This book analyzes the challenges, benefits, coping strategies, problems, and accomplishments associated with the midlife experience of women. Ten chapters present the state of research (and correct longstanding myths) regarding significant aspects of middle-aged women's lives. The book bridges a major knowledge gap in the feminist-psychology literature. It balances optimism and realism about older women’s lives – and younger women’s futures.

Significant scientific advances have been made in understanding psychological aspects of women's health, and knowledge gained will be of relevance not only to women's health but to the promotion of health and illness prevention and treatment for all individuals. The current cutting-edge research detailed in this volume is intended to stimulate new thinking and research in women's health from biopsychosocial perspectives. Drawing on research from internationally respected experts, topics covered include ageing, stress, heart disease, cancer, drugs, weight regulation and body image, pain, menstruation, sexuality and infertility, and AIDS.

Women's Health Psychology is the first comprehensive collection ever published to consider the developmental, reproductive, and sociocultural contexts of health decision-making and behavior for women. It provides current, expert advice to help policy makers, researchers, and clinicians make the best decisions concerning topics including: The Context of Women's Health: history of women's healthcare, employment and women's health, and the effects of intimate partner violence Health Challenges: smoking, alcohol, eating disorders, and sleep Reproductive Health: premenstrual dysphoric disorder, the stress of infertility, psychiatric symptoms and pregnancy, and menopause Disability and Chronic Conditions: women's responses to disability, experiencing cancer, the psychology of Irritable Bowel Syndrome, and rheumatic, heart, and Alzheimer's diseases

"The Handbook of Girls' and Women's Psychological Health presents a contemporary view of psychological health for girls and women that integrates psychology, physiology, society, and culture. A range of 50 chapters integrates current research, scholarship, and practice on the risks and protective factors that influence women's health and well-being across the life span. Within and biopsychosocial framework, the Handbook explores mind and body, risks and resilience, research and interventions, cultural diversity, and public policy." "This Handbook underscores the importance of gender in the lives of girls and women developmentally across significant phases of the life span. Considering the importance of cultural context, this book illustrates how gender socialization in female development and behavior affects self-evaluation, identity processes, and the social roles that girls and women adopt. Its chapters illustrate how externally induced risks such as poverty, discrimination, and violence present challenges to healthy development. Significantly, the chapters also draw attention to long overlooked and compelling strengths and capacities that provide a firm basis for growth and health."--BOOK JACKET.

In the decade since the first edition of this work was published, an incredible array of reproductive technologies and associated issues has emerged. Obstetricians and gynecologists are hard-pressed to deal with the startling breadth and depth of these issues, which require mastery over a daunting combination of ever-increasing scientific knowledge, technical skills, long hours, legal liability, and exposure to clinical situations of overwhelming emotional intensity. Psychiatrists have a vital role to play in helping obstetricians and gynecologists cope with a host of problems whose resolutions require not just technical skill, but also knowledge of biology, psychology, sociology, anthropology, ethics, and law. For example, to design and implement strategies to reduce the transmission of HIV, psychiatrists could work with public health workers to incorporate the psychology, sociology, and anthropology of female reproductive behavior. Psychiatrists could likewise improve the diagnosis and treatment of breast and pelvic malignancies by elucidating the factors that deter women from self-examination and regular medical screening and enhance treatment compliance. Divided into three sections, this clinical and theoretical sourcebook addresses every major area of contemporary concern. Pregnancy covers topics from the psychology of normal gestation to physical and psychiatric complications during and after pregnancy, including new prenatal diagnostic techniques and the dynamic issues that emerge when abnormalities are detected, and the use of psychotropic drugs and electroconvulsive therapy in pregnant and lactating patients. Gynecology discusses not only common gynecologic problems but also more controversial issues such as induced abortion and the new reproductive technologies, including the role of the menstrual cycle in exacerbating and precipitating psychologic symptoms, the psychiatric aspects of menopause, the assessment and management of chronic pelvic pain, the psychosocial concomitants of gynecologic malignancies and the emotional demands on the oncology team, and the special implications of HIV/AIDS. General Issues offers a broad, balanced view of topics rarely found in the literature, such as men's reactions to women's reproductive events, substance abuse and eating disorders, sexual and physical abuse (often part of the histories of patients with personality disorders and posttraumatic stress disorders), ethical and legal issues, and health care for lesbian patients. Of special significance is Dr. Stotland's chapter on how consultation-liaison services are provided to obstetrics and gynecology services. This practical and scholarly volume is exceptionally useful as a teaching reference for medical and other health care students and residents in psychiatry and obstetrics and gynecology. It also provides a valuable resource for the clinician working to improve the psychological well-being of women patients.

This volume reviews and integrates the growing body of contemporary psychological research on the links between religious faith and health outcomes. It presents up-to-date findings from empirical studies of populations ranging from healthy individuals to those with specific clinical problems, including cancer, HIV/AIDS, and psychological disorders. Drawing on multiple perspectives in psychology, the book examines such critical questions as the impact of religious practices on health behaviors and health risks; the role played by faith in adaptation to illness or disability; and possible influences on physiological functioning and mortality. Chapters reflect the close collaboration of the editors and contributing authors, who discuss commonalities and differences in their work, debate key methodological concerns, and outline a cohesive agenda for future research.

The Psychology of Gender and Health: Conceptual and Applied Global Concerns examines the psychological aspects of the intersection between gender and health and the ways in which they relate to the health of individuals and populations. It demonstrates how gender should be strategically considered in the most routine research tasks—from establishing priorities, constructing theory, designing methodologies, in data interpretation, and how to practically apply this information in clinical contexts. The topics covered in its chapters answer the needs of professionals, students, and faculty, providing an up-to-date conceptual tool that covers the relationships that exist between gender and health. The book will not only help users build expertise in psychology in gender and health, but also contribute to the awareness and training of psychologists as dynamic actors in the implementation of the gender perspective in their studies, reflections, research, and health interventions. Offers specific literature on the gender perspective in health and psychology Addresses a broad and diverse audience, and its coverage is uniquely comprehensive Utilizes an intersectional approach to race, class, sexual orientation, nationality, disability status, and age Updates on the pressing concerns of gender violence Covers specific content on transgender and same-sex attracted populations that includes a focus on men and masculinity Deals with hot topics on infertility, immigration, and HIV/AIDS