Tracey Revenson | |
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Occupation | Professor of Psychology |
Awards |
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Academic background | |
Alma mater | Yale College; New York University |
Thesis | Stressful life events, coping, and illness course among middle-aged and elderly diabetics: a prospective study. |
Academic work | |
Institutions | Hunter College;CUNY Graduate Center |
Tracey A. Revenson is a health psychologist known for her research on how people cope with chronic illness and how people's lifestyles can affect their health and influence their coping mechanisms. [1] She holds the position of Professor of Psychology at Hunter College and the Graduate Center of the City University of New York, [2] and directs the Coping and health in context (CHiC) lab. [3]
Revenson was awarded the Nathan Perry Career Service Award in Health Psychology from the American Psychological Association (APA) Division 38 in 2013, [4] [5] the Society for Health Psychology Excellence in Health Psychology Mentoring Award in 2019, [6] [7] and the Society of Behavioral Medicine's 2020 Distinguished Mentor Award. [8] In 2020 she was named a Fellow of the European Health Psychology Society. [9]
Revenson received a B.A. in psychology and theatre from Yale College,where she worked with Dorothy Singer. [10] She completed a Ph.D. in psychology at New York University in 1982. Her Ph.D. thesis,conducted under the supervision of Barbara Felton and funded by the National Institutes of Mental Health,examined stress and coping strategies of middle-aged and elderly diabetics. [11] After completing her Ph.D.,she received post-doctoral training in social ecology at the University of California,Irvine. [2] Revenson worked at Barnard College of Columbia University [12] before joining the faculty of the CUNY Graduate Center in 1988. [13]
Revenson was the founding Editor-in-Chief of Women's Health:Research on Gender,Behavior and Policy. [14] She is the Editor-in-Chief of the Annals of Behavioral Medicine [14] and on the editorial board of the International Journal of Behavioral Medicine. [15] Revenson served as President of the Society for Health Psychology (APA Division 38) from 2004 to 2005. [16]
Revenson's research program focuses on coping mechanisms of individuals dealing with chronic illnesses, [17] such as asthma or cancer,and the social support provided by their loved ones, [18] including how spouses can affect their partner's health. [19] Other research has examined loneliness in elderly individuals,and its prevalence across different demographic groups. [20] As examples of her varied research contributions,Revenson has studied how participating in self-help groups may help people who have scoliosis to adjust, [21] how economic stress and mental health coincide, [22] how age can play a role in determining which coping strategies individuals use and their effectiveness, [23] and how coping strategies affect people's psychological symptoms. [12] Revenson has also looked into expressive writing and how it can help people deal with trauma. [24]
Her research has been funded by the National Cancer Institute of the National Institutes of Health. [25]
Stress,either physiological,biological or psychological,is an organism's response to a stressor such as an environmental condition. Stress is the body's method of reacting to a condition such as a threat,challenge or physical and psychological barrier. There are two hormones that an individual produces during a stressful situation,well known as adrenaline and cortisol. There are two kinds of stress hormone levels. Resting (basal) cortisol levels are normal everyday quantities that are essential for standard functioning. Reactive cortisol levels are increases in cortisol in response to stressors. Stimuli that alter an organism's environment are responded to by multiple systems in the body. In humans and most mammals,the autonomic nervous system and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis are the two major systems that respond to stress.
Stress management consists of a wide spectrum of techniques and psychotherapies aimed at controlling a person's level of stress,especially chronic stress,usually for the purpose of improving everyday functioning. Stress produces numerous physical and mental symptoms which vary according to each individual's situational factors. These can include a decline in physical health,such as headaches,chest pain,fatigue,and sleep problems,as well as depression. The process of stress management is named as one of the keys to a happy and successful life in modern society. Life often delivers numerous demands that can be difficult to handle,but stress management provides a number of ways to manage anxiety and maintain overall well-being.
In psychoanalytic theory,a defence mechanism is an unconscious psychological operation that functions to protect a person from anxiety-producing thoughts and feelings related to internal conflicts and outer stressors.
Coping refers to conscious strategies used to reduce unpleasant emotions. Coping strategies can be cognitions or behaviors and can be individual or social. Coping is to deal with and overcome struggles and difficulties in life. It is a way for us to maintain our mental and emotional well-being. Everybody has a way of handling the hard events that occur in our life and that is what it means to cope. Coping can be healthy and productive,or destructive and unhealthy for you or others. It is recommended that an individual copes in ways that will be beneficial and healthy. "Managing your stress well can help you feel better physically and psychologically and it can impact your ability to perform your best."
Health psychology is the study of psychological and behavioral processes in health,illness,and healthcare. The discipline is concerned with understanding how psychological,behavioral,and cultural factors contribute to physical health and illness. Psychological factors can affect health directly. For example,chronically occurring environmental stressors affecting the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis,cumulatively,can harm health. Behavioral factors can also affect a person's health. For example,certain behaviors can,over time,harm or enhance health. Health psychologists take a biopsychosocial approach. In other words,health psychologists understand health to be the product not only of biological processes but also of psychological,behavioral,and social processes.
Social support is the perception and actuality that one is cared for,has assistance available from other people,and most popularly,that one is part of a supportive social network. These supportive resources can be emotional,informational,or companionship;tangible or intangible. Social support can be measured as the perception that one has assistance available,the actual received assistance,or the degree to which a person is integrated in a social network. Support can come from many sources,such as family,friends,pets,neighbors,coworkers,organizations,etc.
In psychology,avoidance coping is a coping mechanism and form of experiential avoidance. It is characterized by a person's efforts,conscious or unconscious,to avoid dealing with a stressor in order to protect oneself from the difficulties the stressor presents. Avoidance coping can lead to substance abuse,social withdrawal,and other forms of escapism. High levels of avoidance behaviors may lead to a diagnosis of avoidant personality disorder,though not everyone who displays such behaviors meets the definition of having this disorder. Avoidance coping is also a symptom of post-traumatic stress disorder and related to symptoms of depression and anxiety. Additionally,avoidance coping is part of the approach-avoidance conflict theory introduced by psychologist Kurt Lewin.
Psychological hardiness,alternatively referred to as personality hardiness or cognitive hardiness in the literature,is a personality style first introduced by Suzanne C. Kobasa in 1979. Kobasa described a pattern of personality characteristics that distinguished managers and executives who remained healthy under life stress,as compared to those who developed health problems. In the following years,the concept of hardiness was further elaborated in a book and a series of research reports by Salvatore Maddi,Kobasa and their graduate students at the University of Chicago.
Sheldon Cohen is the Robert E. Doherty University Professor of Psychology at Carnegie Mellon University. He is the director of the Laboratory for the Study of Stress,Immunity and Disease. He is a member of the Department of Psychology at Carnegie Mellon and adjunct professor of Psychiatry and of Pathology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.
In psychology,stress is a feeling of emotional strain and pressure. Stress is a type of psychological pain. Small amounts of stress may be beneficial,as it can improve athletic performance,motivation and reaction to the environment. Excessive amounts of stress,however,can increase the risk of strokes,heart attacks,ulcers,and mental illnesses such as depression and also aggravation of a pre-existing condition.
Pediatric psychology is a multidisciplinary field of both scientific research and clinical practice which attempts to address the psychological aspects of illness,injury,and the promotion of health behaviors in children,adolescents,and families in a pediatric health setting. Psychological issues are addressed in a developmental framework and emphasize the dynamic relationships which exist between children,their families,and the health delivery system as a whole.
Childhood chronic illness refers to conditions in pediatric patients that are usually prolonged in duration,do not resolve on their own,and are associated with impairment or disability. The duration required for an illness to be defined as chronic is generally greater than 12 months,but this can vary,and some organizations define it by limitation of function rather than a length of time. Regardless of the exact length of duration,these types of conditions are different than acute,or short-lived,illnesses which resolve or can be cured. There are many definitions for what counts as a chronic condition. However,children with chronic illnesses will typically experience at least one of the following:limitation of functions relative to their age,disfigurement,dependency on medical technologies or medications,increased medical attention,and a need for modified educational arrangements.
Pain psychology is the study of psychological and behavioral processes in chronic pain. Pain psychology involves the implementation of treatments for chronic pain. Pain psychology can also be regarded as a branch of medical psychology,as many conditions associated with chronic pain have significant medical outcomes. Untreated pain or ineffective treatment of pain can result in symptoms of anxiety,depression,and suicidal thoughts,thus it is vital that appropriate pain management occur in a timely fashion following symptom onset.
Nancy Elinor Adler is an American health psychologist. She is the Lisa and John Pritzker Professor of Medical Psychology at the University of California,San Francisco (UCSF) and director of UCSF's Center for Health and Community Sciences. Adler is known for her research on health behaviors,health disparities,and social determinants of health.
Rehabilitation psychology is a specialty area of psychology aimed at maximizing the independence,functional status,health,and social participation of individuals with disabilities and chronic health conditions. Assessment and treatment may include the following areas:psychosocial,cognitive,behavioral,and functional status,self-esteem,coping skills,and quality of life. As the conditions experienced by patients vary widely,rehabilitation psychologists offer individualized treatment approaches. The discipline takes a holistic approach,considering individuals within their broader social context and assessing environmental and demographic factors that may facilitate or impede functioning. This approach,integrating both personal and environmental factors,is consistent with the World Health Organization's (WHO) International Classification of Functioning,Disability and Health (ICF).
The Shift-and-persist model has emerged in order to account for unintuitive,positive health outcomes in some individuals of low socioeconomic status. A large body of research has previously linked low socioeconomic status to poor physical and mental health outcomes,including early mortality. Low socioeconomic status is hypothesized to get "under the skin" by producing chronic activation of the sympathetic nervous system and hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis,which increases allostatic load,leading to the pathogenesis of chronic disease. However,some individuals of low socioeconomic status do not appear to experience the expected,negative health effects associated with growing up in poverty. To account for this,the Shift-and-Persist Model proposes that,as children,some individuals of low socioeconomic status learn adaptive strategies for regulating their emotions ("shifting") and focusing on their goals ("persisting") in the face of chronic adversity. According to this model,the use of shift-and-persist strategies diminishes the typical negative effects of adversity on health by leading to more adaptive biological,cognitive,and behavioral responses to daily stressors.
Roxane Cohen Silver is a social,health psychologist known for her work on personal,national,and international traumas and how people cope with these traumas. She holds the position of Vice Provost for Academic Planning &Institutional Research and Distinguished Professor of Psychological Science,Public Health,and Medicine at the University of California,Irvine.
Marci Lobel is a health psychologist known for her research on women's reproductive health,effects of prenatal stress on pregnancy and newborn health,and how mothers learn to cope with stress.
Margaret Rosario is a clinical psychologist who studies the development of sexual identity and health disparities associated with sexual orientation. Rosario was President of the American Psychological Association (APA) Division 44,the Society for Psychology of Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity,from 2017-2018. Rosario received the APA Award for Distinguished Contributions to Ethnic Minority Issues in 2008. and the Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality Distinguished Scientific Achievement Award in 2021.
The psychological impact of discrimination on health refers to the cognitive pathways through which discrimination impacts mental and physical health in members of marginalized,subordinate,and low-status groups. Research on the relation between discrimination and health became a topic of interest in the 1990s,when researchers proposed that persisting racial/ethnic disparities in health outcomes could potentially be explained by racial/ethnic differences in experiences with discrimination. Although the bulk of the research tend to focus on the interactions between interpersonal discrimination and health,researchers studying discrimination and health in the United States have proposed that institutional discrimination and cultural racism also give rise to conditions that contribute to persisting racial and economic health disparities.