Social psychology of the immune system: a conceptual framework and review of the literature.

The literature on psychosocial factors affecting the immune system is reviewed. The literature is summarized in terms of a provisional model accounting for immunosuppression in terms of four mutually influential explanatory constructs (dysphoric responses; immunosuppressive behaviors; adverse life experiences; and vulnerability) and the relationships among the diverse manifestations of the constructs. The literature and the summary provisional model point to directions for future research that should establish the intervening role of immunosuppression in the relationships between psychosocial factors and the disease process.