3,4 Therefore, the sociotype is a synthesis of the ideas of many scientists and health professionals from the disciplines of physiology, psychology, medicine, nursing, sociology, and anthropology. Major intellectual debts are acknowledged to the following thinkers and scientists
who were interested in understanding the human situation. Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical In alphabetical order they include: Adler,5 Bandura,6 Berkman,7 Bowlby,8 Erikson,9 Frankl,10 Freud,11 Fromm,12 Greenfield,13 Harlow et al.,14 Horney,15 Jung,16 Levi-Strauss,17 Lorenz,18 Marx,19 Maslow,20 Piaget,21 Rogers,22 Seligman,23 and Winnicott24. Even this list is not exhaustive but LY2157299 research buy indicates how long-standing were (and are) such attempts to formulate theories and coping that go beyond bio-medical factors. This approach may be summarized by the well-known saying of Sir William Osler (1849–1919): “It is more important to know what kind of patient has the disease Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical than what kind of disease
the patient has.” From this developed the bio-psycho-social model of disease of Engel, which gave a static definition of the origins of disease rather than health and was less concerned with life-history dynamics. Antonovsky pioneered the concept of healthiness or salutogenesis, and positioned a person on a continuum between health Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical and disease depending on the balance between risks and resources.3,25 He postulated the importance of a “sense of coherence” recognizing
three areas—personal, social, and ecological. Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical Following his scheme, in the sociotypic model these have been defined as the domains of individual health, relationships, and environment, respectively (Table 1). We define “successful” sociotypic development as a mature, healthy, independent individual functioning in, and contributing to, society according to his/her full potential. The sociotype is culture-dependent, and therefore there is no comprehensive definition of a “normal” sociotype. Table 1 The three domains of sociotypic inputs throughout the life trajectory. The following are examples of some Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical of the questions that the sociotype attempts to address in the three domains: Health: How to live with special needs? How to cope with living following a stroke, with inflammatory bowel disease, rheumatoid arthritis, or post-transplant? How do Holocaust survivors survive? isothipendyl Relationships: What determines how we choose our mates/partners? How to deal with divorce or bereavement? Environment: How to deal with bankruptcy, job dismissal, retirement? How to deal with wars and their aftermath? Some of the above overlap domains in their effects—consider the consequences of a serious road traffic accident. The answers are not given only by quantitative methodologies but require a combination of qualitative and quantitative methodologies (mixed methods).