A BIOPSYCHOSOCIAL APPROACH TO ETIOLOGY AND PATHOGENESIS

The interactive etiological and pathogenic processes between physical and psychosocial environ-mental stimuli, the individual's appraisal of these influences, and his or her reactions to them in terms of emotio n, cognition, behaviour, and physiology; the modification of these rea ctions through coping, social support, and other interacting variables ; and the resulting changes in health and well-being - are extremely c omplex and poorly understood. Against this background, this paper argu es for a biopsychosocial approach, based on an ecological model influe nced by, and influencing, James P. Henry's related approaches. This ap proach is exemplified in six studies carried out by our group and brie fly reviewed in this paper.