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Psychosocial Variables

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Encyclopedia of Behavioral Medicine

Synonyms

Health behavior variables; Psychological variables

Definition

Variables encompassing psychological and social factors.

Description

The term “psychosocial” has a broad meaning when considering health research and social epidemiology. It is formed from two words: psychological and social. Psychological factors can be positive, such as happiness, affect, and vitality, or negative, such as anxiety, perceived stress, and depressive symptoms. These can also be split to distinguish between trait and state aspects. Personality traits, depressive factors, well-being, quality of life, and the impact of significant life events and trauma are less likely to fluctuate on a day to day basis (i.e., more trait-like or stable variables), whereas anxiety, perceived stress, mood, affect, happiness, and vitality are more unstable (i.e., more state-like). Furthermore, cognitive, behavioral, and affective facets within psychosocial factors can be identified. For example, someone may think about...

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References and Readings

  • Barefoot, J. C., Helms, M. J., Mark, D. B., Blumenthal, J. A., Califf, R. M., Haney, T. L., O'Connor, C. M., Siegler, I. C., Williams, R. B. (1996). Depression and long term mortality risk in patients with coronary heart disease. American Journal of Cardiology 78, 613–617.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

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

    Dr. Joanna Long & Jennifer Cumming

Authors
  1. Dr. Joanna Long
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  2. Jennifer Cumming
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Joanna Long .

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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© 2013 Springer Science+Business Media, New York

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Long, J., Cumming, J. (2013). Psychosocial Variables. 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_486

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-1005-9_486

  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4419-1004-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4419-1005-9

  • eBook Packages: MedicineReference Module Medicine

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