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Health Psychology 8th edition

Shelley E. Taylor

Chapter Three:

Health Behaviors

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Health Promotion

Overview:

- the idea that good health, or wellness, is a personal and

collective achievement

- health promotion appears to be more successful and

less costly than disease prevention

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Health Behaviors

Role of behavioral factors in disease and disorder:

- successful modification of health behaviors can: - reduce deaths due to lifestyle related illnesses

- delay time of death, increasing longevity

- expand years of life free from chronic disease

complications

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Health Behaviors (cont.)

Health Behaviors:- behaviors undertaken by people to enhance or maintain their health

-health habits:- firmly established behaviors that are often performed automatically such as wearing a seatbelt, brushing one’s teeth and eating a healthy diet

- primary prevention – instilling good health habits and changing poor ones

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Health Behaviors (cont.)

Demographic factors Age

Values Personal control

Social influence Personal goals/values

Perceived symptoms Cognitive factors

Access to the health care delivery system

Practicing and changing health behaviors:Overview:

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Health Behaviors (cont.)

Barriers to modifying poor health behaviors:

- not knowing when to intervene to change health

habits

- instability of health habits

- health behaviors are elicited and maintained by

different factors for different people

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Health Behaviors (cont.)

Intervening with children and adolescents:

-socialization:- the influence of parents as role models

-using the “Teachable Moment”:- window of vulnerability

-adolescent health behaviors influence adult health:- precautions taken in adolescence may affect

disease

risk after age 45 more than adult health behaviors

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Health Behaviors (cont.)

Interventions with at-risk people:- children and adolescents are vulnerable

Benefits of focusing on at-risk people:- may prevent or eliminate poor health habits- an efficient and effective use of health promotion dollars- makes it easier to identify other risk factors

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Health Behaviors (cont.)

Problems with focusing on risk:- people do not always perceive their risk correctly- testing positive for a risk factor causes worry and restrictive behavior

Ethical issues:- when is it appropriate to alarm at-risk people?- some may react defensively- sometimes there is no successful intervention- emphasizing risks can raise complicated issues of family dynamics

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Health Behaviors (cont.)

Health promotion and the elderly:- focus is on:

- maintaining a healthy, balanced diet- developing a regular exercise regimen- taking steps to reduce accidents- controlling alcohol consumption- eliminating smoking- reducing the inappropriate use of prescription

drugs- vaccinating against influenza

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Health Behaviors (cont.)

Ethnic and gender differences in health risk and habits:

- differences in the health risks of African- American, Hispanic and Anglo women- socioeconomic status and biological predispositions to particular illnesses put certain groups at greater risk

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Changing Health HabitsAttitude change and health behavior: - educational appeals:

- vivid communications- expert communicator- strong arguments at beginning and end- short, clear, direct messages- messages should state conclusions explicitly- caution with extreme messages- depending on the audience, communication should include favorable and/or non-favorable points

- fear appeals - message framing

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Changing Health Habits (cont.)

Health Belief Model:

– whether a person practices a health behavior depends on:

- perception of health threat

- perception of threat reduction

- support for the Health Belief Model

- using the Health Belief Model to change

behavior

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Changing Health Habits (cont.)

Self-Efficacy and Health Behaviors- the belief that you can control your behaviors

Theory of Planned Behavior:

- a health behavior is the direct result of a behavioral

intention

- benefits of the Theory of Planned Behavior

- evidence for the Theory of Planned Behavior

Self-Determination Theory

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Changing Health Habits (cont.)Caveats to Changing HealthBehaviors:

- attitudinal approaches not very successful forexplaining spontaneous or long-term behaviorchange

- communications can provoke irrational, defensivereactions

- some people hold irrational beliefs about health- thinking about disease may produce a negative

mood- attitude change may not alter behavior and maintain

behavior change

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Cognitive-Behavioral Approaches to Health Behavior Change

- Cognitive-Behavior Therapy (CBT)

- self-monitoring

- classical conditioning

- operant conditioning

- modeling

- stimulus control

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Cognitive-Behavioral Approaches to Health Behavior Change (cont.)

The self-control of behavior:- self-reinforcement- contingency contracting- cognitive restructuring- behavioral assignments- social skills training- motivational interviewing- meditation - relaxation training

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Cognitive-Behavioral Approaches to Health Behavior Change (cont.)

Relapse:- reasons for relapse?- consequences of relapse- reducing relapse- relapse prevention- lifestyle rebalancing

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Transtheoretical Model of Behavior Change

Stages of change:

- precontemplation

- contemplation

- preparation

- action

- maintenance

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Transtheoretical Model of Behavior Change (cont.)

Using the stage model of change:

- particular interventions may be more valuable

during one stage than another

- at each stage, particular types of interventions may be warranted

- studies have shown mixed success

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Changing Health Behaviors Through Social Engineering

Social Engineering: Modifying the environment in ways that affect people’s ability to practice a particular health behavior- banning certain drugs such as heroin and cocaine- requiring vaccinations for school entry- using safety containers for medications- lowering speed limits- raising the drinking age

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Venues for Health Habit Modification

- private therapist’s office- health practitioner’s office- family- managed care facilities- self-help groups

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Venues for Health Habit Modification (cont.)

- schools- work-site interventions- community-based interventions- mass media- Telephone- The Internet