Synopses & Reviews
Using a conversational style that conveys the excitement, research base, and real-world applications of the field, Regan A. R. Gurung introduces health psychology with an integrated cultural perspective. Gurung focuses on key determinants of behavior--such as family, ethnicity, and religion--which are not always highlighted in health psychology books. The text is packed with the most up-to-date citations available, presenting topics taken straight from headline news as well as classic issues in the field. A range of vivid examples from different cultural groups provides you with a comprehensive description of basic theories and an overview of cutting-edge research in health psychology. Special sections that highlight clinical applications, coverage of personality and social psychological theories, and chapters devoted to variations in cultural beliefs, human development, and different diseases combine to give you the best of many worlds.
About the Author
Regan A. R. Gurung is the chair of the psychology department at the University of Wisconsin at Green Bay. His research interests include stress and coping, changing health behaviors, and the media and health. He currently teaches courses in health psychology and culture, development, and health and has published widely in journals such as Psychological Review. Gurung has won several teaching awards, most recently the University of Wisconsin Green Bay's 2004 Founders Association Award for Excellence.
Table of Contents
1. Health Psychology: Setting the Stage. 2. Cultural Approaches to Health. 3. Essential Physiology. 4. Stress across Cultures. 5. Coping and Social Support. 6. Models of Behavior Change. 7. Health Behaviors: Eating, Physical Activity, Smoking, and Drinking. 8. Factors Surrounding Illness. 9. Pain. 10. Chronic Illness, Terminal Illness, and Death. 11. Psychoneuroimmunology and HIV. 12. Culture and Cancer. 13. Culture and Cardiovascular Disease. 14. The Future of Health Psychology.