Synopses & Reviews
With a conversational style that conveys the excitement, research base, and real-world applications of the field, Regan A. R. Gurung introduces students to health psychology with an integrated cultural perspective. Starting with a description of the biological, psychological, and sociological factors that determine who we are, the text examines cultural differences in major health behaviors and health, achieving the commendable goal of being comprehensive yet extremely accessible. Gurung focuses on key determinants of behavior, such as family, ethnicity, and religion, which are not always highlighted in health psychology books. Packed with the most up-to-date citations available, this book combines issues "ripped from the headlines" with the classic issues of the field. A range of vivid examples from different cultural groups provides students with a comprehensive description of the basic theories in health psychology as well as an overview of cutting-edge research in the field. Special sections highlighting clinical applications of basic theories, strong doses of personality and social psychological theories, and chapters exclusively devoted to variations in cultural beliefs, human development, and different diseases, combine to give readers the best of many worlds.
Synopsis
With a conversational style that conveys the excitement, research base, and real-world applications of the field, Regan A. R. Gurung introduces readers to health psychology with an integrated cultural perspective. Starting with a description of the biological, psychological, and sociological factors that determine who we are, the book examines cultural differences in major health behaviors and health, achieving the commendable goal of being comprehensive yet extremely accessible.
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
Preface. 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.