Handbook of Behavioral Medicine - by Andrew Steptoe (Hardcover)

About the Book

This handbook provides an up-to-date survey of methods and applications across the broad range of behavioral medicine research and practice. It is based on cutting-edge methodologies and applications that are relevant across different medical conditions.

Book Synopsis

Behavioral medicine emerged in the 1970s as the interdisciplinary field concerned with the integration of behavioral, psychosocial, and biomedical science knowledge relevant to the understanding of health and illness, and the application of this knowledge to prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation. Recent years have witnessed an enormous diversification of behavioral medicine, with new sciences (such as genetics, life course epidemiology) and new technologies (such as neuroimaging) coming into play. This book brings together such new developments by providing an up-to-date compendium of methods and applications drawn from the broad range of behavioral medicine research and practice. The book is divided into 10 sections that address key fields in behavioral medicine. Each section begins with one or two methodological or conceptual chapters, followed by contributions that address substantive topics within that field. Major health problems such as cardiovascular disease, cancer, HIV/AIDs, and obesity are explored from multiple perspectives. The aim is to present behavioral medicine as an integrative discipline, involving diverse methodologies and paradigms that converge on health and well being.

From the Back Cover

Handbook of Behavioral Medicine Methods and Applications Andrew Steptoe, Editor

From assessment technologies to clinical trials, and from the biobehavioral to the psychosocial, behavioral medicine continues to diversify. This sophisticated understanding of health and illness, and its real-world applications, is taking on an increasingly global significance resulting in great advances on the diagnostic, prevention, and intervention fronts. At the same time, new public health concerns (e.g., obesity, stress) are driving the field in promising new directions. The Handbook of Behavioral Medicine surveys established and emerging investigative areas, plus their clinical and research applications, across the range of the discipline. Written by esteemed fellows of the Academy of Behavioral Medicine Research, this comprehensive resource is designed for long-term practicality, reflecting the current evolution toward integrative, multidisciplinary medicine. Focusing on methodologies and applications across medical conditions rather than discrete symptoms and syndromes, the Handbook offers authoritative, innovative coverage in these core areas:

Genetic processes.

Behavioral processes and measures.

Psychological processes and measures.

Social and interpersonal processes.

Biological measures and biomarkers.

Behavioral and psychosocial interventions.

Plus epidemiological perspectives, life course approaches, cutting-edge statistical methods, and the latest advances in neuroscience and neuroimaging.

This wide-ranging scope will benefit a broad cross-section of professional readers, including behavioral medicine researchers in health psychology, psychiatry, clinical medicine, nursing, human physiology and immunology, epidemiology, and public health; and practitioners in behavioral medicine and health education. In addition, the Handbook of Behavioral Medicine is essential reading for graduate and doctoral students in behavioral medicine and health psychology.

Review Quotes

From the reviews:

"This book is squarely targeted at anyone involved in the delivery of behavioral medicine services, which includes both experienced practitioners and students of related disciplines. ... The editors and contributing authors have admirably assembled a definitive reference in behavioral medicine that is far more comprehensive than anything on the market today. It would be difficult to justify one's existence as a behavioral medicine specialist without this in one's professional library." (Christopher J. Graver, Doody's Review Service, March, 2012)

About the Author

Andrew Steptoe is professor of psychology in the Department of Epidemiology and Public Health at University College London. He has worked in behavioral medicine throughout his professional life and is a Past-President of both the International Society of Behavioral Medicine and the Society for Psychosomatic Research. He is a member of Academy of Behavioral Medicine Research and Fellow of the Society of Behavioral Medicine. He was founding co-editor of the British Journal of Health Psychology. He is author and editor of 16 books including Health Care and Human Behaviour (1984), Stress, Personal Control and Health (1989), Psychosocial Processes and Health (1994) and Depression and Physical Illness (2006). He has published more than 400 journal articles and book chapters.