Sociocultural predisposing risk factors include age,
gender, education, income, occupation, social position,
cultural background, religious upbringing and beliefs,
political affiliation, socialization experiences, and level
of social integration or relatedness.
Precipitating Stressors
Precipitating stressors are stimuli that are challenging,
threatening, or demanding to the individual. They require
excess energy and produce a state of tension and stress. They
may be biological, psychological, or sociocultural in nature.
They may originate either in the person’s internal environment
or in the person’s external environment. It also is
important to assess the timing of the stressor, which includes
when the stressor occurred, how long the person was exposed
to the stressor, and the frequency with which it occurred.
A final factor is the number of stressors an individual experiences
within a certain period because stressful events may be
more difficult to deal with when many of them occur close
together.
Stressful Life Events. The relationship of stressful life
events to the cause, onset, course, and outcomes of psychiatric
illnesses has been the focus of much research. Focus has