Health, coping and stress

Question 1

Health psychology is a sub-discipline of psychology that explores how our psychology influences on

Answer 1

(i) how we stay healthy, (ii) why we become ill and (iii) how we respond when we get ill

Question 2

The field of health psychology is guided by the ‘biopsychosocial model’ of health in which health is seen to be influenced by three factors –

Answer 2

biology, psychology and social context; this is important because unlike the ‘medical model’ it does not separate the mind from the body or context

Question 3

There are several health-compromising behaviours;

Answer 3

poor diet, insufficient exercise, smoking, alcohol abuse, UV exposure, unsafe sex and lack of sleep

Question 4

There are six main barriers to promoting good health:

Answer 4

individual, family, health system, community and cultural, self presentation, and social-cognitive barriers.

Question 5

Individual barriers to health promotion occur because:

Answer 5

(i) poor health behaviours can have positive consequences, (ii) the negative consequences of poor health behaviours tend to occur after the positive ones, (iii) the negative consequences of poor health behaviours are not always immediate, (iv) of gender; with men being more likely to engage in risky health behaviours, demonstrate the optimism bias, not seek medical help when ill or seek preventative medical help when at risk of being ill

Question 6

Family barriers to health promotion occur if there are poor habits and attitudes within families;

Answer 6

children model the health behaviours (inc. smoking, alcohol consumption, level of exercise, etc.) of their parents and (especially older) siblings

Question 7

Health system barriers to health promotion occur because:

Answer 7

(i) people do not go to the doctor when they are well, minimising discussion on how to prevent illness by changing health compromising behaviours), (ii) of lack of health insurance (perhaps because of its cost) which leads to being on long waiting lists and being at risk of significant financial strain, (iii) of noncompliance with the orders of doctors (especially if doctors are seen to be unresponsive or demeaning), and (iv) of unrealistic expectations of doctors (e.g. not getting an immediate service or an immediate solution); these negative experiences can lead people to disengage from the health system and health-promoting behaviours

Question 8

Community and cultural barriers to health promotion occur:

Answer 8

(i) if communities do not value and promotes healthy behaviours (e.g. government-funded campaigns), (ii) because of ethnicity (the life expectancy of Indigenous Australians is lower than the total population by about 20 years, in part because of the higher rates of smoking, obesity and diabetes; closing the gap in life expectancy requires an increase in access to services and the delivery of services in culturally informed and sensitive ways)

Question 9

Another barrier to health promotion is self-presentation (or impression management) –

Answer 9

how we want to appear to other people; thus we will engage in health-compromising behaviours if it promotes the way we want to appear to others

Question 10

There are four main social-cognitive theories about our health-related behaviours which may explain why people engage in health-compromising behaviours:

Answer 10

(i) health belief model, (ii) protection motivation theory of health, (iii) theory of reasoned action and (iv) theory of planned behaviour; all of them are examples of social-cognitive theories because they focus on how people’s beliefs about their health and their perceptions of how susceptible they are health threats are what influence their health-related behaviours

Question 11

The health belief model argues that health behaviour is predicted by four factors:

Answer 11

(i) perceived susceptibility to the health threat (the optimism bias can affect this), (ii) perceived seriousness of the health threat, (iii) benefits and costs of stopping a health-compromising behaviour (the most potent predictor of all four) and (iv) cues to action (or ancillary factors that influence a person’s willingness to change a health-compromising behaviour)

Question 12

The protection motivation theory is

Answer 12

the same as the health belief model with the addition of ‘self-efficacy’ (a person’s belief in their own ability to successfully undertake an action)

Question 13

The theory of reasoned action argues that health related behaviours are influenced by

Answer 13

(i) attitudes toward the behaviour and (ii) social norms surrounding that behaviour; together, these two factors influence our intention to act in certain ways, so our final action (or behaviour) is reasoned

Question 14

The theory of planned behaviour is

Answer 14

the same as the theory of reasoned action with the addition of self-efficacy

Question 15

Stress is

Answer 15

a challenge to a person’s capacity to adapt to inner and outer demands

Question 16

One common theory of stress, which focuses on the cognitive component of stress, is Lazarus’ (1981)

Answer 16

‘transactional model’ which argues that stress is a transaction between an individual and environment (and not just the property of the person or environment, thus explaining why different people react to situations differently)

Question 17

Lazarus’ ‘transactional model’ argues there are two stages involved in stress:

Answer 17

(i) primary appraisal (where a person decides if a situation is benign, stressful or irrelevant), and (ii) secondary appraisal, (where if the situation is perceived as ‘stressful’, a person evaluates the options and makes a decision on how to respond to the stressor)

Question 18

There are three types of stress (Lazarus):

Answer 18

(i) harm or loss, (ii) threat (the anticipation of harm or loss), and (iii) challenge (opportunities for growth despite significant disruption or uncertainty); thus, not all stress comes from negative events and some stress is useful

Question 19

There are three main sources of stress:

Answer 19

(i) life events (can be positive or negative but involve change or adjustment), (ii) catastrophes (stressors of massive proportions that can be caused by nature or humans), and (iii) daily hassles (everyday frustrations and irritations)

Question 20

People with Type A personality (described as

Answer 20

impatient, ambitious, competitive, hostile and seen to have a ‘hard-driving’ approach to life) are more likely to experience stress

Question 21

people with Type B personality

Answer 21

those who are more relaxed, easy-going and less easily angered)

Question 22

Coping refers to

Answer 22

the way people deal with stressful events

Question 23

there are generally two types of coping strategies (or mechanisms):

Answer 23

(i) problem-focused and (ii) emotion-focused

Question 24

Problem focused coping refers to

Answer 24

problem-solving strategies that a person uses to try and change the situation that is producing the stress; for example, trying to remove the stressor, planning ways to resolve the stressor, seeking advice or help on how to change the stressor, or avoiding the (predicted) stressor by planning for it ahead of time

Question 25

Emotion-focused coping refers to

Answer 25

strategies that a person uses to regulate or manage the negative thoughts and feelings that the stressful situation is producing (rather than the stressor itself); this is usually because the person cannot remove or change the stressor; for example, using alcohol and drug use to escape from emotional distress

Question 26

Social support is another coping resource we may use; it refers to

Answer 26

other people in whom we confide in, and expect help and concern from