Childhood Disorders and Stress & Health Positive Pysch

Question 1

what are two common childhood disorders?

Answer 1

autism: impaired language, social, and in some cases cognitive abilites and restrivtive or repetitive behaviors

• lack of eye contact in kids is a big factor (sensory overload, very distressing, no empathy and social skills)
• sometimes have amazing cognitive abilities

attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD): a pattern of impaired attention, concentraition, hyperactivity, and impulsivity

• can focus on things that are highly engaging but have impaired attention in anything else

**kids will NEVER have personality disorders (are capable to have any other disorder like mood, anxiety, etc)

Question 2

what do kids with ADHD have problems with?

Answer 2

it is a disruptive impulse control disorder

kids with ADHD may be restless, impulsive, and inattentive, amking it difficult for them to follow orders and maintain friendships (problem with social skills)

in the US - 11% of boys and 4% of girls have ADHD

Question 3

whta is the etiology of ADHD?

Answer 3

MZ twin concordance rates are 55% (there is a genetic component)

suggests there is a genetic factor but also empasizes the importnace of environmental factors

research sugggests impairment in the connection between the frontal lobes and the limbic system - can’t manage impulses (not capping frontal lobes)

Question 4

what are the core symptoms of autism?

Answer 4

early symptoms of autism are frequently overlooked by caretakers

autistic kids show severe impairments in both verbal and nonverbal communicaiton

they are very aware of their surroundings and may tantrum if changes are made ( don’t like transitions)

play activities are restricted and stereotypes

often know a lot about one thing - wanting to repeat what they know, have laser beam focus

Question 5

what is asperger’s syndrome?

Answer 5

a high-funcitoning autism, in which kids of normal intelligence have specific deficits in social interaction, such as having an underdeveloped theory of mind (ability to understand others have thoughts of their own)

sensory overload

Question 6

is autism primaily a biological disorder?

Answer 6

yes

MZ concordance rates tend to be between 70-90% - usggests a strong genetic factor

brain growth during the first 2 years tends to be very fast (faster than normal) but becomes abnormally slow during adolescense

Question 7

how should childhood disorders be treated?

Answer 7

kids with ADHD can benefit from a variety of approaches

autistic kids benefit from a structured treatment approach

Question 8

kids with ADHD can benefit from a variety of which approaches?

Answer 8

methylphenidate (ritalin (a stimulant)) tragets underactive brains and reduces negative behaviors

• kids look overstimulated but really they are understimulated - want to be stimulated (then able to focus - calmer and reach a optimal level of arousal)
• underaroused

side effects and lack of long-term efficacy limit the utility of ritalin

• benificial in short term but not long term
• very real risk of abuse - numerous cases of kids and adolescents buying and selling these stimulants

behavioral treatements, through time-consuming, augment medication and help social skills, academics, and family realtionships

medication with pos and neg behaviors?

• affects neg behaviors more - meds address these (dramatic differences)
• pos behaviors are not affected that much more - partly due to self-fulfilling prophecies

Question 9

what is a treatment autistic kids benefit from?

Answer 9

behavioral treatment: applied behavioral analysis (ABA)

• developed by Ivar Lovaas and his colleagues
• one of the best-known and perhaps the most effective treatments for autistic kids
• based on principles of perant conditioning
• this very intensive approach requires a minimum of 40 hours of treament per week

ex. work with eye contact (give rewards when they look them in the eye), rewrie sensory system, help with social sklls

*rewire brain when young through intensive intervention

demonstrated as effective, drawbacks are…

• time commitment
• financial and emotional drains on the family
• other kids may feel neglected or jealous because of the amount of time and energy expended on the disabled child

Question 10

what does seligman promote?

Answer 10

postivie pyschological movement

“not just fixing what is broken, it is nurturing what is best”

“study of strength and virtue”

Question 11

what is postivie pysch about?

Answer 11

what buffers/creates resiliency?

what helps us find happiness?

it is NOT what makes people happy, but how they INTERPERET what happens

Question 12

what is stress interpretation?

Answer 12

the interpretation of a stimulus as stressful or not is called primary appraisal

determining whether the stressor is something you can handle/have control or not is called secondary appraisal

*the body responds differently to a threat (negative appraisal than a challenge (positive appraisal)

ABCDEs = reframing thoughts on events and stress interpretation

Question 13

how is mind management important?

Answer 13

a signficiant part of stress managment is control of the mind

repressive coping: avoiding situations or thoughts that are reminders of a stressor and maintaining an artificially positive viewpoint - not really positive coping (denial based)

rational coping: involves facing the stressor and working to voercome it; involves 3 steps (acceptance, exposure, and understanding)

reframing: finding a new or creative way to think about a stressor that reduces its threat

stress incoulation training (SIT): a therapy that helps people to cope with stressful situations by developing positive ways to think about the situation (immunizing people against stressful events - better cope in future)

Question 14

what are physical stress reactions?

Answer 14

HPA (fight or flight response): an emotional and physiological reaction to an emergency that increases readiness for action

general adaptation syndrome (GAS): a 3 stage physiological response that appears regardless of the stressor that is encountered

• alarm phase (mobilize resources)
• resistance phase (cope with stressor) - takes a toll and lots of energy
• exhaustion (reserves depleted) - get sick due to resisting as long as you could, can no longer push body

look at figures

hypothalamus -> releasing factor -> pituitary gland -> ACTH (through blood) -> adrenal gland -> cortisol/ catechlomines

Question 15

what does stress have to do with cardiovascular disease?

Answer 15

the heart and circulatory system are sensitive to stress

research links intensity, drive, anger, and hostility to increased rates of heart disease

type a behavior pattern: the tendency toward easily aroused hostility, impatience, a sense of time urgency, and competitive achievement strivings; in comparison to type B

hostility affects health - pysiological responses to everything

Question 16

how can we involve ourselves in body management?

Answer 16

EMG show our bodies respond to thoughts and bodily movements related to action whether we are aware of it or not

relaxation therapy - a technique for reducing tension by consciously relaxing muscles of the body

• relaxation response: a condition of reduced muscle tension, cortical activity, heart rate, breathing rate, and blood pressure

biofeedback - the use of an external monitoring device to obtain info about a bodily function and possibly gain control over that function

• EEG biofeedback

aerobic exercise promotes stress relief and pyschological well-being

• may increase serotonin and endorphins
• keeps the body fit and healthy

Question 17

how can we involve ourselves in situation management?

Answer 17

situation management involes changing your life situation to reduce stress

social support - aid gained through interacting iwth others

• can offer help in times of stress
• being in relationships correlates with mental health
• women are more likely to seek support under stress (tend-and-befriend response oxytocin)
• do NOT isolate self when stressed

humor can help us cope with sterss and reduce time need to calm down

Question 18

what is the pyschology of health: feeling good?

Answer 18

health-relevant personality traits and health behavior affect personal health

optimism (seeing the sunny side of every situation) is healthier than pessimism (expecting things to go wrong)

• a person’s level of optimism or pessimism tends to be stable over time
• physically healthier - they have their own filter

hardy individuals who are thicker-skinnged (committed, in control, accept challenges) tend to handle stress better and healthier - see them as challenges over threats

Question 19

what is positive pyschotherap (PPT)?

Answer 19

treatment for depression focuses on increasing positive emotion, engagement, and meaning

differs from targeting negative symptoms

Question 20

what is seligman’s web-based theory?

Answer 20

internet based positive pyschology exercises relieved depressive symptoms for at least 6 months - helped make them feel better

treatment for depression should include positive pyschology exercises

what are the positive pyschology exercises?

obituary/biography

• imagine what you would want your obiturary to say at the end of a long positive life
• write a brief essay on what you would like to be remembered for the most
• how do you want to live your life? how would you change it? what is missing?

active/constructive responding

• react in a visibly positive and enthusiastic way to good news from someone else
• at least once a day respond actively and constructively to someone you know

savoring

• once a day, take the time to enjoy something that you usually hurry through (eating, showering, walking to class)
• write down what you did differently and how you felt

think of good things/blessings

• each evening write down 3 good things that happened
• write down why you think they happened
• very different from focusing on negative symptoms and recording efforts to change them

gratitude visit

• think of someone to whom you are grateful, but have never properly thanked
• write a letter to them describing your gratitude
• read or give them the letter
• more gratitude - more optimistic

Question 22

what is the GQ-6 measure of gratitude?

Answer 22

i have so much in life to be thankful for

if i ahd to list everything i felt grateful for it would be a long list

when i look at the world, i don’t see much to be grateful (reverse score)

i am grateful to a wide variety of people

as i get older i find myself more able to appreiate part of my life history

long amounts of time can go by before i feel grateful (reverse score)

high schores of GQ-6?

• more positive emotions, more life satisfaction, more vitality, more opitimism, lower depression, less stress

Question 23

can we increase gratitude? is there a benefit to focusing on grateful thoughts?

Answer 23

yes

undergraduate study

keeping gratitude journals weekly correlated with more exercise, more optimism

keeping daily gratitude journals increased this well-being and prosocial behavior

Question 24

what is the research done on counting blessings vs. counting burdens?

Answer 24

rendomly assigned subjects to 1 of 3 conditions

involved keeping weekly journals of

1. hassles
2. gratitude listing
3. neutral life events

results?

• gratitude focused subjects were more optimistic about their life as a whole and in the next week
• fewer physical complaints
• reported more time exercising
• it did not influence global positive or negative emotion
• intensified to daily recording
• this resulted in greater global positive emotion