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Encyclopedia of Behavioral Medicine pp 1580–1581Cite as

Psychosocial Factors

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Synonyms

Psychological factors; Psychosocial variables

Definition

Social factors include general factors at the level of human society concerned with social structure and social processes that impinge on the individual. Psychological factors include individual-level processes and meanings that influence mental states. Sometimes, these words are combined as “psychosocial.” This is shorthand term for the combination of psychological and social, but it also implies that the effect of social processes are sometimes mediated through psychological understanding (Stansfeld & Rasul, 2007).

Description

The relationship between psychological factors and the physical body can be influenced by social factors, the effects of which are mediated through psychological understanding. Examples of psychosocial factors include social support, loneliness, marriage status, social disruption, bereavement, work environment, social status, and social integration. To illustrate that the role psychosocial...

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References and Readings

  • Berkman, L., & Syme, S. (1979). Social networks, host resistance, and mortality: A nine-year follow-up study of alameda county residents. American Journal of Epidemiology, 109(2), 186–204.

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  • Cacioppo, J., Hawkley, L., Crawford, L., Ernst, F., Burleson, M., Kowalewski, R., et al. (2002). Loneliness and health: Potential mechanisms. Psychosomatic Medicine, 64, 407–417.

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  • Frasure-Smith, N., Lesperance, F., Gravel, G., Masson, A., Juneau, M., Talajic, M., et al. (2000). Social support, depression, and mortality during the first year after myocardial infarction. Circulation, 101, 1919–1924.

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  • Holt-Lunstad, J., Smith, T., & Layton, J. (2010). Social relationships and mortality risk: A meta-analytic review. PLoS Medicine, 7(7). doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.1000316.

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  • Rosengren, A., Orth-Gomer, K., Wedel, H., & Wilhelmsen, L. (1993). Stressful life events, social support, and mortality in men born in 1933. British Medical Journal, 307, 1102–1105.

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  • Stansfeld, S., & Rasul, F. (2007). Psychosocial factors, depression and illness. In A. Steptoe (Ed.), Depression and physical illness (pp. 19–52). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Sport and Exercise Sciences, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham, B15 2TT, UK

    Dr. Jane Upton

Authors
  1. Dr. Jane Upton
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jane Upton .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Behavioral Medicine Research Center, Department of Psychology, University of Miami, Miami, FL, USA

    Marc D. Gellman

  2. Cardiovascular Safety, Quintiles, Durham, NC, USA

    J. Rick Turner

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Upton, J. (2013). Psychosocial Factors. In: Gellman, M.D., Turner, J.R. (eds) Encyclopedia of Behavioral Medicine. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-1005-9_422

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-1005-9_422

  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4419-1004-2

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