Health Psychology: Why Do Some People Get Sick and Some Stay Well?
Author(s)
Adler, N.; Matthews, K.
Abstract
An issue in health psychology concerns the influence of social environment and individual dispositions on proneness to disease, with health-related behaviors as a mediating influence. Social factors examined include stress and social support. Individual factors include type A, hostility, depression, neuroticism and optimism. Progress has also been made in understanding physiological mechanisms such as cardiovascular response to stress and immune competence. Concepts of health psychology are becoming more refined, and better models of health risks are being developed.