Assessment In Behavioral Medicine

How can the influence of behavioral factors on health and well-being be measured? Research over the past two decades has shown that psychological factors and lifestyle have been found to be relevant to the onset and course of disease. In addition, these factors codetermine how patients and those in their social environment cope with illness and what their quality of life is. Assessment in Behavioral Medicine gives the reader a greater understanding of the influence of behavioral factors on somatic health. There is a continuing need for research to better our understanding of the processes that play a crucial role in the influence of psychosocial factors on health. However, the proliferation of tools for assessing psychosocial and psychobiological factors makes it difficult to make an optimal choice of measurement. This volume aims to advance the state of measurement in the multidisciplinary fields of behavioral medicine and health psychology by bringing together state-of-the-art theory and research on assessment issues in this area. It provides the reader with an insight into the different kinds of measures that are available, along with practical guidelines for choosing the appropriate tools and designs to meet specific research questions. Assessment in Behavioral Medicine is a unique resource for students, researchers, clinicians and teachers who are involved in education, research or clinical work in which measuring behavioral and psychosocial factors is a crucial activity.

How can the influence of behavioral factors on health and well-being be measured? Research over the past two decades has shown that psychological factors and lifestyle have been found to be relevant to the onset and course of disease. In addition, these factors codetermine how patients and those in their social environment cope with illness and what their quality of life is. Assessment in Behavioral Medicine gives the reader a greater understanding of the influence of behavioral factors on somatic health. There is a continuing need for research to better our understanding of the processes that play a crucial role in the influence of psychosocial factors on health. However, the proliferation of tools for assessing psychosocial and psychobiological factors makes it difficult to make an optimal choice of measurement. This volume aims to advance the state of measurement in the multidisciplinary fields of behavioral medicine and health psychology by bringing together state-of-the-art theory and research on assessment issues in this area. It provides the reader with an insight into the different kinds of measures that are available, along with practical guidelines for choosing the appropriate tools and designs to meet specific research questions. Assessment in Behavioral Medicine is a unique resource for students, researchers, clinicians and teachers who are involved in education, research or clinical work in which measuring behavioral and psychosocial factors is a crucial activity.

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.