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Running Head: PSYCHOLOGY AND HEALTH
Psychology and Health Problems:
The Multi-Factorial Model
Name:
PSY 210
Axia College
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Psychology and Health Problems:
The Multi-Factorial Model
The multi-factorial model is used by psychologists to examine how biological factors,
environmental factors, sociocultural factors, personality factors, behavioral responses, and
various stressors are connected to health. Biological factors include genetics, gender, age,
ethnicity, medical history, and a person’s family history of diseases or illnesses. Biological
factors are pivotal to understanding the multi-factorial model because it aids researchers in
identifying the diseases and other ailments that are a part of someone’s family history. For
instance, if illnesses such as Alzheimer’s and heart disease have been a part of an individual’s
family for many years, that person may be predisposed to these illnesses, which increases their
likelihood of getting these illnesses more than other people who do not have the family history of
Alzheimer’s and heart disease.
Another part of the multi-factorial is environmental factors, including natural disasters,
pollution, and water quality. Pollution is an environmental issue that can contribute to illnesses.
Carbon monoxide, a colorless, odorless gas found in cigarette smoke, auto fumes, and smog,
decreases the oxygen-carrying capacity of the blood (Nevid and Rathus, 2005). Carbon
monoxide affects people’s cognition and alters someone’s perception of time. Major
metropolitan areas and other cities are familiar to warnings telling them to stay inside the house
or away from certain places to reduce consuming polluted air that accumulates from smog. Air
pollution may seem like unimportant obstruction, but it can have a fatal impact on human life.
Sociocultural factors are another component of the multi-factorial model. Sociocultural
factors include socioeconomic status, family situation, and access to health care. For example,
someone’s socioeconomic status can have a major impact on health. Individuals that are
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struggling socioeconomically are under more pressure from daily life hassles making them live a
lifestyle that is not conducive to their health. Nevid & Rathus (2005) assert that individuals that
are poorly educated are more likely to have a poor socioeconomic status. The lack of a good
paying job and poor living circumstances translate into adopting poor lifestyle choices, which
have been shown to negatively impact health. Nevid & Rathus (2005) explains that there is an
association between low education levels and access to decent healthcare so individuals with
lower socioeconomic standing are less likely to eat healthy and exercise, which is a major factor
of obesity and poor health.
Personality is also a major element of the multi-factorial model. Personality factors that
can affect your health include tendencies to express or repress emotions of rage and frustration,
despair and apprehension, and optimism or pessimism. Personality can affect health because if
someone always expressing disturbing emotions that person may develop heart problems or other
illnesses.
Behavioral responses are another fraction of the multi-factorial model. Behavioral
responses include diet, sleeping patterns, and how frequently someone exercises. Behavioral
patterns can affect health because if someone is not mindful of their diet, it can negatively impact
that person’s health. For example, if someone constantly consumes foods high in Trans fat and
fails to exercise regularly, that person is more likely to develop heart disease among other
illnesses.
Lastly, the multi-factorial model shows the various stressors affecting daily life. These
stressors include daily hassles such as preparing a meal for family and major life changes such as
divorce or the death of a loved one. For instance, preparing a meal might seem undemanding, but
stop to consider the amount of food to be prepared and the long process of food preparation.
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Food preparation is a daily hassle that can be stressful, especially if someone has already had a
busy workday or has been busy at home.
The multi-factorial model shows how different factors in life affect health. Health-related
illnesses are difficult to explain and doctors examine all the factors in the model to determine an
individual’s diagnosis by studying how the life circumstances correspond with the information in
the multi-factorial model.
Headaches and Heart Disease
There are two types of illnesses that affect a large population in the U.S each year:
headaches and coronary heart disease. Headaches are a common physical head pain that most
people will probably experience at some point. However, sometimes headaches can go from
mild to severe. Muscle tension headaches and migraine headaches are the most common forms
of headaches. Muscle tension headaches usually progress slowly. According to Nevid & Rathus
(2005), they are most often characterized by dull, steady pain on both sides of the head and
feelings of tightness or vicelike pressure throughout the head. Muscle tension headaches can be
caused by various factors including physical illness or stress. The multi-factorial model can help
identify a muscle-tension headache by analyzing stress-inducing factors.
Migraine headaches are more serious than muscle-tension headaches. Nevid & Rathus
(2005) explain that migraine headaches usually begin suddenly and are characterized by severe
pounding pain on one side of the head. According to Nevid and Rathus (2005), the migraines
themselves are often accompanied by sensitivity to light, loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting,
sensory and motor disturbances such as loss of balance, and changes in mood. Migraines can
also be caused by stressors and behavioral responses. Also, they are more painful than muscle-
tension headaches.
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Headaches are treatable. There are several over-the counter medications that people can
take to relieve their headaches. There are also other prescription medicines for migraine
headaches. However, the most certain way to prevent headaches is knowing the way to avoid
them. Certain foods and circumstances cause migraines it is best to avoid some foods and other
things that that may cause them.
Psychologists attempt to understand headaches by learning their underlying causes. As
aforementioned, most headaches are caused by stress. Stress is a psychological response that
most likely can be prevented. Psychologists tend to study stress through research from various
case studies. Headaches caused by stress can be examined through a series of different tests and
interviews. Most patients who struggle with stress allow psychologists to interview them by
asking them a list of questions. These questions help psychologists uncover the main causes of
stress that resulted in a migraine or any other kind of headache the patient was struggling with.
Another important disease is coronary heart disease, also known as CHD, which is the
leading cause of death in the United States. Some of the causes of CHD include obesity,
smoking, high cholesterol, and hypertension. Some unhealthy lifestyle factors that may also
contribute to CHD are smoking, drinking, and overeating. Personality factors may also
contribute to CHD because Type A people who are aggressive or angry are more likely to suffer
from CHD than other mild-natured individuals. According to Nevid & Rathus (2005),
chronically hostile and angry people also have higher levels of blood cholesterol and blood
pressure, which are two major risk factors for CHD and early death. Lastly, a person’s family
history can also contribute to CHD because people with a family history of CHD more likely to
suffer heart attacks.
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However, people can reduce their chances of CHD by altering some lifestyle choices.
Eating healthy, exercising regularly, and avoiding smoking are three lifestyle adjustments that
can greatly reduce someone’s chances of getting CHD. Monitoring cholesterol and watching
hypertension by taking medication also reduces someone’s likelihood of getting CHD. Lastly,
subduing Type A personality traits can reduce chances of CHD because people can learn how to
manage their aggression and anger in healthy ways.
Psychologists attempt to understand CHD by studying people’s family backgrounds and
all of their lifestyle choices including their behavioral patterns and personality characteristics.
Psychologists try to teach people how to live a healthier life by teaching them how to change
some of the risk factors that are within their control. If certain high risk problems remain
uncontrolled, then it will be fatal for individuals. Psychologists are there to inform individuals of
the risks that are involved in living unhealthily and how to deal with the psychological effects of
some of those risks.
Ultimately, psychologists use the multi-factorial model to scrutinize how biological
factors, environmental factors, sociocultural factors, personality factors, behavioral responses,
and different stressors are associated with health. We can live a healthier life if we understand
the factors that impact our health.
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Reference
Nevid, J.S., & Rathus, S.A. (2005). Psychology and the challenges of life: Adjustment in the
new millennium (9th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.