Reviews of studies of four groups (business executives, lawyers, Army officers, and working women) which demonstrate the health-damaging effects of alienation in certain life situations show that, when under stress, members of these groups who feel alienated fall ill, medically and/or psychiatrically. Three models are described which may explain these findings of stress, personality, and illness. The first model correlates alienation with ineffective cognitive appraisal and coping in the face of stress. The second model links alienation to activities which are detrimental to health and which eventually cause the physiological and biological changes associated with illness. The third model associates alienation with the personal choice of illness. Psychologists must convince alienated people of the importance of their decision for or against health before counseling them in positive coping techniques and health related behaviors. (Author/NRB)