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Lifestyles and Health

Code: 43876
Credits: 6
2026/2027
Degree programme Type Course
Research in Clinical Psychology and Health OP 1

Contact lecturer

Name :
Joaquín T. Limonero García
Email :
joaquin.limonero@uab.cat

Teaching staff

Antoni Font Guiteras
Joaquín T. Limonero García
David Sanchez Carracedo
Maria Alvarez Moleiro
Joan Deus Yela
María José Gómez Romero
Albert Feliu Soler

Group languages

You can consult this information at the end of the document.

Prerequisites

Not available, for students from different degrees of psychology they may have to complete training complements. Fluency in Spanish is necessary.

Objectives

The aim of this module is to provide students with advanced knowledge about research in lifestyles and their relationship to health. The student will be able to deepen in the methodologies of research and of design of programs of prevention and promotion of the health and acquire updated knowledge on the relation between the healthy lifestyles and the personality, as well as on the individual and contextual factors that contribute to the adoption. and maintaining healthy behaviors in areas such as cancer, acquired disability, use of technology, eating behavior, pain, or physical activity.
 

Learning outcomes

  1. Critically analyse the theories, models and methods in relation to healthy lifestyles and the risk and protection factors.
  2. Critically analyse the theories, models and methods in relation to personality and health.
  3. Critically analyse the theories, models and methods in relation to eating behaviour and obesity.
  4. Critically analyse the theories, models and methods in relation to the balance between doing physical activity and following a healthy diet.
  5. Critically analyse the methods and designs for prevention programmes and the promotion of good health.
  6. Propose research questions related to healthy lifestyles and factors of protection and risk.
  7. Propose research questions related to personality and health.
  8. Propose research questions related to eating behaviour and obesity.
  9. Propose research questions related to the balance between doing physical activity and a healthy diet.
  10. Design, plan and implement a psychology research project applied to healthy lifestyles and factors of risk and protection.
  11. Design, plan and implement an applied psychology research project in the area of personality and health.
  12. Design, plan and implement an applied psychology research project in the area of eating behaviour and health.
  13. Design, plan and implement a psychology research project applied to the balance between doing physical activity and following a healthy diet.
  14. Design, plan and implement programmes of prevention and promotion of health.
  15. Search for information in scientific literature using appropriate channels and integrate such information to propose and contextualize a research topic.
  16. Use scientific terminology to argue the results of research in the context of scientific production, to understand and interact effectively with other professionals.
  17. Apply the outstanding ethical principles and act accordingly to the deontological code for the profession in the scientific research practic.
  18. Communicate and justify conclusions clearly and unambiguously to both specialised and non-specialised audiences.
  19. Continue the learning process, to a large extent autonomously.

Contents

The subject is structured in the following thematic areas


1. Lifestyle and Health Psychology.


2. Mindfulness, positive emotions and healthy lifestyles.


3. Planning of prevention and health promotion interventions


4. Adaptation processes and emotional reactions in acquired disability.


5. Oncological psychology: lifestyles and cancer.


6. Pain and lifestyle.


7. Eating behavior, obesity and health.


8. Adaptation processes and emotional reactions in illness at the end of life: palliative care.

Learning activities and methodology

Title Hours ECTS Learning outcomes
Tutoring 30 1.2 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 16, 17
Expositive class, problem-based learning and debates 105 4.2 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 19
Preparation of written works, presentation of papers and reading of articles and reports of interest, personal study 15 0.6 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19 
Targeted:◊ Expositive class.◊ Problem based learning.◊ DebateSupervised:◊ Tutoring.◊ Exercise resolution◊ Completion of practical activities.Autonomous:◊ Elaboration of written works.◊ Oral presentation of work.◊ Reading articles and reports of interest.Personal studyThe work assigned to each student will consist of choosing an investigation (a single article or a collection of related articles) on a specific topic within the students in relation to lifestyles and health, and perform a critical analysis that covers the relevance and relevance of the subject, background analysis, the definition of objectives and the formulation of hypotheses, the selection and adequacy of the sample, the suitability of the design, the selection of the measuring instruments, Data analysis and depth of discussion. This work will be done throughout the course and will be presented at the student folder.
Annotation: within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.

Assessment

Continuous assessment activities

Title Weight Hours ECTS Learning outcomes
EV1: Solution of cases and exercises that have been raised in class. 40% 0 0 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19
EV3. Oral presentation of papers/reports 30% 0 0 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19
EV2: Student folder that collects the evidence of autonomous learning, summary of readings. 30% 0 0 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19

The module will be assessed on a continuous basis. It includes three learning evidences of different types, with the following weighting: 40% corresponding to EV1: submission of assignments and/or reports, and resolution of cases and exercises in the classroom; 30% corresponding to EV2: student portfolio, including evidence of autonomous learning and summaries of readings; and 30% corresponding to EV3: oral defence of assignments/reports.


A student will be considered to have passed the module when they have obtained a final grade of 5 or above.


Students who obtain a grade between 3.5 and 4.8 may opt for reassessment, which will consist of completing the complementary or synthesis activities assigned to each student by the module coordinator.


“Assessable” student

A student will be considered “assessable” when they have submitted learning evidence with a weighting equal to or greater than 4 points on a 0–10 scale. Otherwise, they will be recorded in the official academic records as “not assessable”.


Module passed

A student will be considered to have passed the course when they meet both of the following conditions:


a) They have obtained a minimum grade of 5 points on a 0–10 scale in the continuous assessment.

b) They have passed the content of each learning evidence with a minimum grade of 4 points on a 0–10 scale.


If these two requirements are not met, the maximum grade to be recorded in the academic transcript will be 4.5 points.


Single assessment

Single assessment is not available.


Reassessment

Students who obtain a grade between 3.5 and 4.8 may opt for reassessment, which will consist of completing the complementary or synthesis activities assigned to each student by the module coordination.


The maximum grade that a student who takes the reassessment test can obtain for the course as a whole is 5.


The document containing the Faculty’s assessment guidelines is available at: : https://www.uab.cat/doc/DOC_PautesAvaluacio_2026


COPYING OR PLAGIARISM:

According to Article 116, point 10, of the UAB Regulations, if a student commits any irregularity —copying, plagiarism, etc.— that may lead to a significant variation in the grade of an assessment activity, that assessment activity will be graded as 0. If several irregularities occur in the assessment activities of the same course/module, the final grade will be 0.


Use of AI


Restricted use:

“For this course, the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies is permitted exclusively for support tasks, such as bibliographic or information searches, text correction, or translations. Students must clearly identify which parts have been generated using this technology, specify the tools used, and include a critical reflection on how these tools have influenced the process and the final outcome of the activity. Lack of transparency regarding the use of AI in this assessable activity will be considered a breach of academic honesty and may result in a partial or total penalty in the grade for the activity, or more severe sanctions in serious cases.”


The use of generative AI is not permitted except for bibliographic searches, text correction, or translations.


The document containing the Faculty’s assessment guidelines is available at:

https://www.uab.cat/web/estudiar/graus/graus/avaluacions-1345722525858.html

Bibliography

Each teacher will indicate the specific bibliography of their area of expertise area.


As a general Basic Bibliography we recommend the following selected references:


DeSandre, P. L., & Bell, G. E. (2021). Palliative care research. In K. H. Todd, C. R. Thomas, Jr., & K. Alagappan (Eds.), Oncologic emergency medicine: Principles and practice (2nd ed., pp. 843–862). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-67123-5_63

Joseph, S. (Ed.). (2015). Positive psychology in practice: Promoting human flourishing in work, health, education, and everyday life (2nd ed.). Wiley. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118996874

Park, N., Peterson, C., Szvarca, D., Vander Molen, R. J., Kim, E. S., & Collon, K. (2016). Positive psychology and physical health: Research and applications. American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine, 10(3), 200–206. https://doi.org/10.1177/1559827614550277

Ragin, D. F., & Keenan, J. P. (Eds.). (2021). Handbook of research methods in health psychology. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429488326

Young, K. S., & Nabuco de Abreu, C. (Eds.). (2011). Internet addiction: A handbook and guide to evaluation and treatment. John Wiley & Sons. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118013991

Las técnicas de neuroimagen permiten medir el dolor en enfermedades reumáticas

¿Que me duele cuando duele? https://www.rtve.es/alacarta/videos/el-cazador-de-cerebros/duele-cuando-duele/5892258/ Replica https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n9gmqIu1G44

Neuroimagen en fibromialgia. https://www.neurologia.com/articulo/2018050

Neuroimagen, personalidad y nuevas estratégias terapeúticas. https://afibrom.org/fibromialgia-neuroimagen-personalidad-y-nuevas-estrategia-terapeuticas/

The complexity and stigma of pediatric obesity. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8147499/

Weight bias and obesity stigma: Considerations for the WHO european region. https://www.euro.who.int/__data/assets/pdf_file/0017/351026/WeightBias.pdf

Software

Virtual sessions will  be conduced trough Teams software if it is necessary.

Course groups and languages

The information provided is provisional until November 30. After this date, you will be able to consult the language of each group through this link. To access the information, you will need to enter the course CODE

Type of teaching Group Language Semester Shift
(TEm) Theory (master) 1 Catalan/Spanish first semester afternoon