Bashmakova O. Emotional and psychosocial factors of attitude towards health

The Thesis is dedicated to research of influence of Emotional and Psychosocial factors upon the way the adults relate towards their health. The author considers: the specificity of personal and social attitude to health in its temporal prospect; the problems and the prospects of research of the specific psychological phenomenon of attitude towards health; main approaches to a research of an impact of the psychological, demographic and social factors upon health and attitude towards it. This Thesis states that some characteristics of individual attitude towards health (modality, intensity and its components) undergo the influence of a wide spectrum of long-lasting and dominating emotional states (psychoemotional tension, somatic and neurotic anxiety, vivacity - despondency, satisfaction - dissatisfaction), to a great extent depend on stability of a emotional tone, are connected with a psychosocial status of a person (gender, age, level of education and income), and the locus of health control. There arefour types of individual attitude towards health, basing upon the modality, intensity and the psychological contents. The specifics of the emotional state, psychosocial characteristics, correlation of the parameters of the locus of a health control and the components of attitude towards health are investigated amongst persons with different types of attitude towards health.