THE RELATION BETWEEN PHYSICAL, PSYCHOLOGICAL, AND SOCIAL MORBIDITY IN A SUBURBAN COMMUNITY1

Abstract

Questionnaire scales of physical, psychological, and social morbidity were utilized to discover the relation between these indices in a representative Australian suburban sample of 863 adults aged 20–69 years. The physical and psychological morbidity of the sample was considerable and comparable to that revealed by other health surveys. There was a positive association between the occurrence of physical and psychological illness. The level of social isolation was low and in this residentially stable sample there was no association between social isolation and either physical or psychological morbidity.