Health Psychology—A Cultural Approach

With a conversational style that conveys the excitement, research base, and real-world applications of the field, Regan A. R. Gurung introduces students to health psychology with an integrated cultural perspective. Starting with a description of the biological, psychological, and sociological factors that determine who we are, the text examines cultural differences in major health behaviors and health, achieving the commendable goal of being comprehensive yet extremely accessible. Gurung focuses on key determinants of behavior, such as family, ethnicity, and religion, which are not always highlighted in health psychology books. Packed with the most up-to-date citations available, this book combines issues "ripped from the headlines" with the classic issues of the field. A range of vivid examples from different cultural groups provides students with a comprehensive description of the basic theories in health psychology as well as an overview of cutting-edge research in the field. Special sections highlighting clinical applications of basic theories, strong doses of personality and social psychological theories, and chapters exclusively devoted to variations in cultural beliefs, human development, and different diseases, combine to give readers the best of many worlds.