health101 chapter5
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Social Health
• Identify skills that improve communication.• Illustrate the gender differences in communication.• Discuss the pros and cons of online social networks.• Recount why students may have physical and mental-
health benefits when involved in intimate relationships.• Discuss the science of love, including the
psychological, anthropological, and biochemical views.
• Identify characteristics of healthy and unhealthy relationships.
• Recall the issues that couples in long-term relationships may confront.
Chapter Learning Objectives
Social Health
Refers to the ability to interact effectively with
other people and with the social environment
Create Close Ties With Other People
• Supportive relationships protect people from stress, distress and
disease• A sense of belonging may have
the greatest impact on college students’ health
Your Social Network Affects Your Health
Social Contagion
Process in which friends, friends of friends, acquaintances and social circle affect health
Is it real?
Health factors change in clusters• Obesity in one person made friends 57% more likely to become obese • Smoking in one person made friends 35% more likely to start smoking
Two Skills That Will Improve Communication
1. Learn to Listen
Try to understand feelings and motivation
Ask questions when you don’t understand
Prompt person to continue talking
2. Be Agreeable, but Assertive
Make needs and desires clear
Use non-provocative words
See Strategies for Change, page 120
Men And Women Communicate Differently
Men
Talk to demonstrate superiority
Interrupt to get information
E-mails are brief and utilitarian
Online conversations more likely to include strong assertions, sarcasm and disagreement with others
Women
Talk to draw people closer
Likely to wait rather than interrupt
Writing uses more words related to emotion
E-mails are written similar to spoken word to build connection with audience
Men And Women Communicate Differently
Nonverbal Communication
More than 90 percent of communication may be nonverbal
Culture can dictate how we use body language
Is using a smiley face the answer to online body language?
How do you communicate?
Social Networking
Over 90% of Americans have internet access and half of those use social network sites
These sites offer someone the opportunity to:Explore their identities.Make new friends.Voice their opinions.Explore their sexuality.Be creative.Continue to develop long-standing relationships.
Things that make you go hmm…Do you think this type of social communication affects
how people interact when they are face to face?
The Facebook Phenomenon
Pros
Keep in touch with acquaintances
Support from acquaintances is meaningful
Maintain relationships, make new friend
Cons
Private events become public
Can be used to humiliate, bully, harass or stalk
Takes time and attention away from other responsibilities
Friendship
“The most holy bond of society”•Every culture has prized the respect, tolerance, and loyalty that friendship builds and nurtures•Qualities of a Good Friend: • Honesty, acceptance, dependability, empathy, and
loyalty
•Do you think you exceed the “Dunbar number” of friends?
Dating on campus
• You can learn how to make conversation, get to know more about others as well as yourself, and share feelings, opinions, and interests • However, many young people meet and maintain
contact online where certain interaction is lost
• College hook-ups usually involve two people who have met earlier in the evening and agree to engage in some sexual behavior, after which there is little or no expectation of future commitment• Consequences include STIs, sexual assaults, and the
“double standard” still exists
How to be Single and Satisfied
Fill your life with meaningful work, experiences, and people.
Build a network of supportive friends who care about you.
Be open to new experiences that can expand your feelings about yourself and your world.
Don’t miss out on a special event because you don’t have someone to accompany you.
Enjoy your own company.
Volunteer to help others less fortunate, or become involved in church and social organizations.
Healthy Relationships
IntimacyA state of closeness between two
people, characterized by the desire and ability to share one’s innermost thoughts and feelings with each other.
Although intimacy doesn’t require sex, an intimate relationship often includes a sexual relationship
Healthy Relationships
InfatuationRefers only to falling in love.Infatuation doesn’t last for the long haulInfatuation also can be a disguise for
something quite different: a strong sex drive, a fear of loneliness, loneliness itself, or a hunger for approval.
Healthy Relationships
AttractionMost of us end up with partners much like
ourselves—in age, race, ethnicity, socioeconomic class, education, etc.
4 Predictors for attraction among College Students Warmth and kindness.Desirable personality.Something specific about the person.Reciprocal liking.
Psychological View Of Love
• Liking
• Infatuation
• Romantic Love
• Compassionate Love
• Fatuous Love
• Consummate Love
3 Components Of Love6 Types Of Love
Anthropological View Of Love
A near universal experience for all cultures
• Primitive, basic human emotion
• Historically, it pulled people together for child-rearing
• Four-year ‘itch’ is present across cultures
Biochemical View Of Love
Love causes changes in the brain
• Causes release of stimulants: Dopamine, norepinephrine, phenylethylamine
• After initial infatuation, love causes release of endorphins
Endorphins and stimulants create the physical symptoms of love and the feelings of well-being, security and tranquility of longer-
lasting relationships
Dysfunctional Relationships Harm Health
Dysfunctional
Relationship
Does not promote healthy communication, honesty and intimacy
Physical Symptoms
Headaches
Digestive Trouble
Difficulty Sleeping
Evaluate your relationship on page 133.
It takes a lot of time and energy to change a dysfunctional relationship.
Beware Of Abuse In Relationships
Abuse
Behavior to control another person
- fear, humiliation, verbal or
physical assault
Emotional Abuse
Constant berating, belittling or criticism
Wears away at trust, self-worth and belief in self
Reach out to your friends and family for help if you think you are in an abusive relationship
Codependency
Defined
Behavior learned by family members to survive great pain and stress of their loved one’s addiction or illness
Treatment
Individual and group therapy
Education
Codependents Anonymous
CodependencyAmong the characteristics of codependency are:
• An exaggerated sense of responsibility.• An attraction to people who need rescuing.• Always trying to do more than one’s share.
• Doing anything to cling to a relationship.• An extreme need for approval and recognition.
• A sense of guilt.• A compelling need to control others.
• Lack of trust in self and/or others.• Fear of being alone.
• Difficulty identifying feelings. • Rigidity/difficulty.• Chronic anger.
• Lying/dishonesty.• Poor communications.
• Difficulty making decision
Transitioning To Adulthood
Successful Transition Includes:
Completing school
Establishing independent household
Being employed full-time
Marriage and children (possibly)
Cohabitation Has Become More Common
Cohabitation increased by 13 percent from 2009 to 2010
Reasons couples decide to live together:
Economic
Social acceptance of cohabitation
More time together
‘Test’ relationship
Alternative to marriage
Unmarried Couple Households
Risen dramatically in the past 50 years
Same-Sex Couples
Relationship follows familiar stages
• Intense passion and romantic love
• Starting home together
• Building trust and dependability
• Establishing strong partnership
Experience more social isolation
Use more affection and humor during disagreements
Marriage Brings Benefits And Challenges
Benefits
Better physical and mental health
Longer life
Less disease and common illnesses
Challenges
Requires preparation
Common challenges require effort• money, sex and careers
Divorce rate remains 50%
Premarital Assessments
There are scientific methods of predicting marital happiness though assessment inventories that address all aspects of a relationship.
Other common predictors of marital discord, unhappiness, and separation are:• High level of arousal during a discussion.• Defensive behaviors such as making excuses.• A wife’s expression of contempt.• A husband’s stonewalling.
Common Issues In Long-Term Relationships
Money
Sex
Extramarital Affairs
Two-Career Couples
Conflict
Saving Marriages
• Couples therapy uses a variety of psychological
techniques to help couples understand and overcome
their conflicts
• Behavioral marital therapy
• Emotionally focused therapy
• Insight-oriented marital therapy
Suggestions For Relationship Success
Focus on friendship
Remember the beginning
Show respect
Compliment your partner
Forgive one another
Keep positive interactions more frequent than negative interactions
Diversity
• Blended families are those in which one or both of the partners bring children from a previous union.
• The proportion of babies born to unmarried parents has grown from 4% in 1940 to 40% currently.
• Unmarried African American mothers have the lowest marriage and cohabitation and the highest break-up rates.