STUDIES IN HUMAN ECOLOGY
Factors Relevant to the Occurrence of Bodily Illness and Disturbances in Mood, Thought and Behavior in Three Homogeneous Population Groups
LAWRENCE E. HINKLE JR. M. D.,
NORMAN PLUMMER M. D.,
RHODA METRAUX PH. D.,
PETER RICHTER M. D.,
JOHN W. GITTINGER M. A.,
WILLIAM N. THETFORD PH. D.,
ADRIAN M. OSTFELD M. D.,
FRANCIS D. KANE M. D.,
LEO GOLDBERGER M. A.,
WILLIAM E. MITCHELL M. A.,
HOPE LEICHTER M. A.,
RUTH PINSKY M. A.,
DAVID GOEBEL M. D.,
IRWIN D. J. BROSS PH. D., , and
HAROLD G. WOLFF M. D.1
1 The Study Program in Human Health and the Ecology of Man of the Departments of Medicine and Psychiatry, New York Hospital—Cornell Medical Center, New York, N. Y.
Our inferences from our studies are these: man's relation to his social environment as perceived by him has a profound effect upon his general health. It influences the development and progression of all forms of illness, regardless of their nature, and regardless of the influence of other etiological factors. Its effect often far outweighs the influence of changes in the physical environment and the effects of random exposure to pathogenic or noxious agents. As a group, those who are experiencing difficulty in adapting to their social environment have a disproportionate amount of all of the illness which occurs among the adult population.
