© 2012 McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.McGraw-Hill/Irwin
Health Psychology 8th edition
Shelley E. Taylor
Chapter Three:
Health Behaviors
© 2012 McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.3-2 © 2012 McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
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
© 2012 McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.3-3 © 2012 McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
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
© 2012 McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.3-4 © 2012 McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
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
© 2012 McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.3-5 © 2012 McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
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:
© 2012 McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.3-6 © 2012 McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
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
© 2012 McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.3-7 © 2012 McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
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
© 2012 McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.3-8 © 2012 McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
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
© 2012 McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.3-9 © 2012 McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
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
© 2012 McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.3-10 © 2012 McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
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
© 2012 McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.3-11 © 2012 McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
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
© 2012 McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.3-12 © 2012 McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
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
© 2012 McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.3-13 © 2012 McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
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
© 2012 McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.3-14 © 2012 McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
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
© 2012 McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.3-15 © 2012 McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
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
© 2012 McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.3-16 © 2012 McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Cognitive-Behavioral Approaches to Health Behavior Change
- Cognitive-Behavior Therapy (CBT)
- self-monitoring
- classical conditioning
- operant conditioning
- modeling
- stimulus control
© 2012 McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.3-17 © 2012 McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
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
© 2012 McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.3-18 © 2012 McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Cognitive-Behavioral Approaches to Health Behavior Change (cont.)
Relapse:- reasons for relapse?- consequences of relapse- reducing relapse- relapse prevention- lifestyle rebalancing
© 2012 McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.3-19 © 2012 McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Transtheoretical Model of Behavior Change
Stages of change:
- precontemplation
- contemplation
- preparation
- action
- maintenance
© 2012 McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.3-20 © 2012 McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
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
© 2012 McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.3-21 © 2012 McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
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
© 2012 McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.3-22 © 2012 McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Venues for Health Habit Modification
- private therapist’s office- health practitioner’s office- family- managed care facilities- self-help groups
Top Related