Research now shows us that long-term activation of the stress cycle can have a hazardous, even lethal, effect on the body, increasing the risk of obesity, heart disease, depression, cancer, and other illnesses. This new edition of an award-winning book presents cutting-edge research on the effects of stress. Edited by one of the world’s authorities in stress management, occupational psychology, and occupational medicine, Handbook of Stress Medicine and Health, Second Edition offers a completely revised and updated look at the different types of stress, including their characteristics, symptoms, duration, and treatment approaches. The text proposes a generic theory on stress and health and explores the relationship of stress to a variety of health outcomes, including heart disease, cancer, mental health, burnout, and complications of the endocrine and immune systems. It addresses the link between stress and personality, and discusses the impact of social support on various health conditions. The final chapters deal with stress and its consequences, such as the emotional processing of traumatic events, dealing with stress in families and in chronic disease, and coping with stress in the workplace. With contributions from the foremost leaders in the field, this authoritative book evaluates a wide range of psychosocial factors that contribute to many of today’s major illnesses. It also proposes strategies for prevention and management, which will hopefully encourage future research into the reduction of stress.

This volume applies attachment theory and methods to extend our understanding and prediction of psychopathology. Studies of such populations as divorced mothers, chronically ill infants, Romanian adoptees, children of mothers with anxiety disorders, and boys with gender identity disorder reveal a variety of clinical implications and highlight issues for attachment theory. Chapters utilize research into a recently discovered form of attachment, the disorganized pattern, as well as new technologies for classifying attachment security beyond infancy. This book should be of interest to practioners, researchers, and students of clinical and developmental psychology, psychiatry, pediatrics, and social work, as well as other professionals concerned with human development.

Ego Development and Psychopathology presents an original theoretical underpinning for classification and interpretation of the major mental disorders, one based largely on the author's clinical experience. Ausubel's central thesis is that the most significant and crucial factors predisposing persons to mental disorders are critical developmental defects that arise at vital transitional phases of ego development. He sees both normal and pathological personality functioning as most cogently explained in terms of an individual's ego structure at a given point in the life cycle.