Podcast Beta
Questions and Answers
What primarily influences an individual's health behavior according to the social context?
In Weber's conceptualization, what term is used to describe the activities one engages in and the products one consumes?
Which stage of Suchman’s stages of illness behavior involves the patient obtaining medical attention?
What aspect does the fundamental causes theory suggest impacts health inequality?
Signup and view all the answers
How does the communitarian ethic primarily differ from the libertarian ethic?
Signup and view all the answers
Which factor is not typically associated with higher health-seeking behavior?
Signup and view all the answers
What is primarily considered a biological concept, differentiating it from illness?
Signup and view all the answers
Which of the following is a common characteristic of health behaviors?
Signup and view all the answers
Which factor is identified as the most significant fundamental cause of health disparities?
Signup and view all the answers
What is a consequence of chronic stress on health?
Signup and view all the answers
Which of the following best describes social support?
Signup and view all the answers
Which type of stressor is considered a chronic strain?
Signup and view all the answers
According to the content, which of the following factors serves as a buffer against stress?
Signup and view all the answers
How does childhood toxic stress affect individuals later in life?
Signup and view all the answers
What role does gender play in the relationship between health and morbidity?
Signup and view all the answers
What does the term 'stress proliferation' refer to?
Signup and view all the answers
Which of the following aspects is NOT included in types of social support?
Signup and view all the answers
Which factor influences an individual's ability to handle stress according to the content?
Signup and view all the answers
What can be a result of poor neighborhood conditions on health?
Signup and view all the answers
According to fundamental cause theory, which of the following factors is associated with health risks?
Signup and view all the answers
What is the impact of social class on health outcomes?
Signup and view all the answers
Which statement reflects the 'Looking Glass Self' theory?
Signup and view all the answers
Study Notes
Libertarian Ethic
- Focuses on individual rights and limited government intervention
- Emphasizes personal responsibility
- Promotes free markets and individual liberty
- Often associated with conservative political views
Communitarian Ethic
- Prioritizes community values and collective well-being
- Stresses social responsibility and the importance of shared goals
- Supports government intervention to promote social justice
- Often associated with progressive political views
Health Behavior
- Actions taken by individuals to improve their health or body image
- Shaped by socialization and social control
- Influenced by individual beliefs, attitudes, and values
Weber’s Conceptualization of Health Behavior
-
Lifestyles: encompasses life choices and life chances
- Life choices: activities, products consumed
- Life chances: access to resources, opportunities
- Health lifestyle: behavior aimed at promoting well-being and disease prevention
Health Belief Model
- Explains why individuals engage or refrain from health-promoting behaviors
- Emphasizes perceived threats, benefits, and barriers to action
Social Context of Health Behavior
-
Social Class:
- Higher socioeconomic status (SES) individuals are more likely to engage in health-promoting behaviors
- Lower SES individuals often face barriers to accessing resources and adopting healthy practices
-
Race and Ethnicity:
- Disparities in health behavior can stem from lower SES in minority groups
- Research findings are complex and require further investigation
-
Gender:
- Women tend to seek health care more frequently than men
- Men are potentially at greater risk due to risk-taking behaviors
-
Other factors:
- Social relationships
- Religious affiliation
- Corporate practices
- Neighborhood conditions
- Sexual orientation and sexuality
Disease vs. Illness
- Disease: biological concept, defined by symptoms within the individual
-
Illness: social concept, encompassing perception and reaction to medical symptoms
- Includes individual and social interpretations of symptoms
- Involves cultural beliefs and societal expectations
Illness Experience and Behavior
- Influences healthcare engagement or inaction in response to perceived symptoms
Suchman’s Stages of Illness Behavior
- Symptom experience: recognizing and interpreting symptoms
- Assumption of the sick role: adopting behaviors associated with illness
- Medical care contact: seeking diagnosis, self-treatment, or professional care
- Dependent-patient role: undergoing testing, taking medication
- Recovery and rehabilitation: continuing sick role until improvement occurs
Fundamental Causes of Health Inequality
- Underlying social and economic factors contributing to health disparities
- Four key characteristics:
- Influence multiple disease outcomes
- Affect disease outcomes through multiple risk factors
- Impact access to resources reducing risk or managing consequences
- Persist over time despite intervening mechanisms
-
Socioeconomic status (SES) is the most important fundamental cause:
- Limited access to resources
- Chronic social stress
- Occupational hazards
- Neighborhood stressors
- Childhood disadvantages
Health Policy Implications of Fundamental Causes
-
Reduce resource inequalities:
- Address disparities in income, education, and healthcare access
-
Contextualize risk factors:
- Identify factors placing individuals at risk
-
Implement health interventions that benefit all individuals:
- Regardless of resources or behaviors
Social Class
- Social identity based on status, wealth, and shared values
-
Impact on health:
- Lack of resources for health-promoting behaviors
- Chronic social stress
- Poor working conditions
- Neighborhood disadvantages
- Childhood deprivation
Gender Paradox
- Women live longer but experience poorer health (higher morbidity) compared to men
- Men tend to have more life-threatening illnesses (higher mortality)
- Despite longer lifespans, women often experience greater poverty
Looking-Glass Self
- Self-concept shaped by social interactions and perceptions of others
- Stress arises when self-image is inconsistent with others’ perceptions
Definition of the Situation
- Individual’s understanding of a crisis
- Behavior is orderly when shared perceptions of a situation are stable
- Change in definitions leads to disruption, uncertainty, and altered responses
- Coping mechanisms are learned through social experiences
- Stress perception influences stress experience
Life as Theater Approach
- Social interaction relies on information about participants:
- Appearance
- Past experience with similar individuals
- Social setting
- Communication through words and actions
Contributions to Understanding Stress
- Cooley: individual's self-perception is shaped by others' reactions
-
Thomas: individuals react differently to crises
- Adjustment and control depend on past experience and ability to re-evaluate situations
- Goffman: self is a sacred object, central to personal identity
Social Stress
- Impact on health
- Three types of stressors:
- Negative life events
- Chronic strains
- Traumas
- Chronic stress impairs physical and mental health:
- Hypertension
- Chronic pain
- Cardiovascular disease
- Affects immune function, hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis
- Factors influencing health:
- Stressor severity
- Number of stressors
- Time frame of stressors (more intense in a short period)
- Chronic strains have greater impact on mental health
- People of color experience additional stress due to discrimination
Stress Buffers
- Factors mitigating stress:
- Sense of control
- High self-esteem
- Social support
- Stress buffers are less prevalent in individuals facing greater life stress
Social Rank and Stress
- Ability to handle stress is associated with social rank
- Higher social hierarchy positions tend to cope better with stress and its physical effects
- Correlation between SES and health occurs at all levels of the social hierarchy
Childhood Toxic Stress
- Frequent, severe, and prolonged stress during childhood, often associated with poverty
Stress Proliferation
- Three forms of stress extension:
- One stressor causing additional stressors (chain reaction)
- Stress accumulation over the life course
- Intergenerational stress transmission
Cumulative Disadvantage
- Impact of childhood stress accumulating over an individual's lifetime
Social Support and Networks
- Social support refers to assistance and care received from others
- Social networks provide a source of support
- Types of social support:
- Emotional
- Instrumental
- Informational
- Appraisal
- Types of social networks:
- Density (interconnectedness)
- Homogeneity (similarity)
- Geographic dispersion (proximity)
- Directionality (power balance)
- Those with greater social support and higher quality networks tend to experience better health outcomes and longevity
Additional Factors Influencing Health
-
Religion:
- More religious individuals often exhibit greater physical and mental health and live longer
- Increased likelihood of engaging in health-promoting behaviors
-
Neighborhood living conditions:
- Concentrated disadvantage (poverty, crime, overcrowding)
- Stress from crime, overcrowding, drug use, environmental hazards
- Rural areas face challenges due to poverty, low education, limited access to healthcare
-
Unsafe work conditions:
- Exposure to hazards
- Workplace stress
-
Interpersonal violence:
- Physical and emotional trauma
- Mental health consequences
Studying That Suits You
Use AI to generate personalized quizzes and flashcards to suit your learning preferences.
Related Documents
Description
Explore the contrasting ethics of libertarianism and communitarianism, and their impact on health behavior. This quiz delves into how individual rights and community values shape personal responsibility and collective well-being. Test your understanding of Weber's concept of health behavior and lifestyle choices.
