Taylor Shelley E. Health psychology

Tenth edition. — McGraw-Hill Education, 2018. — 465 p. — ISBN: 9781259870477.When I wrote the first edition of Health Psychology over 30 years ago, the task was much simpler than it is now. Health psychology was a new field and was relatively small. In recent decades, the field has grown steadily, and great research advances have been made. Chief among these developments has been the use and refinement of the biopsychosocial model: the study of health issues from the standpoint of biological, psychological, and social factors acting together. Increasingly, research has attempted to identify the biological pathways by which psychosocial factors such as stress may adversely affect health and potentially protective factors such as social support may buffer the impact of stress. My goal in the tenth edition of this text is to convey this increasing sophistication of the field in a manner that makes it accessible, comprehensible, and exciting to undergraduates. Like any science, health psychology is cumulative, building on past research advances to develop new ones. Accordingly, I have tried to present not only the fundamental contributions to the field but also the current research on these issues. Because health psychology is developing and changing so rapidly, it is essential that a text be up to date. Therefore, I have not only reviewed the recent research in health psychology but also obtained information about research projects that will not be available in the research literature for several years. In so doing, I am presenting a text that is both current and pointed toward the future. A second goal is to portray health psychology appropriately as being intimately involved with the problems of our times. The aging of the population and the shift in numbers toward the later years has created unprecedented health needs to which health psychology must respond. Such efforts include the need for health promotion with this aging cohort and an understanding of the psychosocial issues that arise in response to aging and its associated chronic disorders. Because AIDS is a leading cause of death worldwide, the need for health measures such as condom use is readily apparent if we are to halt the spread of this disease. Obesity is now one of the world’s leading health problems, nowhere more so than in the United States. Reversing this dire trend that threatens to shorten life expectancy worldwide is an important current goal of health psychology. Increasingly, health psychology is an international undertaking, with researchers from around the world providing insights into the problems that affect both developing and developed countries. The tenth edition includes current research that reflects the international focus of both health problems and the health research community. Health habits lie at the origin of our most prevalent disorders, and this fact underscores more than ever the importance of modifying problematic health behaviors such as smoking and alcohol consumption. Increasingly, research documents the importance of a healthy diet, regular exercise, and weight control among other positive health habits for maintaining good health. The at-risk role has taken on more importance in prevention, as breakthroughs in genetic research have made it possible to identify genetic risks for diseases long before disease is evident. How people cope with being at risk and what interventions are appropriate for them represent important tasks for health psychology research to address. Health psychology is both an applied field and a basic research field. Accordingly, in highlighting the accomplishments of the field, I present both the scientific progress and its important applications. Chief among these are efforts by clinical psychologists to intervene with people to treat biopsychosocial disorders, such as post-traumatic stress disorder; to help people manage health habits that have become life threatening, such as eating disorders; and to develop clinical interventions that help people better manage their chronic illnesses.
Finding the right methods and venues for modifying health continues to be a critical issue. The chapters on health promotion put particular emphasis on the most promising methods for changing health behaviors. The chapters on chronic diseases highlight how knowledge of the psychosocial causes and consequences of these disorders may be used to intervene with people at risk—first, to reduce the likelihood that such disorders will develop, and second, to deal effectively with the psychosocial issues that arise following diagnosis.
The success of any text depends ultimately on its ability to communicate the content clearly to student readers and spark interest in the field. In this tenth edition, I strive to make the material interesting and relevant to the lives of student readers. Many chapters highlight news stories related to health. In addition, the presentation of material has been tied to the needs and interests of young adults. For example, the topic of stress management is tied directly to how students might manage the stresses associated with college life. The topic of problem drinking includes sections on college students’ alcohol consumption and its modification. Health habits relevant to this age group—tanning, exercise, and condom use, among others—are highlighted for their relevance to the student population. By providing students with anecdotes, case histories, and specific research examples that are relevant to their own lives, they learn how important this body of knowledge is to their lives as young adults.
Health psychology is a science, and consequently, it is important to communicate not only the research itself but also some understanding of how studies were designed and why they were designed that way. The explanations of particular research methods and the theories that have guided research appear throughout the book. Important studies are described in depth so that students have a sense of the methods researchers use to make decisions about how to gather the best data on a problem or how to intervene most effectively.
Throughout the book, I have made an effort to balance general coverage of psychological concepts with coverage of specific health issues. One method of doing so is by presenting groups of chapters, with the initial chapter offering general concepts and subsequent chapters applying those concepts to specific health issues. Thus, Chapter 3 discusses general strategies of health promotion, and Chapters 4 and 5 discuss those issues with specific reference to particular health habits such as exercise, smoking, accident prevention, and weight control. Chapters 11 and 12 discuss broad issues that arise in the context of managing chronic health disorders and terminal illness. In Chapters 13 and 14, these issues are addressed concretely, with reference to specific disorders such as heart disease, cancer, and AIDS.
Rather than adopt a particular theoretical emphasis throughout the book, I have attempted to maintain a flexible orientation. Because health psychology is taught within all areas of psychology (for example, clinical, social, cognitive, physiological, learning, and developmental), material from each of these areas is included in the text so that it can be accommodated to the orientation of each instructor. Consequently, not all material in the book is relevant for all courses. Successive chapters of the book build on each other but do not depend on each other. Chapter 2, for example, can be used as assigned reading, or it can act as a resource for students wishing to clarify their understanding of biological concepts or learn more about a particular biological system or illness. Thus, each instructor can accommodate the use of the text to his or her needs, giving some chapters more attention than others and omitting some chapters altogether, without undermining the integrity of the presentation.