Chapter 11: Health and Well-Being The traditional Western medical model sees health as the absence of disease. • Patients are the passive recipients of disease. • Focus is on medical treatments like drugs. The assumption is that health professionals know best and should maintain control over what happens to patients. • Psychologists and most health-care professionals take a more integrated approach to health and well-being. • The individual plays a more active role. • Attitudes and behaviors are critical to stay healthy, regain health, and flourish. Well-being A positive state that includes striving for optimal health and life satisfaction. Health psychology A field that integrates research on health and on psychology; it involves the application of psychological principles in promoting health and well-being. • • • • A model of health that integrates the effects of biological, behavioral, and social factors on health and illness. • This model is central to understanding the difference between the traditional medical model and the approach taken by health psychologists. Health Disparities • Black Americans have a lower life expectancy than White Americans. The reasons for differences include susceptibility to certain diseases, access to affordable health care, and cultural factors such as dietary and exercise habits. • Racial biases inherent in the U.S. medical system contribute to health disparities. Body mass index (BMI) • A ratio of body weight to height, used to measure obesity. o Obesity rates have roughly tripled in the United States over the past 40 years. According to the World Health Organization, obesity has tripled around the globe since 1975. Overeating Most individuals who lose weight through dieting eventually regain it. Often, these individuals gain back more than they lost. • Overweight people show more activity in the reward regions of the brain when they look at good-tasting foods than do individuals who are at an optimal weight. • We eat much more when many good-tasting foods are available than when only one or two types of food are available. • Social and genetic influences • Body weight is socially contagious. • Researchers found that the BMI of adopted children was strongly related to the BMI of their biological parents and not at all to the BMI of their adoptive parents. • Studies of twins provide strong evidence of the genetic control of body weight. Identical twins tend to have similar body weights whether they are raised together or raised apart. • Fat shaming occurs frequently in social media. Being affected by obesity can give rise to various psychological problems, such as depression, anxiety, and low self-esteem. Positive representations in the media may help people empathize with, rather than shame, those who are affected by obesity. • • • Not all cultures stigmatize obesity. In some developing countries, being obese is a sign of being a member of the upper class. • The upper classes in Western cultures have a clear preference for very thin body types, as exemplified in the fashion industry. Restrictive dieting Most diets fail primarily because of the body’s natural defense against weight loss. o Body weight is regulated around a set point determined mainly by genetic influence. Although it is possible to alter body weight, the body responds to weight loss by slowing metabolism and using less energy. o Dieting is not a very effective way to lose weight permanently. o Exercise is an essential element of any weight control program. • • Exercise improves your physical health. • It lowers the risk of cancer. People who exercise are less likely to have heart problems, especially with aerobic exercise. • People with better fitness in middle age are likely to live longer. • Exercise aids your thinking abilities. It improves memory, especially in older adults. Exercise benefits your emotions and mood. It has been shown to increase self-confidence, relieve stress, increase energy and motivation, decrease depression, and help in addiction treatments. It is never too late to start exercising and receiving its positive benefits. • • Sexually transmitted infections (STIs): Infections that can be, but are not always, transmitted from one person to the next through sexual contact. • STIs affect the health of many people. Each year in the United States, there are nearly 20 million new cases of STIs. That means that about 54,000 people each day are diagnosed with an STI. o About half of these new infections are in people ranging from 15 to 24 years old. o Young males and females contract STIs at about equal rates. o Over the course of their lives, one in every two people will get an STI. Safer sex: Sexual behaviors that decrease the likelihood of contracting an STI. • People can practice safer sex in three ways: 1. Abstaining from sex or limiting the number of sexual partners. 2. Getting information about their sexual health and the sexual health of their partner(s). 3. Receiving vaccinations against HPV and using barrier methods. • • Barrier methods of protection Oral sex is not safe sex—HPV can be transmitted through oral sex and is associated with a large increase in mouth and throat cancer. Despite overwhelming evidence that smoking cigarettes leads to premature death, millions of people around the globe continue to light up. • Smoking causes numerous health problems. o Examples include heart disease, respiratory ailments, and various cancers. • In 2018, more than 34 million Americans smoked cigarettes, with nearly 16 percent of men and 12 percent of women smoking regularly. o According to the World Health Organization, tobacco causes 8 million deaths worldwide every year. Starting smoking • Most smokers begin smoking in childhood or early adolescence. o Between 2000 and 2020, regular smoking dropped from approximately 13 percent to 2 percent of adolescents, and the number of adolescents who even try smoking dropped by 84 percent. o About half of young smokers will likely continue smoking into adulthood, and one-third of those will die from smoking. • Most researchers point to powerful social influences as the leading cause of adolescent smoking. o Adolescents may also be affected by media images of smokers. o Some people appear especially susceptible to nicotine addiction, perhaps because of genetics. Vaping According to the 2014 U.S. Surgeon General’s report, approximately 6 percent of U.S. adults have used electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes). In 2019, approximately 3 percent of U.S. adults were regular vapers. o A positive aspect of e-cigarettes is that they do not contain tobacco or the thousands of chemicals, many of them cancer causing. o Most e-cigarette use is by current smokers or people trying to quit. o Recent evidence indicates that e-cigarettes may hinder attempts to quit smoking. • In 2020, more than one in five U.S. high school students and one in 20 U.S. middle school students reported vaping. • In late 2019, vaping these products caused an outbreak of serious lung injury among young adults. • Adolescents and young adults who use e-cigarettes are about four times more likely to become regular cigarette smokers. • The biological effects of stress result directly from the ways we think about events in our lives and the way social factors influence us. • Stress: A group of behavioral, mental, and physical processes occurring when events match or exceed the organism’s ability to respond in a healthy way. • Stressor: An environmental event or stimulus that threatens an organism. • Stress responses: Physical, behavioral, and psychological responses to stressors. o Mediating factors can increase or decrease the likelihood that a stressor will elicit a stress response. o Eustress is the stress of positive events. Distress is the stress of negative events. • Major life stressors: Large disruptions, especially unpredictable and uncontrollable catastrophic events, that affect central areas of people’s lives. Daily hassles: Everyday irritations that cause small disruptions, the effects of which can add up to a large impact on health. • • • General adaptation syndrome is a physical stress response. Immune system: The body’s mechanism for dealing with invading microorganisms, such as allergens, bacteria, and viruses. General adaptation syndrome (GAS): A consistent pattern of physical responses to stress that consists of three stages: o Alarm o Resistance o Exhaustion Immune response • More than 300 studies have demonstrated that short-term stress boosts the immune system—such as occurs during the end of the fight-or-flight response—whereas chronic stress weakens it, leaving the body less able to deal with infection. Fight-or-flight response • The physiological preparedness of animals to deal with danger. o Within seconds or minutes, the fight-or-flight response enables the organism to direct its energy to dealing with the threat. • • • • Tend-and-befriend response Females’ tendency to respond to stressors by protecting and caring for their offspring and forming social alliances. Negative stress responses When people are stressed, they also eat junk food, smoke cigarettes, use drugs, and drink. Type A behavior pattern: Personality traits characterized by competitiveness, achievement orientation, aggressiveness, hostility, restlessness, impatience with others, and an inability to relax. o Men who exhibit these traits are much more likely to develop heart disease. • Type B behavior pattern: Personality traits characterized by being noncompetitive, relaxed, easygoing, and accommodating. Hostile personalities and depression Hot-tempered, hostile people who are frequently angry, cynical, and combative are much more likely to die at an early age from heart disease. o There is considerable evidence that negative emotional states not viewed as part of a type A or B personality—especially depression— also predict heart disease. Primary appraisals The part of coping that involves making decisions about whether a stimulus is stressful or not. Secondary appraisals The aspect of coping that involves deciding how to manage and respond to a stressful stimulus • • • Types of coping Emotion-focused coping: A type of coping in which people try to prevent an emotional response to a stressor. Problem-focused coping: A type of coping in which people take direct steps to confront or minimize a stressor. o Downward comparison: You would focus on possible good things—the proverbial silver lining—in the current situation. o Another strategy is to give positive meaning to ordinary events. Individual differences in coping Some people seem stress resistant because they are so capable of adapting to life changes by viewing events constructively. This trait is called hardiness. It has three components. o Commitment o Challenge o Control • • Some people have more resilience than others and are better able to cope in the face of adversity. • According to the broaden-and-build theory, positive emotions prompt people to consider novel solutions to their problems. Resilient people tend to draw on their positive emotions in dealing with setbacks or negative life experiences. • • • Change how you think about the exam. • Get plenty of sleep the night before the exam. • Arrive at the exam room several minutes early. Use good test-taking skills as you work through the exam. Positive psychology The study of the strengths and virtues that allow people and communities to thrive. o According to positive psychologists, happiness has three components:  Positive emotion and pleasure  Engagement in life  A meaningful life • A sense of well-being In the United States, Gallup, Inc. surveys well-being across five areas: o Enjoying your career o Having supportive social relations o Having financial security o Feeling safe and having pride in your community o Being in good health Being mindful You can increase your sense of well-being by paying attention to the present. • Mindfulness is a state of mind in which you are sensitive to the present moment. Living a purposeful and meaningful life • People who believe their lives are meaningful or have purpose report more happiness, less depression and anxiety, and enhanced overall well-being. • Developing meaningful goals is another way to find meaning in your life. • Health benefits of positive emotions and well-being • • Positive and negative emotions were studied in relation to three broad types of diseases (Richman et al., 2005): o Hypertension o Diabetes o Respiratory tract infections • Higher levels of hope are associated with reduced risk of these diseases. Higher levels of curiosity are associated with reduced risk of hypertension and diabetes. Social support helps people cope and maintain good health in two basic ways: • People with social support experience less stress overall. • Social support enables people to better cope with stressful events. People who are happily married experience numerous physical and mental health benefits. • Gratitude Practicing gratitude increases our well-being and enhances our relationships with others. • Gratitude redirects your mind to positive thoughts, eliciting positive emotions. • Positive outcomes of gratitude: • Increased life satisfaction, optimism, and happiness. • Less anxiety and lower blood pressure. Spirituality contributes to well-being. • Religion and spirituality provide a sense of meaning or purpose in life. o On a daily basis, religious beliefs can help people achieve and maintain wellbeing through the social support provided by faith communities. • Eat natural foods. • Watch portion size. • Drink alcohol in moderation, if at all. • Keep active. • Do not smoke. • Practice safer sex. • Learn to relax. • Learn to cope. • Build a strong support network. • Consider your spiritual life. • Try some happiness exercises. Chapter 11 Vocabulary health psychology DEFINITION A field that integrates research on health and on psychology; it involves the application of psychological principles to promote health and well-being. well-being DEFINITION A positive state that includes striving for optimal health and life satisfaction. biopsychosocial model DEFINITION A model in which health and illness result from a combination of biological, behavioral, and social factors. obesity DEFINITION A level of excessive body fat for an individual that places that person at risk for health problems. sexually transmitted infections (STIs) DEFINITION Infections that can be but are not always transmitted from one person to another through sexual contact. safer sex DEFINITION Sexual behaviors that decrease the likelihood of contracting a sexually transmitted infection. distress DEFINITION Stress that occurs from negative events. eustress DEFINITION Stress that occurs from positive events. stress DEFINITION The set of behavioral, mental, and physical processes that occur as an organism attempts to deal with an environmental event or a stimulus that it perceives as threatening. stress responses DEFINITION Behavioral, mental, and/or physical responses to stressors. stressor DEFINITION An environmental event or a stimulus that an organism perceives as threatening. daily hassles DEFINITION Everyday irritations that cause small disruptions and can have effects that can add up to a large impact on health. major life stressors DEFINITION Large disruptions, especially unpredictable and uncontrollable catastrophic events, that affect central areas of people's lives. general adaptation syndrome (GAS) DEFINITION A consistent pattern of physical responses to stress that consists of three stages: alarm, resistance, and exhaustion. immune system DEFINITION The body's mechanism for destroying invading microorganisms, such as allergens, bacteria, and viruses. fight-or-flight response DEFINITION The physiological preparedness to deal with danger. tend-and-befriend response DEFINITION Females' tendency to respond to stressors by protecting and caring for their offspring and forming social alliances. type A behavior pattern DEFINITION A set of characteristics describing people who are competitive, achievement oriented, aggressive, hostile, restless, impatient with others, and unable to relax. type B behavior pattern DEFINITION A set of characteristics describing people who are noncompetitive, relaxed, easygoing, and accommodating. emotion-focused coping DEFINITION A type of coping in which people try to prevent having an emotional response to a stressor. primary appraisals DEFINITION Decisions about whether a stimulus is stressful or not. problem-focused coping DEFINITION A type of coping in which people take direct steps to confront or minimize a stressor. secondary appraisals DEFINITION Decisions about how to manage and respond to a stressful stimulus. positive psychology DEFINITION The study of the strengths and virtues that allow people and communities to thrive.