Social psychology of health and illness

doi:10.1017/CBO9780511801921.010

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10 - Social psychology of health and illness

Arie Dijkstra and

Alexander Rothman

Edited by

Linda Steg ,

Abraham P. Buunk and

Talib Rothengatter

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Arie Dijkstra: Affiliation:
University of Groningen, Department of Psychology
Alexander Rothman: Affiliation:
University of Minnesota, Department of Psychology
Linda Steg: Affiliation:
Rijksuniversiteit Groningen, The Netherlands
Abraham P. Buunk: Affiliation:
Rijksuniversiteit Groningen, The Netherlands
Talib Rothengatter: Affiliation:
Rijksuniversiteit Groningen, The Netherlands

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Summary

Description of problems in the field

The societal burden of unhealthy behaviours

When a baby is born, we can estimate the expected number of years the new individual will live. This life expectancy is calculated based on statistics regarding how many years people in a given population usually live. Life expectancy can be an important indicator of health and illness in populations. During the past forty years, life expectancy has increased all over the world (Table 10.1), although in some regions more than in others. Besides the number of years people live, one can calculate the number of healthy years in a person's life. The at-birth expected number of healthy years lived ranges from about forty years in African countries to about seventy years in developed countries (Mathers et al., 2004).

Although the increase in life expectancy is a good sign, many factors continue to threaten health and life expectancy. In developing and in developed countries, different factors threaten life expectancy. In developing countries the relatively low life expectancy is largely determined by a high child mortality rate, often related to infectious diseases, bad housing and malnutrition. Most of the factors that underlie the high child mortality rate are more strongly determined by structural factors such as economic policy and the quality of the healthcare system than by individual behaviour. In developed countries life expectancy is largely related to lifestyle factors, such as smoking tobacco and dietary choices. Lifestyle factors are important causes of cancers and cardiovascular diseases.

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Type: Chapter
Information: Applied Social Psychology
Understanding and Managing Social Problems
, pp. 226 - 248

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511801921.010 [Opens in a new window]

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Print publication year: 2008

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