This document outlines the key objectives and concepts covered in a chapter on social health. It will explain social health and how relationships contribute to individual well-being. Some of the topics that will be examined include the impact of modern technology on communication, trends in dating among young people, and changes in American households over time. Communication differences between men and women, the importance of forming relationships, and types of committed partnerships across the lifespan will also be discussed.

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An Invitation to Health: Building Your Future, Brief Edition, 9e
Dianne Hales
Your Social Health
4

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After reading this chapter, the student
should be able to:
• Explain the meaning of the term social
health, using examples
• Outline various ways of communicating,
including gender specific ones
• Examine how relationships contribute to
the social health of individuals
Objectives

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• Evaluate the impact of modern technology
on communicating
• Identify current trends in dating among
young people
• Explain the significance of love to an
individual’s well-being
• Summarize the impact of dysfunctional
relationships
Objectives (cont’d.)

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• Describe the trends, factors, and forms of
long-term partnering in America
• Summarize the changes that have taken
place in the American household over time
Objectives (cont’d.)

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• Social health includes the ability to:
– Interact effectively with people and with the
social environment
– Develop satisfying personal relationships
– Fulfill social roles
• Social support affects physical health
– People of all ages function best in socially
supportive environment
The Social Dimension of Health

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• Learn to listen
– Relationships always involve an emotional
investment
– Opening yourself up to others increases your
own self-knowledge and understanding
• Be agreeable but assertive
– Communicate your wishes calmly and clearly
Communicating

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• Communication traits of young boys
– Make less eye contact
– Vocabulary includes fewer “feeling” words
– Faces become less emotional as they grow
• Communication traits of adult men
– Use fewer words than women
– Interrupt more
– Make more eye contact when speaking to
women than to men
Communication Differences Between
Men and Women

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• As much as 90 percent of communication
is nonverbal
• Body language
– Includes tone of voice, body position
• Culture differences affect interpretation of
body language
– Example: eye contact interpreted as hostile or
challenging in one culture
• Conveying friendliness in another culture
Nonverbal Communication

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• Friendship
– Basic source of happiness
– Source of solace in times of trouble
• Emotional closeness declines 15 percent
per year in the absence of face-to-face
contact
• Loneliness
– Adolescents, the elderly, adults who live
alone, and single parents most affected
Forming Relationships

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• 10 to 15 percent of children born with
predisposition to shyness
– Others become shy due to rejection, shame,
or lack of learning proper social responses
• Types of shyness
– Fearfully shy
– Self-consciously shy
• Social anxiety disorder
– Affects about seven percent of the population
Shyness and Social Anxiety Disorder

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• Altruism
– Helping or giving to others
– Enhances self-esteem
• Volunteerism
– Helps those who give as well as those who
receive
– May lower risk factors for cardiovascular
disease
Building a Healthy Community

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• Almost one-third of the world’s population
uses the Internet
– 77 percent of Americans
• Social networking a growing trend
– Individuals who socialize online show same
psychological sense of community as those
who interact in person
• Facebook provides greater social support than
Twitter
Living in a Wired World

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• 94 percent of college students maintain a
social networking profile
• Motivations
– Nurturing or maintaining existing relationships
– Seeking new relationships
– Enhancing reputation
– Avoiding loneliness
– Keeping tabs on others
– Self-esteem
Social Networking on Campus

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• What was once shared with one other
person is now often shared publicly
• Negative aspects of social networking
– Sexting
• Can have unintended consequences
– Excessive cell phone and Internet use
– Cyberbullying
– Cyberstalking
Self-Disclosure and Privacy

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• Many young people socialize in groups
before venturing into a romantic
relationship
• Hooking up
– Casual sexual encounter
– No expectation of emotional intimacy or
relationship
– Those who participate more likely white,
attractive, outgoing, and nonreligious
Dating on Campus

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• Love is a basic need
– Essential to physical and psychological well-
being
• Intimacy
– Open, trusting, sharing of confidential
thoughts and feelings
– Requires time and nurturing
– Does not require sex
Loving and Being Loved

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• Top reasons for attraction
– Warmth and kindness
– Desirable personality
– Something specific about the person
– Reciprocal liking
• Infatuation
– Being head-over-heels in love
– Feelings are temporary
What Attracts Two People to Each
Other?

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• Types of committed relationships
– Heterosexual marriages
– Heterosexuals who never marry
– Homosexuals who partner or marry
• Emerging adulthood
– Occurs in the late teens and early twenties
– Time marked by volatility and identity
formation
– Brain still developing until age 25
Partnering Across the Lifespan

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• Previous generation: 70 percent of
Americans married
– Number is 50 percent today
– Men more likely to be single than women
• Every age bracket
• Married people are healthier and live
longer than non-married people
– A happy marriage boosts mental well-being in
both spouses
Marriage

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• Families are very diverse
– Gender role reversal more common in African
American families
– Chinese American families often have two
working parents
• Wife may not have equal role in decision-making
– Blended families occur in three of 10
households
• Children of previous relationships
Family Ties