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PSYCH  85300                                                                                   Prof. Tracey A. Revenson
[CRN 92553]                                                                                     TRevenson@gc.cuny.edu
Fall 2005                                                                                          Tel: 817-8709

HEALTH PSYCHOLOGY

A merry heart doeth good like a medicine; but a broken spirit drieth the bones.
‑‑King Solomon, Proverbs 17:22

Illness is the night‑side of life, a more onerous citizenship. Everyone who is born holds a dual citizenship, in the kingdom of the well and in the kingdom of the sick.  Although we all prefer to use only the good passport, sooner or later each of us is obliged, at least for a spell, to identify ourselves as citizens of that other place.
‑‑Susan Sontag, Illness as Metaphor

For men, the rate of survival beyond the age of 40 is lower in Harlem than in Bangladesh.
--New England Journal of Medicine, Jan. 18, 1990

               This seminar presents an overview of current theory and research in the field of health psychology.  The course emphasizes the biopsychosocial model of understanding health and illness.  The aims of this course are threefold.  First, students will become acquainted with current knowledge in substantive areas, such as risk factors in the development of illness, stress and coping, and community-based health interventions.  Second, students will develop an understanding of the models, theories, and methods used to explore person and environment factors in health and disease. Third, all issues will be discussed with an awareness of diversity and the importance of understanding the sociocultural context; specifically, each topic area will be examined as it relates to issues of gender, ethnicity, SES, sexual orientation, and age/developmental stage.

            The field of Health Psychology is a large, interdisciplinary, and somewhat fragmented enterprise, so the course will necessarily be selective.  Although I have designed the course to cover a wide array of health psychology topics, this does not assure exhaustive coverage.  For that, you must wait until you design your first course. 

REQUIRED READINGS

Baum, A., Revenson, T.A., & Singer, J.E. (Eds). (2001).  Handbook of Health Psychology. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates  (referred to as HHP).

McEwen, B. (2004).  The end of stress as we know it. Washington DC: National Academies Press.

REQUIREMENTS AND GRADING

1. Class Participation

The course will be conducted in a seminar format so that it is important for everyone to contribute to the discussion.  Students are expected to complete all required readings and writing assignments prior to class, and everyone is expected to participate actively in class discussions.  Class participation counts for 10% of your grade.    

2. Short papers

Three short papers will constitute 45% of your grade.  There will be 4 assignments; you will need to turn in 3 of them.   Short papers should be 2-3 pages, double-spaced using standard 12 point font with 1” margins all around.  Put your name at the bottom of the last page of the essay (not on the front page). Use APA style for any references or citations. Short papers are due in class at the beginning of the class session.  You may had me a hard copy or post it to Blackboard by titling it “ Your Name SP #1”

3.  Chapter Proposal
Your final writing assignment consists of a 10 pp. proposal for a new chapter or a proposed revision of one of the chapters in the Handbook of Health Psychology. The paper counts for 35% of your grade.  See attached guidelines.

4. Chapter Prospectus
This is described in the Proposal Guidelines.  The prospectus counts for 10% of your grade.  
 
Except under extraordinary circumstances, no incompletes or extensions will be granted. The deadlines are to keep the work on track during the semester and the coursework completed by winter break.  

SECTION I: STRESS AND DISEASE

McEwen, B.S. (1998).  The end of stress as we know it.
Chapters 1 & 2

Cohen, S., Kessler, R. C., & Gordon, L. U. (1995).  Strategies for measuring stress in studies of psychiatric and physical disorders. In S. Cohen, R.C., Kessler, & L.U. Gordon (Eds.), Measuring stress:  A guide for health and social scientists (pp. 3-26).  NY: Oxford University Press.

Lazarus, R.S. (1999).  Stress and emotion: A new synthesis. NY: Springer.
Chapter 2: Stress and emotion, pp. 27-48
Chapter 3: Psychological stress and appraisal, pp. 49-85

Pearlin, L.I. (1989). Sociological study of stress. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 30, 241-256.

McDougall, A.L., & Baum. A. (2001).  Stress, health, and illness.
Chapter 17 in HHP

Marsland, A.L., Bachen, E.A., Cohen, S.C., & Manuck, S.B. (2001). Stress, immunity, and susceptibility to infectious disease.
Chapter 41 in HHP.

Cohen, S., Doyle, W.J., Skoner, D.P., Frank, E., Rabin, B.S., & Gwalthey, JM Jr. (1998).  Types of stressors that increase susceptibility to the common cold in healthy adults.  Health Psychology, 17 (3), 214-223.

Leventhal, H., Patrick-Miller, L., & Leventhal, E. (1998).  It’s long-term stressors that take a toll: Comment of Cohen et al. (1998).  Health Psychology, 17 (3), 211-213.

SECTION II:  PERSONAL RESOURCES AS MODERATING FACTORS

Oct. 17       Who gets sick and why? Personality as a risk and protective factor

Smith, T.W., & Gallo, L.C.  (2001).   Personality traits as risk factors for physical illness.
Chapter 9 in HHP.

Ouellette, S.C. & DiPlacido, J. (2001). Personality’s role in the protection and enhancement of health: Where the research has been, where it is stuck, and how it might move.
Chapter 10 in HHP.

Revenson, T.A. (1990). All other things are not equal: An ecological perspective on the relation between personality and disease.  In H.S. Friedman (Ed.), Personality and Disease (pp. 65-94).  NY: John Wiley.

Carver, C., S., Pozo, C., Harris, S.D., Noriega, V., Scheier, M.F., Robinson, D.S., Ketcham, A.S., Moffit, F.L., & Clark, K.C. (1993).  How coping mediates the effect of optimism on distress: A study of women with early stage breast cancer. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 65, 375-390.

Oct. 24      Theories of adaptation

Stanton, A.L., Collins, C.A., & Swaroski, K. (2001).  Adjustment to chronic illness: Theory and research.
Chapter 21 in HHP.

Taylor, S.E. (1983).  Adjustment to threatening events: A theory of cognitive adaptation.  American Psychologist, 38 (11), 1161‑1173. 

Helgeson, V.S. (1999).  Applicability of cognitive adaptation theory to predicting adjustment to heart disease after coronary angioplasty. Health Psychology, 18 , 561-569.

Kasper, A. S. (1995).  The social construction of breast loss and reconstruction. Women's Health: Research on Gender, Behavior and Policy, 1 (3), 197-220.

Trillin, A.S. (1981).  Of dragons and garden peas: A cancer patient talks to doctors.  New England Journal of Medicine, 301 (12), 999‑701.

Oct. 31     Does coping help?

Lazarus, R.S. (1999).  Stress and emotion: A new synthesis. NY: Springer.
Chapter 5:  Coping, pp. 101-125.

Aldwin, C.A., & Revenson, T.A. (1987). Does coping help? A reexamination of the relation between coping and mental health. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 53, 337-348.

Coyne, J.C., & Racioppo, M.W. (2000). Never the twain shall meet? Closing the gap between coping research and clinical intervention research.  American Psychologist, 55, 655-664.

Carver, C.S., Pozo, C., Harris, S.D., Noriega, V., Scheier, M., Robinson, D.S., Ketcham, D.S., Moffat, F.L., Clark, K.C. (1993).  How coping mediates the effect of optimism on distress: A study of women with early stage breast cancer.  Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 65, 375-390.

Stanton, A.L., Danoff-Burg, S. Cameron, C.L., Bishop, M., Collins, C.A., Kirk, S.B., et al.  (2000).   Emotionally expressive coping predicts psychological and physical adjustment to breast cancer.  Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 68, 875-882.

SECTION III: UPSTREAM FACTORS IN HEALTH AND DISEASE

Nov. 14   Upstream factors in health

Anderson, N.B. (1998).  Levels of analysis in health science: A framework for integrating sociobehavioral and biomedical research. Annals of the New YorkAcademy of Sciences, 840, 563-576.

Taylor, S.E., Repetti, R., & Seeman, T. (1997).  Health psychology: What is an unhealthy environment and how does it get under the skin? Annual Review of Psychology, 48, 411-447.

Link, B.G., & Phelan, J. (1995). Social conditions as fundamental causes of disease. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 36, (extra issue), 80-94.

Yali, A.M., & Revenson, T.A. (2004).  How changes in population demographics will impact Health Psychology: Incorporating a broader notion of cultural competence into the field. Health Psychology, 23 (2), 147-155.

Gallo, L. C., Troxel, W.M., Matthews, K.A., Jansen-McWilliams, L., Kuller, L.H., & Sutton-Tyrell, K. (2003).  Occupation and subclinical carotid artery disease in women: Are clerical workers at greater risk? Health Psychology, 22, 19-29.

Nov. 28     (How) Does racism affect health?

Macera, C.A., Armstead, C.A., & Anderson, N.B. (2001). Sociocultural influences on health.
Chapter 24 in HHP.

Clark, R., Anderson, N.B., Clark, V.R., & Williams, D.R. (1999).  Racism as a stressor for African Americans: A biopsychosocial model. American Psychologist, 54, 805-816.

Lepore, S.J, Revenson, T.A., Weinberger, S., Weston, P., Frisina, P. Robertson, R., Mentor-Portillo, M., Jones, H., & Cross, W.  (in press). Effects of social stressors on cardiovascular reactivity: The role of perceived racism. Annals of Behavioral Medicine.

Troxel, W.M., Matthews, K.A., Bromberger, J.T., & Sutton-Tyrell, K. (2003). Chronic stress burden, discrimination, and subclinical carotid artery disease in African American and Caucasian women.  Health Psychology, 22, 300-309.                                                       

SECTION IV: TRANSLATING RESEARCH INTO PRACTICE

Dec. 5             How do people change their behavior?

DeVellis, B.M., & DeVellis, R.F. Self-efficacy and health.
Chapter 13 in HHP.

Aiken, L.S., Gerend, M.A., & Jackson, K.M. (2001).  Subjective risk and health protective behavior: Cancer screening and cancer prevention.  Chapter 44 in HHP.
Brewer, N.T., Weinstein, N.D., Cuite, C.L., & Herrington, J.E. (2004).  Risk perceptions and their relations to risk behavior.  Annals of Behavioral Medicine, 27 (2), 125-130.

Prochaska, J.O., DiClemente, C.C., & Norcross, J.C. (1992).  In search of how people change: Applications to addictive behavior. American Psychologist, 47 (9), 1102-1114.

Quinlan, K.B., & McCaul, K.D. (2000), Matched and mismatched interventions with young adult smokers: Testing a stage theory.  Health Psychology, 19 (2), 165-171.

Optional:
Fishbein, M., Triandis, H.C., Kanfer, F., Becker, M., Middlestadt, & Eichler, A. (2001). Factors influencing behavior and behavior change. Chapter 1 in HHP

Dec. 12            How do communities help change health behavior?
 
Revenson, T.A., & Schiaffino, K.M. (2000).  Community-based health interventions. In J. Rappaport & E. Seidman (Eds.), Handbook of community psychology (471-493). NY: Kleuwer Academic/Plenum Press.

Amaro, H. (1995).  Love, sex and power: Considering women's realities in HIV prevention.  American Psychologist, 50, 437-447.

Ickovics, J., & Yoshikawa, H. (1998). Preventive interventions to reduce heterosexual HIV risk for women: Current perspectives, future directions.  AIDS, 12 (suppl A): S197-S208.
                       
Lanza, A.F., & Revenson, T.A. (1993).  Social support interventions for rheumatoid arthritis patients: The cart before the horse? Health Education Quarterly, 20 (1), 97-117.

Optional:
Altman, D.G., & Goodman, R.M. (2001). Community intervention.
Chapter 36 in HHP