What are the keys to a longer, happier life? Answers from five decades of health psychology research

Abstract

Rationale: It has long been known that factors of the mind and of interpersonal relationships influence health, but it is only in the last 50 years that an independent scientific field of health psychology appeared, dedicated to understanding psychological and behavioral processes in health, illness, and healthcare.

Objective and method: This article (a) reviews important research that answers the question of how human beings can have longer, happier lives; and (b) highlights trends in health psychology featuring articles in Social Science & Medicine as well as other related literature.

Results: Since the 1970s, health psychology has embraced a biopsychosocial model such that biological factors interact and are affected by psychological and social elements. This model has illuminated all subjects of health, ranging from interventions to lower stress and/or to improve people's ability to cope with stressors, to mental and physical health. Importantly, a health psychology perspective is behavioral: The majority of chronic diseases of today can be avoided or reduced through healthy lifestyles (e.g., sufficient exercise, proper diet, sufficient sleep). Thus, behavior change is the key target to help reduce the immense public health burden of chronic lifestyle illnesses. Health psychology also focuses on how social patterns influence health behavior and outcomes, in the form of patient-provider interactions or as social forces in communities where people live, work, and play. Health psychology is congenial to other health sciences, especially when allied with ecological perspectives that incorporate factors upstream from individual behavior, such as networks linked to individuals (e.g., peer groups, communities). Over its history, health psychology research has been responsive to societal and medical needs and has routinely focused on understanding health disparities.

Conclusion: By relying on a strong interdisciplinary approach, research in health psychology provides a remarkably comprehensive perspective on how people can live healthier lives.

Keywords: Biopsychosocial model; Chronic disease; Coping; Health disparities; Mental health; Patient-provider interactions; Stress.