations.