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PSYCH 80103                                                                                     Prof. Tracey A. Revenson      
Spring 2004                                                                                       TRevenson@gc.cuny.edu
Mondays 2-4                                                                                      (212) 817-8709

INTERPERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS AND HEALTH

No one is rich enough to do without a neighbor
--- Danish Proverb

This seminar will familiarize students with current research, theory, and applications related to interpersonal processes and health, emphasizing emotional as well as physical health outcomes. We will begin by considering how social networks and social support influence adaptation to life stress, comparing theoretical models that depict alternative pathways of influence and reviewing a variety of conceptual and methodological issues that arise in studying social networks and support.  The darker side, or stressful and conflictual aspects, of social relationships will be discussed next, with attention given to such issues as the relative significance of supportive versus stressful social interactions for health and well-being.  We will then consider the regulatory functions of social relationships, examining how the construct of social control has been conceptualized and operationalized in previous research.  We will also explore the environmental and personal factors that influence the characteristics of individuals’ social networks, with a view toward understanding what leads some individuals to have inadequate or harmful social networks.  Finally, we will consider a variety of conceptual and pragmatic issues that arise in attempting to translate empirical findings from this literature into recommendations for intervention.

Course Objectives

• To be able to describe a variety of theories and models, including their assumptions, which have sought to understand the association between social relationships and physical health outcomes.

• To understand the conceptualization of the different social processes that have been linked to health, and how these social processes have been measured in a variety of literatures.

• To understand the similarities and differences between the different theoretical models that have been used to explain the association between social relationships and health.

• To be able to summarize the results, including strengths and weaknesses, of the literature that has linked social relationships with physical health outcomes.

• To understand how the scientific literature can be applied to intervention research

• To be able to extract the key information from empirical studies.
  

REQUIREMENTS AND GRADING

1. Class Participation

Because this is a seminar, attendance and class participation are critical to the success of the course.  Therefore, every student is expected to attend all class meetings, do the readings for each week, critique them, think about how they integrate with each other or other course readings, and answer the discussion questions.  For many sessions I will present other relevant information, but the essence of a seminar is shared responsibility for discussion of the topic under study. Class participation counts for 20% of your grade.      

 2. Discussion Leader

Each student will lead discussion of three of what are labeled “presentation readings” in the syllabus.  These readings are, in most cases, original studies that test out some of the theories or concepts presented in the core readings for that week. In addition to leading the discussion you are expected to prepare a 1-page annotation of the article for the class. A template to use for this is attached. When presenting the article to the class, you can do any or all of the following: describe how the article relates to the assigned topic and readings; explain the rationale for the study; discuss the central hypotheses; evaluate the fit between the rationale, hypotheses, and methodological approach; and/or discuss the findings and conclusions.   Or you can review and critique a particular methodological or theoretical approach that the article presents. Leading discussion of three articles (with annotations) counts for 30% of your grade.

3.  Topical Presentation

Each student is required to assume the primary responsibility for a 1-hr presentation and discussion on a topic of her choice once during the semester. You will assign 3-4 readings, prepare discussion questions a week in advance, give a 20-30 minute presentation on the topic and be prepared to lead discussion/answer questions about the topic. The topic and tentative reading list should be approved by TAR by March 15.  Presenters should be prepared to distribute an outline of the presentation on the day of the presentation.  The presentations can take various formats.  The main goal of the discussion and accompanying presentation is to stimulate thought about the topic, give some evidence of your efforts to grapple with the course material, and facilitate your understanding of the role of interpersonal relationships in health.  This counts for 50%f your grade.