Health, Stress, & Coping

1. Health, Stress, & Coping

2. Stress Test 0 = Never 1 = Almost Never 2 = Sometimes 3 = Fairly Often 4 = Very Often 1. In the last month, how often have you been upset because of something that happened unexpectedly? 2. In the last month, how often have you felt that you were unable to control the important things in your life? 3. In the last month, how often have you felt nervous and “stressed”? 4. In the last month, how often have you felt confident about your ability to handle your personal problems? 5. In the last month, how often have you felt that things were going your way?

3. Stress Test 0 = Never 1 = Almost Never 2 = Sometimes 3 = Fairly Often 4 = Very Often 6. In the last month, how often have you found that you could not cope with all the things that you had to do? 7. In the last month, how often have you been able to control irritations in your life? 8. In the last month, how often have you felt that you were on top of things? 9. In the last month, how often have you been angered because of things that were outside of your control? 10. In the last month, how often have you felt difficulties were piling up so high that you could not overcome them?

4. Scoring PSS scores are obtained by reversing responses (e.g., 0 = 4, 1 = 3, 2 = 2, 3 = 1 & 4 = 0) to the four positively stated items (items 4, 5, 7, & 8) and then summing across all scale items.

5. Norm Table • Gender Mean SD • Male 12.1 5.9 • Female 13.7 6.6 • Age • 18-29 14.2 6.2 • 30-44 13.0 6.2 • 45-54 12.6 6.1 • 55-64 11.9 6.9 • 65 & older 12.0 6.3

6. Health & Psychology • Health Psychology • Does health fall within the realm of psychology? • Health: “A state of complete physical, mental and social well-being” • Holistic • Includes spiritual • Behavior& Lifestyle affect health • Cancer: diet, smoking, sexual behavior, alcohol • Health Psychology: techniques to change behavior/lifestyles that affect health

7. Health & Psychology • Some questions Health Psychology asks: • Why do some people cope well with illness while others don’t? • Why do some people smoke? • Why engage in risky sexual behaviors?

8. Health & Psychology • Biopsychosocial Model • A shift from the biomedical model • No longer just physiological factors • Mind (psychology) and body (biology) are central in understanding health • Interplay of physiological, psychological & social factors • Interactionist • Ex. Feelings of anxiety  hyperacidity, headache • Can cure headache with meds but the cause of the stress?

9. AIDS & the Filipino Adolescent • Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome • Destroys body’s immune system • HIV • Blood • Sexual contact • Sharing hypodermic needles • Blood transfusions

10. AIDS & the Filipino Adolescent • 1st case in Phils.  1984 • Early cases were • Sexual contact with foreigners • Male homesexuals and foreigners • Sex workers • OCW’s • Today • Mostly through heterosexual sex • Sex industry • Failure to use condoms (particularly, paid sex) • Increase in casual sex among the youth

11. AIDS & the Filipino Adolescent • Filipino Adolescent: Engaged in premarital sex before age 24 • 63% of males • 30% of females • Almost 20% of males of this age ... Have paid for sex • Only 40% of males who pay for sex use condoms • Only 20% of survey respondents have used a condom

12. Sexual Myths & Realities Instructions: Answer the following by True or False. 1. There is a right way and a wrong way to have sexual intercourse. 2. It is important for couples to have simultaneous orgasms. 3. Individuals should not have sexual intercourse at any time during pregnancy. 4. Once individuals are sterilized, their interest in sex diminishes. 5. You can tell the size of a man’s penis by the size of his hands and feet. 6. If you contract a sexually transmitted disease and treat it effectively, you can’t get it again. 7. You can tell immediately if you have a sexually transmitted disease. 8. Gonorrhea, syphilis, and AIDS can be contracted from toilet seats. 9. Masturbation can cause mental disorders. 10. Females rarely masturbate. 11. Only homosexual males and intravenous drug abusers are at risk for contracting AIDS. 12. Most sexual dysfunctions are due to physical problems. Most people mark one or more of the above items true. However, experts on human sexuality state that all the above statements are myths (Crooks & Bauer, 1999; Greenberg, Bruess, & Mullen, 1992; as cited in Santrock, 2003).

13. STRESS • Stress as stimulus • Situations that impose demands • Stress as response • Feeling or reaction • Increased heart rate, worry, anxiety • Stress as a process • Interaction between a person & the environment • Stimulus-response • Stress: a consequence of a person’s appraisal process (interpretation of events) • In the eyes of the beholder!

14. STRESS • STIMULUS COGNITIONRESPONSE • potentially stressful event • subjective cognitive appraisal • physiological/emotional/behavioral response

15. STRESS • Interactionist model of stress (Lazarus) • An individual • Appraises whether an event is stressful (primary appraisal) • Appraises whether he/she can cope with the event (secondary appraisal) • Primary appraisal: Is this stressful? Is the stressor ... • Irrelevant? • Benign and positive? • Harmful or negative? • Secondary appraisal: What can be done? • Do I have the ability/resources to cope with this?

16. STRESS • Sources of Stress • Catastrophes • Phils. suffers more natural catastrophes than any other country • 19 typhoons/year • PTSD ... Nightmares, flashbacks, depression, anxiety

17. STRESS • Sources of Stress • FOCUS: Violence against women & children (VAWC) • Rape (including marital rape) • Spousal battery • Abuse of female children • Sexual harassment • Forced prostitution • Phils.: • 1 woman or child is raped every 1.4 hrs • 1 child battered every 3 hrs

18. STRESS • Sources of Stress • Significant Life Changes • Ex. Marriage, death, pregnancy, Christmas • Daily hassles • Ex. Traffic, tight schedules, physical appearance • Can result in • OVERLOAD – stimuli so intense, can no longer cope • BURNOUT – mental, physical, emotional exhaustion • Hopelessness, chronic fatigue, low energy

19. STRESS • Sources of Stress • COLLEGE LIFE STRESS INVENTORY • Being raped 100 • Death of a close friend 97 • Concerns about being pregnant 91 • Finals week 90 • Failing a class 89 • Ending a steady dating relationship 85 • Financial difficulties 84 • Difficulties with parents 73 • Starting a new semester 58 • Going on a first date 57

20. STRESS • Sources of Stress • FOCUS: Poverty in the Phils. • Over 30% of all households (12 million people) • Lack of housing • Dangerous neighborhoods • Crime & violence • Over 3000 Filipinos leave the country every day in search for livelihood abroad • Many are women • Domestic service • Prostitution • 5 million children are unable to go to school • Work the streets

21. STRESS • Reactions to Stress • Biological • Fight or flight response • Inherited from our ancestors. • involves rapid blood circulation, muscular tension, and increased respiration • survive physical threats • Selye’s General Adaptation Syndrome • Alarm stage – body is ready for action • (heart rate, breathing increase) • Resistance stage – body tries to cope with stressor, directly confronts • (resorts to reserve resources to combat stress) • Exhaustion stage – body’s resources depleted • (runs out of adrenaline &sugar; muscles ache form tension and fatigue)

22. STRESS • Reactions to Stress • Emotional • Apprehension, fear & terror • Annoyance, anger & rage • Aggression • Frustration • Pensiveness, sadness & grief • May feel powerless • Learned helplessness (ex. Women in abusive relationships)

23. STRESS • Mediators (coping ability/style) • Personality • Locus of control • Hardiness • View threats as challenges • Committed to their involvement • Feel they have control • Resistant to stress • Optimism • Pessimists feel they have no control over their lives • Type A personality • highly anxious, aggressive • The “tagasalo” • One in every family (Carandang) • Takes care of the needs of others; takes charge to relieve the stress

24. STRESS • Mediators (coping ability/style) • External Support • Material support • Money affords legal, medical, other types of assistance • Social support • Parents • Children • Lovers • Barkada • Relatives • Church group

25. STRESS • Coping • Problem-focused coping • Trying to solve the problem • Emotion-focused coping • Focus is on alleviating emotions • May involve the defense mechanisms • Repression, rationalization, projection, denial etc. • Positive thinking • Cognitive restructuring • Self-talk – must monitor what we tell ourselves • Change negative self-talk (ex. “I’ll never love again!) • Religion • Stress management programs • meditation

26. Are you an optimist? Instructions: For each item, answer True or False. _________1. In uncertain times, I usually expect the best. _________2. It’s easy for me to relax. _________3. If something can go wrong for me, it will. _________4. I always look at the bright side of things. _________5. I’m always optimistic about my future. _________6. I enjoy my friends a lot. _________7. It’s important for me to keep busy. _________8. I hardly ever expect things to go my way. _________9. Things never work out the way I want them to. _________10. I don’t get upset too easily. _________11. I’m a believer in the idea that “every cloud has a silver lining.” _________12. I rarely count on good things happening to me. Items 2, 6, 7, and 10 are filler items (or are not assumed to measure optimism). An answer of True to items 1, 4, 5, and 11 and an answer of False to items 3, 8, 9, and 12 reflect an optimistic disposition. Total your score and see how optimistic you are. Highest score is 8. 

27. Culture, Stress, & Coping • Culture • Shapes the type of stressors we experience • May affect how we appraise the stressfulness of the event • Affects choice of coping strategy • Ex. Premarital sex • Egypt – justification for killing daughter • Sweden – normal part of adolescence • Philippines?

28. Culture, Stress, & Coping • Culture • Ex. Coping style • Americans – express grief in private • Philippines – allow public expression of grief • Is this true?

29. Promoting health • Regular exercise • Improves self-concept • Reduces anxiety & depression • Proper nutrition • Those who don’t have breakfast are less alert and more fatigued by late morning • Not smoking • Begins in early adolescence • Common among those who get low grades, feel less competent • Sound sexual decision-making