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Psychology 348 Stellenbosch University
Exam notes Stelliespsychnotes@gmail.com
Week 1
Introduction:
• Health: “is a complete state of well-being that includes physical, mental and social well-being.
Health is not merely the absence of infirmity.” à World Health Organization (1948)
• Implications of definition:
o Provides a holistic view of health as a state of well-being.
o Holistic à physical, mental and social well-being.
o There are certain prerequisites to well-being that include access to resources to satisfy
needs.
o Provides goals regarding health and well-being that include disease prevention and
health promotion.
o Illustrates that risk/protective factors influence health of person, group & community.
o Multiple-levels of risk factors that lead to poor health (micro-, exo-, macro-system).
• Mental health: defined as a state of well-being in which every individual realises their own
potential, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is
able to contribute to their community.
• “Well-being” is defined as
o Not simply a matter of individual health and involves transactions between individuals,
supportive relationships and environments. (Stokols, 2003)
o A state of personal, relational and collective well-being (Nelson&Prilleltensky)ßNB
• Goal: to understand factors that impact well-being so that we can move individuals, groups and
communities along the continuum between death and optimal wellness.
o To challenge conditions of oppression and inequality that cause poor well-being.
• How do psychologists contribute to well-being?
o Psychological interventions!
- Work together with an affected target group and take action to enhance/
maintain their functioning and well-being (Schillig)
• Community psychology is underpinned by the principle of ecology and the value of holism.
Risk and protective factors
• Multiple risk and protective factors influence the health and well-being of the individual, group
and community à dynamic interaction between risk and protective factors.
• Risk factors
o Increase vulnerability for negative health outcomes (i.e. depression; PTSD; anxiety)
o Threaten well-being
o Individual/ interpersonal/ social; contextual
• Protective factors
o Moderate the impact of risk factors on health
o Decrease the susceptibility for negative health outcomes
o Protect well-being
o Individual/ interpersonal/ social; contextual
• Factors that threaten health and well-being?
o Violence, drug abuse, chronic disease, economic factors, historical factors, social
factors related to resources and their distribution.
o Poverty is the most important risk factor for good health and well-being.
- i.e. most salient social factor to cause ill health.
1
, Psychology 348 Stellenbosch University
Exam notes Stelliespsychnotes@gmail.com
Challenges facing SA
• Unemployment
• A high disease burden
• Divisions within society
• Failure of public services, especially in delivering to the poor
• Parts of the country where people are “locked into poverty”
• Failure to exploit natural resources well
• Crumbling infrastructure
• Corruption
• Persistent high levels of inequality
• Violence against women and femicide continue
• Persistent discrimination
• Securing a just transition to a low carbon economy while a high degree of dependence on fossil
fuels prevail
How do we account for differences in well-being between individuals, groups and communities?
• Privilege (access to more resources).
• Context of each individual.
o i.e. the differences in social circumstances of individuals, groups and communities.
o The context is decisive.
à it will determine our health and well-being.
Social factors that influence well-being
• Transaction between individual and social context.
• Poor health and well-being affected by the social context (of the individual/group/community).
• Factors that create inequalities in well-being include differences in:
o Income
o Levels of education
o Social class
o Gender
o Ethnicity or race
• Poverty is the most salient social factor to cause ill-health.
o Especially oppression and inequalities in access to resources.
• Prerequisites to support well-being of a population:
1. Basic physiological needs
- E.g. food, shelter, clothing
2. Social resources
- E.g. peace, income, education
3. Physical resources
- E.g. housing, access to clean water and sanitation
The SA population
• 55 million in 2017
• Life expectancy:
o 62.8 for men
o 69.7 for women
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