Health Psychology

Now in. its second edition, this book's biopsychosocial health psychology approach is contrasted and compared to traditional biomedical views of health and disease. Rather than simply offering research findings, concepts are integrated throughout the text, allowing students to learn specific content while they evaluate research and theory.

This book explains the timeless wisdom uncovered by psychology and other social sciences about the meaning of health, illness, and optimal health care. It provides a conceptual integration of the most important relevant research of the whole 20th century, as well as discussing the most important recent findings—but is not a complicated research compendium. Throughout, the biopsychosocial health psychology model is explicitly contrasted and compared to the traditional biomedical model.

The Theory and Methods of the Field of Health Psychology. The Psychophysiological Basis of Health and Illness. The Social and Cultural Basis of Health and Illness. Belief, Pain, and Healing. Stress and Illness. Personality and Disease. Quality of Life and the Self-Healing Personality. Adaptation to Chronic Illness. Dying, Death and Grief. Tobacco, Alcohol, and Illegal Drug Abuse. Nutrition, Exercise, and Prophylaxis. Patient Cooperation (Adherence). Communication between Patients and Practitioners. Health Care Professionals and Hospitals. Socio-Medical Ethics, Utilization, and Goals for the Future of Health Psychology.

For anyone involved in health care.

Booknews

A general and comprehensive introduction. Topics include: social and cultural considerations, psychological contributors to and treatments of illness, institutions, future outlook. Seventy-three pages of references. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Howard S. Friedman is Distinguished Professor of Psychology at the University of California, Riverside. He is an elected Fellow of the Division of Health Psychology of the American Psychological Association, from whom he was awarded the career honor for Outstanding Contributions to Health Psychology. He is also an elected Fellow of the Society of Behavioral Medicine, the AAAS, the Society of Personality and Social Psychology, and the American Psychological Society. An honors graduate of Yale University, Friedman received his Ph.D. from Harvard University.

In 1995, Professor Friedman was awarded UCR's Distinguished Teaching Award, and in 2000, he received the Outstanding Teacher Award from the Western Psychological Association (WPA). Best known for his research on personality and health, Friedman has also published work on education and training in health psychology, life-span health and longevity (using the seven-decade archival Terman data), doctor-patient communication (especially nonverbal communication), social support, and health promotion interventions. His research has been supported by the National Institutes of Health, the American Cancer Society, and the American Heart Association.

Some other books authored or edited by Howard Friedman are:

– The Self-Healing Personality (Henry Holt, 1991; republished 2000 at www.iuniverse.com) (also reprinted in French and German).
– Personality: Classic Theories and Modern Research (Boston: Allyn & Bacon, 1999, 2003).
– Readings in Personality: Classic Theories and Modern Research (Boston: Allyn & Bacon, 2001).
– The Encyclopedia of Mental Health (editor-in-chief) (San Diego: Academic Press, 1998) (3 volumes).
– Hostility, Coping, and Health (American Psychological Association, 1992).
– Personality and Disease (New York: John Wiley, 1990) (also available in Japanese edition, 1997).
– Interpersonal Issues in Health Care (San Diego: Academic Press, 1982).