Psychological and Social Factors That Influence Health - Coursework Example

Social and Psychological Factors of the of the Introduction Physical health of human beings is one of the most important factors of happy and satisfied living. If the body is not healthy, then it becomes difficult for a person to function properly. At the same time, it is also important to mention here that physical health does not function as an independent thing. It depends a lot on the surrounding conditions of human beings. Hence, the psychological and social factors influence the health of human beings in strong way. Studies have revealed that psychological and behavioral factors are major contributors in development of illness and death in people (Durand & Barlow, 2010, p. 260). In fact, studies have proved that every disorder of biological nature is associated with psychological and social factors in some way or other (Durand & Barlow, 2010, p. 260). This fact can also be observed in the psychological and emotional problems that people are suffering in today’s world due to unhealthy lifestyle and working conditions. Hence, if prevalence of illness and death is to be reduced in the society, then the health care system should take immediate steps to design programs which not only provide intervention for biological aspects of health but also for removal of the effects of negative social and psychological factors on health. Factors of Health Each person’ ability to achieve and maintain the best possible mental health and physical well-being is influenced by the psychological and social factors that surround him (CAMH, 2009, p.12). As social factors are the factors that act as contributing factors and do not cause the mental or physical illness directly, they are known as social determinants of health (CAMH, 2009, p.16). If unfortunately, the social factors of a person are not nourishing and positive, then it affects the mental and physical health of a person. This means that social factors affect the psychological health of a person. It is believed by the researchers in medical field that complex interactions among social and psychological factors cause mental and physical health problems in people. Hence, the social and psychological factors impact the health of an individual, family and society, as a whole (CAMH, 2009, p.12). Not only that but social factors also have potential to create a risk of illness in human beings. Social Factors People’s risk of developing a mental and physical health problem over a life course can be increased or decreased through the influence of social factors (CAMH, 2009, p.16). For example, some social factors hasten the development of illness, some prolong the illness and some factors simply make people vulnerable to illness (CAMH, 2009, p.16). At the same time, some social factors also act as positive aspects as they prevent illness and restore health in people living in the society (CAMH, 2009, p.16). Sadly, even the social factor like cultural background influences the health of a person. The social factors that influence health also consist of the environmental factors of a person. The behavioral theory suggests that environmental factors affect the health of a person to a great extent (CAMH, n.d., par.11). For example, the mind of a person has a subconscious habit of mentally associating cues like certain sound, place or feeling with fear and distress felt during stressful or traumatic events in life (CAMH, n.d., par.11). These fears are re-experienced by people when they encounter the cues, or the cues reoccur in their lives (CAMH, n.d., par.11). These associations work in automatic, and immediate way, and once the association between fear and cues are formed, they are out of conscious control (CAMH, n.d., par.11). Hence, even before the real danger occurs, the fear is felt by human beings and their bodies react without real cause (CAMH, n.d., par.11). These fears create reactions in people’s mind and body and affect the normal behavior. This shows that physical health is strongly influenced by external factors surrounding the human beings. There are twelve determinants of health that are listed by ‘The Public Health Agency of Canada,’ which are found to be applicable to all (CAMH, 2009, p.16). However, according to the health agency, the determinants that are most likely to be applicable to the immigrant, refugee, ethno-cultural and racialized groups (IRER) are eleven. These 11 determinants are as follows: 1) income and social status, 2) social support networks, 3) education and literacy, 4) employment/working conditions, 5) social environments, 6) physical environment, 7) personal health practices and coping skills, 8) healthy child development, 9) health services,10) gender and 11) culture (CAMH, 2009, p.16). Moreover, the social factors that make IRER groups more vulnerable to experiencing mental health problems are racial discrimination, migration and language barriers causing communication difficulties (CAMH, 2009, p.16). In high income countries, people belonging to IRER groups experience discrimination and prejudice when accessing the services of mental health system (CAMH, 2009, p.5). A study by W.E.B. Dubois in early 20th century found that it was social forces that were responsible for the differences found in health of people from African Americans and Caucasian ethnic background (Gallo, 2008, par.1). It was assumed that the differences between the health of people from African American and Caucasian ethnic background were due to different physical vulnerabilities (Gallo, 2008, par.1). However, these assumptions were proven wrong and it was found that the differences in health ware the reflection of disparities in health services (Gallo, 2008, par.1). Sadly, a century later, despite of overall improvement in longevity and health, the health disparities between people from African Americans and Caucasian ethnic background still persist (Gallo, 2008, par.1). According to Adler and Rehkopf (2008), social factors like differences in access and quality of health care causes the disparities in health of people from different ethnic background (Gallo, 2008, par.2). Unfortunately, the disadvantageous social factors affect the psychological health of a person and makes healthy life difficult. Psychological Factors Human being’s mind and body function in sync and hence, has strong effect on each others health. To describe the physical disorders or conditions which were caused specifically due to mental disturbance or psychological problems, the term ‘psychosomatic’ was used by experts in the field of medicine (Durand & Barlow, 2010, p. 260). However, this term is now considered as misleading as it has been proved through different researches that almost all the physical disorders and diseases are caused by combination of biological, psychological and social factors (Durand & Barlow, 2010, p. 260). Most importantly, as thinking pattern and the psychological aspects have strong influence on the chemical reactions and the biological functioning of the body, the psychological factors influence the health of human beings in major way. Hence, different aspects of psychology and thinking patterns play a major role in development of different diseases and physical conditions. However, the psychological factors that are playing a strong role in people’s life today are those which are created due to the hectic life style of modern world. Anxiety disorder is one of the main psychological factors that have the potential to cause many physical symptoms (CAMH, n.d., par.3). Anxiety affects the health in a negative way. For example, physical problems like shortness of breath, increase in rate of heart beat, physical weakness etc., are caused by anxiety (CAMH, n.d., par.3). Unfortunately, anxiety can even cause heart attacks, and hence, is life threatening in nature (CAMH, n.d., par.3). Moreover, thoughts, predictions and beliefs of people, which are driven by anxiety, are also the cause of physical and mental distress (CAMH, n.d., par.2). The anxiety thoughts lead to development of physical problems in human beings. This is because the behavior and the physical reactions of a person are based on the anxiety that they are feeling and hence, cause emotional, mental and physical distress which causes health problems. The psychological factor that causes anxiety disorders is cognition pattern of a person. For example, people who overestimate the danger and its potential consequences suffer from great deal of anxiety (CAMH, n.d., par.10). They harbor unnecessary fear and worry in their mind and emotions. This sort of fear and negative thinking affect their brain chemistry and produces a physical reaction which is beneficial only in threatening conditions. As the danger is just psychological and not real, the anxiety creates problem for people and manifest in physical conditions like migraine, diabetes, physical pain etc. In this way, anxiety disorder and cognitive pattern are the psychological factors that influence the health of a person. However, it is important to note that psychological and social factors in human beings do not function independently. They are interdependent and affect each other to great extent and hence, influence the health in combined way. Interplay of Psychological and Social Factors Research study by Krantz and McCeney (2002) has revealed that major health outcomes, including cardiovascular disease, are result of psychological factors such as stress, negative emotions and social isolation (Gallo, 2008, par.2). However, the effects of these psychological factors on health are aggravated in people who also experience disadvantageous social factors (Gallo, 2008, par.2). For example, according to Gallo and Matthew (2003), the risk of aggravating the psychological factors of health is increased in people belonging to low SES and minority ethnic group (Gallo, 2008, par.2). Different studies have revealed that negative aspects like exposure to health risks, threats, conflict, ambiguity, daily hassles and major life events are experienced more by individuals who have disadvantageous social circumstances in life (Gallo, 2008, par.3). Studies by different social researchers have also revealed that people from disadvantageous background formulate a negative outlook in life as their past experience of discrimination due to their race and SES makes them to interpret even ambiguous social interaction negatively (Gallo, 2008, par.3). This kind of outlook makes life miserable and increases the stress and emotional misery in people. According to Myers and Hwang (2003), people from low SES and minority ethnic groups suffer from increased vulnerability to disease as repeated psychological stress responses and unhealthy behavioral coping strategies take its toll on their mind and body, and make them weak and susceptible to health problems (Gallo, 2008, par.3). According to Cohen and Pressman (2006), the health of a person is affected due to problems in bio-behavioral mechanisms which are created by disturbance in the emotional and attitudinal factors resulting from stress (Gallo, 2008, par.3). This shows that the psychological factor of stress, which affects the health negatively, is strongly associated with social factors,. These studies also prove that psychological and social factors are linked with each other. The social factors lead to psychological problems which in turn affect and influence the health of human beings. Conclusion The discussion above shows that physical health of a person is strongly influenced by psychological and social factors. In fact, the social factors related to health have a great impact on the psychological factors that affects physical health. This shows that physical health in human beings is influenced by biological, psychological and social factors in combined way. Hence, to reduce the health problems in people, health care system should not only focus its treatment on biological conditions but also on the psychological and social factors that cause it. References CAMH (n.d.). Anxiety Disorders. Retrieved from http://www.camh.ca/en/hospital/health_information/a_z_mental_health_and_ addiction_information/anxiety_disorders/Pages/anxiety_disorders.aspx CAMH (2009, Nov. 12). Improving mental health services for immigrant, refugee, ethno- cultural and racialized groups: Issues and options for service improvement. Retrieved from http://www.camh.ca/en/hospital/Documents/www.mentalhealthcommission.ca/SiteCollectionDocuments/News/en/IO.pdf Durand, V.M. & Barlow, D.H. (2010). Essentials of abnormal psychology (5th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning. Gallo, L. (2008, September). Do Psychosocial Factors Contribute to Socioeconomic Health Disparities? Retrieved from http://www.apa.org/science/about/psa/2008/09/gallo.aspx Read More