February 2017 – Rachel Fraser UWS ITE ePDP

Stress Hardiness

As part of today’s input and in order to develop a great understanding of stress factors we were asked to read Pengilly and Dowd (2000) journal based on the correlation of stress and hardiness. At some point in our lives it is inevitable that we will encounter a stressful event whether to be majorly life changing or an event that requires temporary or minor change to our way of life.

The journal examines the normal transitional of moving house and retirement to be crucial life changing events, but also the unexpected life changing events such as divorce and job redundancies/ loss. The journal also focuses on the stressors that we encounter can be connected to some illness and diseases. Likewise, there is can also be links between stressful events and depression/anxiety.

The journal also explains the Kobasa definition of ‘hardiness’ to be comprised of 3 C’s- ‘control’, ‘commitment’ and ‘challenge’. In other words, ‘hardiness’ can be defined as resilient. Kobasa expounds an individual who possess ‘hardiness’ to have positive outlook on stressful events, consider themselves to have the ability to make a difference and considers changes to be good. Alongside ‘hardiness’ it is important that we have strong social support around us, with people we can trust and can seek guidance, advice and can help us during times of stress.

The principle consensus of the journal article is individuals who lack ‘hardiness’ and social support have a higher possibility of developing depression, a factor of being stress. However, there is a range of methods that can combat stress such as breathing exercises, exercising, relaxing, being organised and in general having a healthy body and healthy mind.

Holmes-Rahe Inventory

Holme-Rahe Stress Inventory Scale

After conducting the Holme-Rahe Stress Inventory the scaled conveyed that I have a “50% chance of a major health breakdown in the next two years”.

The Holme-Rahe Stress Inventory is based and scored around stressful life events that we may encounter ranging from major life change events (such as a death of a loved one, being made redundant from work, changes in financial state) and minor events that would only have a temporary implication on your life such as planning and going on holiday. The inventory requires to mark down life events you have experienced over the past year in order to achieve a score which determines the category and impacts that can have on health and stress levels.

The Holme-Rahe Stress Inventory stated my score to be 177, I was rather surprised at how low my scored transpired to. I would deem that my stress levels should have inflated over the past year due to sitting high school exams and the work required in order to get into university, however within the Inventory scale the aspects of exams and interviews is not take into consideration, implying results could be inaccurate. Therefore, over the year I feel more stress at some point when my work/life balance is not as good I struggle to find time to spend with family, meet with friends and have time to myself. However, I would not consider going on holiday to be stressful, this is a time I am able to relax and forgot about any stresses.

The Inventory identified that major stresses where ceasing from formal education and outside of university have seen extensive changes in my part-time job in which I have adopted greater responsibilities. The sector which I work within requires on-going career development and training, therefore it is important I find a good balance between university, work and having time to myself.

My Prime stress come from work and university life especially studying for exams it is important that I have strategies to reduce and combat the stresses. I enjoy to exercise and I exercise daily as I feel that I am relieved from my stresses. When studying, I listen this helps to keep me motivated and focused. Also when I am stressed I always speak to a family member who gives me advice and guidance.

At Risk Behaviours and Society

‘The Glasgow Effect’

As part of today’s input we were asked to read the document ‘The Glasgow Effect’, that looked in detail to similar income deprivation prevailed amongst Glasgow, Manchester and Liverpool and the strong links that income can have on poor health and morality, however what this document highlighted was despite the three cities having the same income deprivation poor health and morality is significantly higher in Glasgow.

The main findings of the ‘Glasgow Effect’ is that there are strong and well established links between inequality and health. The document analysed income rate of the three cities to be almost identical, however premature deaths in Glasgow is 30% higher than the cities of comparison, there are countless reasons for these statics for instance behaviour risks and lifestyle. What is startling being the number of deaths in Glasgow caused by drug misuses is 2.5 times higher and alcohol misuse 2.3 times higher than Manchester and Liverpool. Drug and alcohol misuse is known as ‘excess deaths’.

As the document progress and in-depth analysed lifestyle choices such as smoking, binge drinking and eating, Glasgow percentages where majority lower compared to the Liverpool and Manchester, for instance the percentage of Glasgow that smoke is 32.5% which is lower than Liverpool population who smoke 34.3%. The static that stood out to myself was 20.7% of Glasgow eat healthy and 22.8% of Glasgow population is classed as obese, conversely 21.5% of Manchester eat healthy, but 25% of Manchester population is classified as obese.

A pivotal factor is social environment and education attainment, in Glasgow there is a higher number of the population with no qualifications compared with Liverpool and Manchester, having no education could possibly have a knock-on effect and people may become stuck in the inequality cycle, as they may find it difficult to find well paid employment, which could possible lead to income deprivation, they may be unable to afford healthy foods, join fitness clubs or socialise that could perhaps consequent in poor health.

After reading this document I found that deprivation could impact on poor health and morality, however deaths in Glasgow are more likely to be ‘excess deaths’ compared to Manchester and Liverpool. In conclusion, there is a range of problems and underlying factors that could inflect poor health and income deprivation is not a solo factor.

Walsh, D. Bendel, N. , Jones, R. , Hanlon, P. ‘The Glasgow Effect’.

Available: http://moodle.uws.ac.uk/pluginfile.php/712075/mod_resource/content/1/The%20Glasgow%20Effect.pdf. Accessed on 13/02/2017

Are Scottish People Healthy?

I did ponder over this question as I do find it rather ambiguous and open to opinions. To a certain extent Scottish people and some are not. Some people may choose to lead a healthy lifestyle- eat healthy, eat their five-a-day, exercise to daily guidelines, drink little or no alcohol and don’t drink alcohol, some people in Scotland may lead their life in contrast.

As stated in the ‘Glasgow Effect’ some people may have no control over what they eat and exercise due to economical burdens, which could lead to an unhealthy lifestyle. It is important that local authority provide free or cheap sport facilities to promote an active and affordable lifestyle for all. Also, healthy foods are more expensive to buy than unhealthy and convince foods, which could engender people who have low incomes to buy unhealthy foods that could lead to an unhealthy lifestyle.

Therefore, as a prospective teacher/ student teacher it is important that I promote a healthy lifestyle and demonstrate this within the classroom. I believe it is important to make exercise fun and enjoyable that can be adapted to ranging physical abilities. I also believe that exercise should not be persevered just for Physical Education but can interwoven throughout the curriculum areas and some learning can be completed kinetically and moving around the classroom.

Inclusion and Equality- ‘Focus on Disability’

The focus of today’s inputs was Inclusion and Equality with a particular ‘focus on disability’. The lecture was rather insightful and enabled me to reflective on how equal our society really is. I was able to build upon what I learnt from last week’s lecture specifically the Equality Act 2010 and how this legislation can aid those with disabilities, however this act can be at times complex as it is not air type and is opened to opinions and views. Similarly, to the Equality Act there is Addition Support Needs Act 2004/2009, which is a much wider term and supports a broader range of needs- emotional, physically, behavioural, social and mental.

The aspect of the lecture I considered most penetrative was the disability right movements as it was not until the 1950’s that people with disabilities started to gain access and independence to services, however still encountered inequality whether it was at work or outside the work place. I learnt the importance of disability can be reduced or eliminated by changing society, even by making slight changes. What was striking for myself was attitudes in past years and limited changes being made for people who have impairments, only recent years have attitudes changed and thankfully our society is increasingly becoming more diverse, and more citizens with impairments are going beyond their impairments and contribute their skills, gifts and strengths to the wider society. It Is therefore pivotal as a student teacher/ perspective teacher to engage with diversity and adapt the classroom to the needs of pupils but also discuss with pupils regarding the importance of diversity and importance of anti-discrimination in our society.

Today was the first time that have heard of the term ‘Universal Design’, this alludes to the designing of buildings that considers everyone and can be used by anyone regardless of their needs. Most significantly stairs being replaced by ramps. This term highlights that diversity is normal.

Likewise, today I was able to advance my knowledge regarding key scholars: Mel Ainscow, Lani Florian, Nancy Fraser, John Rawls

Scholar John Rawls theory stood, he wrote a book about social justice which looked at the equality of those less advantaged in order to serve everyone well. He created a structure and activities that is suitable for all. He also raised the issue that decision makers should consider everyone in society and not just showing interest in individual by human diversity as a whole.