Psychology and Health Problems - Essay Example

This often leads to a self-fulfilling prophecy because the family members would assume that there is nothing they can do about the disease and allow it to happen. On the other hand, the Multifactorial model shows a different way at examining how a disease develops. According to the Multifactorial model, the following factors must be taken into account when analyzing how a disease develops: biological, psychological, environmental, and socio-cultural and stressors. Likewise, the model asserts that no single factor is responsible for the development of a disease according to Hoover.

In most diseases, biological factors such as heredity, age and gender can increase the probability of contracting heart diseases. There are certain groups of people prone to heart disease but this doesn’t mean that individuals in this group cannot avert the situation. The model presents other possible elements such as diet, stressors, or even access to health care that can prevent or increase the likelihood of the disease. The aforementioned elements may belong to any of the other factors which are not biological at all.

Using the Multifactorial Model, a person that has a family history of diabetes can prevent developing the disease by making modifications in one’s lifestyle. The person can become health conscious being aware of such fact and resort to exercise and limited dietary intake. Thus, the person does not develop the disease as compared to his parents or grandparents. Biological factors include family history, age, gender, pain and discomfort, congenital disabilities definitely influence the likelihood of a disease but that does not equate to hopelessness since prevention is still possible using other factors.

Socio-cultural is another important factor that can worsen or prevent the development of a disease. If a person has quality access to health care, works in a company that promotes health and belongs to an average sized family, then it can said that sociocultutal factors can help the person develop diseases. Even religious beliefs related to health such as not smoking and no drinking can be very helpful. Even if heart diseases are common in the family, the person can probably live longer. The Multifactorial model also considers psychological factors such as anxiety, depression, personality traits, self-efficacy, optimism or pessimism, attributional style, behavior, and other intrinsic factors within the individual.

Lately, the field of medicine has accepted the fact as proven by various studies that psychological factors like stress definitely worsen biological factors. Even people with no history of heart disease within the family can possibly die from a heart attack if the person is constantly subjected to stress, had a sedentary lifestyle and possess a Type A personality. Even simple conditions such as ulcers and constipation can be caused by stress. Environmental factors such as pollution, natural disasters, radiation, global warming, ozone depletion, water quality and many more adversely affect a person’s health.

Even healthy individuals with jobs exposed to harsh environmental conditions can develop illnesses such as respiratory disease complications especially if they don’t have good access to healthcare. Primarily, this is the reason why government Agencies set occupational health standards and safety practices so workers would not get sick. In conclusion, the Multifactorial Model is a new health model that shows how illnesses can develop