Health Psychology

Health Psychology guides the reader through core issues in health psychology research and practice. Each chapter builds on previous ones so that the text provides an overview of the field rather than presenting a compendium of topics. The book discusses mechanisms, models and methods and examines how biological, cognitive, affective and social processes impact on health and illness. It also explores how stress and coping mechanisms affect health behaviours and the psychological determinants of health behaviour. Two chapters focus on how psychological research can be applied to change health-related attitudes and behaviours. Communication between the patient and practitioner is examined as is the role of the health psychologist.

The integrated and interactive approach, combined with the comprehensive coverage, make this book the ideal companion for courses in health psychology.