smc-5803-40-Media/peer influence

HMS, HIC EQ-Bank 121

Discuss how language and media as broad features of society can both create and reduce health inequities in Australia. (6 marks)

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*PEEL – Solution is structured using separate PEEL methods for each side of the argument; [P] Identify the point, [E] expand on the point with a link to question asked, [Ev] apply evidence/examples, [L] linking sentence back to question.*

Creating Health Inequities

[P] On one hand, language barriers prevent effective healthcare access.
[E] This creates significant challenges when non-English speakers cannot communicate symptoms or understand treatment plans.
[Ev] For instance, Vietnamese elderly avoid hospitals due to interpreter shortages, leading to untreated diabetes complications.
[L] This demonstrates how language differences worsen health inequities.
[P] From one perspective, media representation excludes minority groups.
[E] This approach offers mainstream health messages but creates gaps for diverse communities.
[Ev] Aboriginal health campaigns using only English miss 30% of remote communities who prefer traditional languages.
[L] Media’s narrow focus amplifies existing health disparities.

Reducing Health Inequities

[P] Conversely, well directed multilingual health services can improve access.
[E] These initiatives can help diverse populations to navigate healthcare confidently and make informed decisions.
[Ev] For example, Medicare translating documents into 20 languages increased migrant health screening by 45%.
[L] In this way, language can directly reduce healthcare barriers.
[P] Culturally appropriate media can also be highly effective in promoting health equity.
[E] This creates opportunities for targeted health education reaching previously excluded groups.
[Ev] SBS radio’s multilingual COVID information reached 80% of migrant communities, improving vaccination rates.
[L] Media diversity effectively bridges health information gaps.

Despite these benefits, consistent funding for translation services remains challenging. Nevertheless, evidence shows language and media interventions significantly impact health equity when properly resourced.

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Creating Health Inequities

[P] On one hand, language barriers prevent effective healthcare access.
[E] This creates significant challenges when non-English speakers cannot communicate symptoms or understand treatment plans.
[Ev] For instance, Vietnamese elderly avoid hospitals due to interpreter shortages, leading to untreated diabetes complications.
[L] This demonstrates how language differences worsen health inequities.
[P] From one perspective, media representation excludes minority groups.
[E] This approach offers mainstream health messages but creates gaps for diverse communities.
[Ev] Aboriginal health campaigns using only English miss 30% of remote communities who prefer traditional languages.
[L] Media’s narrow focus amplifies existing health disparities.

Reducing Health Inequities

[P] Conversely, well directed multilingual health services can improve access.
[E] These initiatives can help diverse populations to navigate healthcare confidently and make informed decisions.
[Ev] For example, Medicare translating documents into 20 languages increased migrant health screening by 45%.
[L] In this way, language can directly reduce healthcare barriers.
[P] Culturally appropriate media can also be highly effective in promoting health equity.
[E] This creates opportunities for targeted health education reaching previously excluded groups.
[Ev] SBS radio’s multilingual COVID information reached 80% of migrant communities, improving vaccination rates.
[L] Media diversity effectively bridges health information gaps.

HMS, HIC EQ-Bank 111

Explain how media and culture as sociocultural determinants affect health outcomes, discussing both their positive and negative influences on individual and community health. (5 marks)

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Media

Media influences health through multiple channels including social media platforms, advertising and entertainment, with both intentional and unintentional health messaging affecting behaviour.
Positive media impacts include deliberate health campaigns like anti-smoking initiatives and cancer screening promotions that provide clear health information and encourage preventative actions.
However, media negatively affects health through embedded messaging promoting unrealistic body standards and glamorising harmful behaviours. This can contribute to eating disorders and poor self-image, particularly among young people.

Culture

Culture determines health through established customs, dietary patterns and healthcare practices that become normalised within communities.
Positive cultural influences include providing a sense of belonging and identity that supports emotional and spiritual wellbeing through shared traditions.
Negative cultural influences can include poor eating habits, leading to obesity, and cultural stigma surrounding issues like mental health, which discourages individuals from seeking help for psychological issues.

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Media

Media influences health through multiple channels including social media platforms, advertising and entertainment, with both intentional and unintentional health messaging affecting behaviour.
Positive media impacts include deliberate health campaigns like anti-smoking initiatives and cancer screening promotions that provide clear health information and encourage preventative actions.
However, media negatively affects health through embedded messaging promoting unrealistic body standards and glamorising harmful behaviours. This can contribute to eating disorders and poor self-image, particularly among young people.

Culture

Culture determines health through established customs, dietary patterns and healthcare practices that become normalised within communities.
Positive cultural influences include providing a sense of belonging and identity that supports emotional and spiritual wellbeing through shared traditions.
Negative cultural influences can include poor eating habits, leading to obesity, and cultural stigma surrounding issues like mental health, which discourages individuals from seeking help for psychological issues.

HMS, HIC EQ-Bank 110

Identify two key sociocultural determinants and explain how they influence health behaviours and outcomes during adolescence, providing both positive and negative examples. (5 marks)

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Answers could include two of the following:

Family Influence

[P] Parents modelling healthy behaviours can help shape adolescent lifestyle choices.
[E] This leads to teenagers developing similar exercise and eating patterns.
[Ev] Active parents produce children 50% more likely to participate in regular sports.
[L] This shows a clear connection between parental role-modelling and teen health habits.
[P] Family dysfunction and conflict cause poor coping mechanisms.
[E] This results in adolescents potentially developing harmful stress responses.
[Ev] Teens witnessing domestic violence show triple the rates of smoking and substance use.
[L] This demonstrates how family stress directly impacts adolescent health behaviours.

Peer Influence

[P] Positive peer groups encourage healthy activities and choices.
[E] This causes increased physical activity and better social connections.
[Ev] Teens with sporty friends exercise 60% more through team sports participation.
[L] These elements work together to reinforce sustainable healthy behaviours.
[P] Negative peer pressure promotes dangerous risk-taking behaviours.
[E] This increases the chances of substance experimentation for social acceptance.
[Ev] Party culture normalises binge drinking, with 70% initially trying alcohol due to peer pressure.
[L] This relationship results in social acceptance overriding health knowledge.

Religion

[P] Religious communities provide strong support networks.
[E] This causes improved mental wellbeing through belonging.
[Ev] Church youth groups reduce adolescent depression rates by 40% through meaningful connections.
[L] Spiritual communities enhance resilience during challenging developmental periods.
[P] Religious restrictions can limit healthcare access.
[E] This results in delayed treatment or untreated conditions.
[Ev] Some faiths prohibit blood transfusions, contraception or mental health medication.
[L] In this way, religious beliefs can occasionally compromise optimal health outcomes.

Show Worked Solution

Answers could include two of the following:

Family Influence

[P] Parents modelling healthy behaviours can help shape adolescent lifestyle choices.
[E] This leads to teenagers developing similar exercise and eating patterns.
[Ev] Active parents produce children 50% more likely to participate in regular sports.
[L] This shows a clear connection between parental role-modelling and teen health habits.
[P] Family dysfunction and conflict cause poor coping mechanisms.
[E] This results in adolescents potentially developing harmful stress responses.
[Ev] Teens witnessing domestic violence show triple the rates of smoking and substance use.
[L] This demonstrates how family stress directly impacts adolescent health behaviours.

Peer Influence

[P] Positive peer groups encourage healthy activities and choices.
[E] This causes increased physical activity and better social connections.
[Ev] Teens with sporty friends exercise 60% more through team sports participation.
[L] These elements work together to reinforce sustainable healthy behaviours.
[P] Negative peer pressure promotes dangerous risk-taking behaviours.
[E] This increases the chances of substance experimentation for social acceptance.
[Ev] Party culture normalises binge drinking, with 70% initially trying alcohol due to peer pressure.
[L] This relationship results in social acceptance overriding health knowledge.

Religion

[P] Religious communities provide strong support networks.
[E] This causes improved mental wellbeing through belonging.
[Ev] Church youth groups reduce adolescent depression rates by 40% through meaningful connections.
[L] Spiritual communities enhance resilience during challenging developmental periods.
[P] Religious restrictions can limit healthcare access.
[E] This results in delayed treatment or untreated conditions.
[Ev] Some faiths prohibit blood transfusions, contraception or mental health medication.
[L] In this way, religious beliefs can occasionally compromise optimal health outcomes.

HMS, HIC EQ-Bank 090 MC

Research indicates that LGBTQIA+ young people are more likely to experience mental health issues than their heterosexual peers.

This health disparity is most directly related to which sociocultural factor of society?

Cultural narratives and their transmission across generations.
Community structures that shape collective identity and belonging.
Social dynamics that influence self-perception and stress responses.
Institutional frameworks that determine resource distribution.

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\(C\)

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C is correct as social dynamics looks at societal attitudes and stigmas. This affects self-perception and can directly impact a person’s mental health through minority stress.

Other options:

A is incorrect as while cultural narratives contribute to attitudes about sexuality, they represent a broader influence than immediate social dynamics.
B is incorrect as community structures are important but don’t capture the specific psychological mechanisms through which prejudice affects mental health.
D is incorrect as institutional frameworks primarily relate to systemic determinants rather than interpersonal social dynamics most directly linked to mental health issues.

HMS, HIC EQ-Bank 089 MC

A community health campaign aims to increase fruit and vegetable consumption among teenagers.

The campaign is MOST likely to succeed if it addresses which combination of sociocultural factors?

Media influence and peer group norms
Political structures and language barriers
Economic prosperity and urban development
Geographic location and technological access

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\(A\)

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A is correct as media influence shapes perceptions about food, while peer group norms strongly affect teenage behaviour, including food choices.

Other options:

B is incorrect as political structures and language barriers, while sociocultural factors, are not the most direct influences on teenage dietary choices.
C is incorrect as these factors relate to socioeconomic and environmental determinants rather than sociocultural ones.
D is incorrect as these are environmental factors rather than sociocultural determinants of health.

HMS, HIC EQ-Bank 021

Outline how social media influence can act as a sociological cause of risky health behaviours among young Australians. (3 marks)

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Model Answer

Social media platforms create distorted reality where risky behaviours like binge drinking or dangerous challenges are glorified and normalised, influencing young people’s perceptions of acceptable behaviour.
Peer influence is amplified through social media, where adolescents experience pressure to conform to perceived norms, including participation in viral trends involving health risks such as vaping or extreme dieting.
Social media algorithms create echo chambers that reinforce existing attitudes, escalating exposure to content normalising risky health behaviours while minimising exposure to healthy lifestyle messages.

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Model Answer

Social media platforms create distorted reality where risky behaviours like binge drinking or dangerous challenges are glorified and normalised, influencing young people’s perceptions of acceptable behaviour.
Peer influence is amplified through social media, where adolescents experience pressure to conform to perceived norms, including participation in viral trends involving health risks such as vaping or extreme dieting.
Social media algorithms create echo chambers that reinforce existing attitudes, escalating exposure to content normalising risky health behaviours while minimising exposure to healthy lifestyle messages.