The combined influence of psychosocial factors on illness behavior among women

Distinctions in illness behavior for women, such as use of health services, may result from gender-specific biological risks for disease but could also be explained by the relationships among social, psychological, and behavioral factors. The purpose of this study was to determine if illness behavior in women might be related to associations among social support satisfaction, perceived health status, coping skills, and perceived stress. Data were collected November-December 2005 from 205 female college students through self-report using questionnaires. Structural equation modeling was used to test relationships among psychosocial factors. The final model revealed associations between psychosocial factors and illness behavior for women along two paths. First, high perceived stress and poor perceived health status were associated with more reported illness behavior. Second, greater use of total coping skills, greater social support satisfaction, and good perceived health status were associated with less reported illness behavior. Consideration of multiple health-related factors may provide a more complete picture of how psychosocial factors are related to illness behavior for women. Specifically, interactions among stress, coping, social support, and perceived health status may be important to women's health. Our results suggest that interventions should focus on skill-building and strategies to improve self-perception of health.