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  • DTP Success Team

DSST Health and Human Development Study Guide

Updated: Aug 18



Your DSST Health and Human Development Exam test date is approaching.


Are you ready?


Don't worry if you still need to become familiar with the material; we have you covered.


There's a lot of information on health, wellness, and the mind/body connection, and it can take a lot of work to know where to start.


Our DSST Health and Wellness Exam study guide is the perfect place to start.


This guide will outline the content likely covered in the exam and give tips on how to best prepare for it.


Table of Contents

  1. Health, Wellness, Mind, and Body Connection

  2. Human Development and Relationships

  3. Substance Use and Abuse

  4. Fitness and Nutrition

  5. Risk Factors, Disease, Disease Prevention

  6. Safety, Consumer Awareness, and Environmental Concerns

  7. Conclusion

  8. Student Resources

  9. References


1. Health, Wellness, Mind, and Body Connection


DSST Health and Human Development Exam Outline. Health, Wellness, Mind/Body Connection (19% - 21%).
Health, Wellness, Mind/Body Connection (19% - 21%)

  • Responsible health, wellness, and lifestyles: Reducing health disparities is a primary national health goal that makes individuals more responsible for their health, wellness, and lifestyle.

  • Mental health is defined: It is an integral part of health, more than just the absence of mental illness, and is intimately connected with physical health and behavior.


  • Psychological disorders: There are well over 300 disorders listed in the DSM-IV.


  • Stress management and coping mechanisms: The three types of stress are acute, episodic, and chronic stress.


  • Addictive behaviors: A person is addicted when they center their life around the addiction to the exclusion of other activities, people, and needs.



DSST Health and Human Development Trivia Question #116



2. Human Development and Relationships


DSST Health and Human Development Exam Outline. Human Development and Relationships (19% - 21%).
Human Development and Relationships (19% - 21%)

  • Reproduction: Reproductive anatomies include both men's and females' external and internal sex organs and internal reproductive organs.


  • Sexuality: Sexual orientation is a terminology used to describe a person's sexual desire for people of the same gender (homosexual), both gender (bisexual), or opposite gender (heterosexual).


  • Intimate relationships: Dating, developing an intimate relationship, and marriage are many people's sources of joy and well-being.


  • Healthy aging: Aging is a human experience that everyone will go through. It is interwoven with biological, psychological, and social complexities.


  • Death and grief: It takes a tremendous amount of time for people to accept death, but in grieving, the individual will discover ways to return to life and carry on (Compassion and Support, n.d.).


3. Substance Use and Abuse


DSST Health and Human Development Exam Outline. Substance Use and Abuse (9% - 11%).
Substance Use and Abuse (9% - 11%)

  • Alcohol: Problem drinking and its related effects of dependency on alcohol are progressive.


  • Tobacco: According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, nicotine is highly addictive.


  • Other drugs: Drugs are classified into five schedules.


  • Substance-use behaviors: A pattern of maladaptive substance use associated with recurrent and significant adverse consequences.



DSST Health and Human Development Trivia Question #298



4. Fitness and Nutrition


DSST Health and Human Development Exam Outline. Fitness and Nutrition (14% - 16%).
Fitness and Nutrition (14% - 16%)

  • Components of physical fitness: Cardiorespiratory endurance, muscular strength, muscular endurance, flexibility, and body composition.


  • Good nutrition and its effects: Eating various foods in combinations that provide both necessary nutrients and reasonable blood sugar control.


5. Risk Factors, Disease, Disease Prevention


DSST Health and Human Development Exam Outline. Risk Factors, Disease, Disease Prevention (19% - 21%).
Risk Factors, Disease, Disease Prevention (19% - 21%)

  • Infectious diseases, including sexually transmitted diseases, prevention, and control: A biological agent such as a virus, bacterium, or parasite.


  • The Cardiovascular system: Cardiovascular diseases are plaque buildup in the walls of the arteries or atherosclerosis.


  • Types of cancer: Cancer is an accumulation of many diseases. There are over 100 different types of cancer.


  • Immune disorders: Cause abnormally low activity or over-activity of the immune system.


  • Diabetes, arthritis, and genetic-related disorders: Glucose levels may be elevated if the pancreas produces little or no insulin (type 1 diabetes) or the body does not usually respond to insulin (type 2 diabetes).


  • Common neurological disorders: Neurological disorders are diseases of the brain, spine, and nerves that connect to the nervous system.



DSST Health and Human Development Trivia Question #352



6. Safety, Consumer Awareness, and Environmental Concerns


DSST Health and Human Development Exam Outline. Safety, Consumer Awareness, and Environmental Concerns (14% - 16%).
Safety, Consumer Awareness, and Environmental Concerns (14% - 16%)

  • Safety: Accidents are unplanned and sudden events that damage property or persons.


  • Intentional injuries and violence: Intentional injuries include homicides, rapes, suicides, abuse, and assaults.


  • Consumer awareness: Medicare, Medicaid, and prescription drugs.


  • Environmental concerns: Human population growth is growing at about 1.5% annually, with 89 million people annually.


7. Conclusion: DSST Health and Human Development


We’ve discussed the main points of the DSST Health and Human Development exam.


We’ve outlined health, wellness, the mind/body connection; mental health; psychological disorders; and stress management and coping mechanisms.


Our online preparation course can help if you want to fully prepare for your exam.


Access practice exams, course modules, game shows, and more.


Good luck with your exam!


8. Student Resources


9. References


DSST Health and Human Development Fact Sheet

DSST Health and Human Development Fact Sheet
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Download PDF • 81KB

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