Essay Questions
1. Discuss the relevant psychological factors mediating chronic illness, for example coronary heart disease (CHD).
Key Points:
- Chronic illnesses, such as asthma, AIDS, cancer, CHD and multiple sclerosis, are an important focus for health psychologists.
- Using CHD as a focus, the student should discuss:
- The causes of CHD, i.e. hardening of the arteries (atherosclerosis), which are narrowed by fatty deposits.
- Risk factors associated with CHD, from educational status to sedentary lifestyle.
- The role of psychology for CHD (i.e. psychological factors and the onset of CHD, coping with CHD and progression of CHD).
- Behavioural risk factors of CHD (e.g. smoking, diet and exercise, high blood pressure, type A behaviour, stress).
- Rehabilitation programmes (e.g. modifying exercise, modifying type A behaviour, modifying general lifestyle factors).
