Volume Preface
xiWhen we were “rst asked to serve as editors of the health
psychology volume for this Handbook,we were very excited
to be part of a larger set of editors whose landmark, but
daunting, task was to corral an impressive list of leading psy-
chologists to chronicle all of psychology. Having the oppor-
tunity to invite internationally known psychologists to author
speci“c chapters that would be both comprehensive and prac-
tical in one volume offered a tremendous and exciting chal-
lenge. We were also very pleased to have the opportunity to
put together a comprehensive text on health psychology that
could be useful to graduate psychology students interested in
health psychology, health psychology researchers interested
in having up-to-date information, clinical health psycholo-
gists working with medical patients, andnonpsychology pro-
fessionals (e.g., physicians, nurses) who wish to learn more
about psychology•s contributions to health and health service
delivery.
It was these four audiences that we had in mind when we
developed the structure for this volume on health psychology.
We cover both conceptual and professional issues (Parts One
and Two, Overview and Causal and Mediating Psychosocial
Factors, respectively), as well as a plethora of disease-
speci“c chapters (Part Three, Diseases and Disorders). This
latter section focuses on 14 major disease entities or medical
problems and provides information concerning prevalence,
psychosocial causal factors, and treatment approaches.
Because we view all phenomena as taking place within
varying contexts, we also believe that health and health care
need to be viewed within the context of varying developmen-
tal stages, hence the inclusion of Part Four on Health
Psychology across the Life Span. Last, because we believed
there were additional contextual issues, such as gender
(Chapter 22 on women•s health issues) and cultural/ethnic
background (Chapter 23 on cultural diversity issues in
health), as well as emerging related issues in the “eld (Chap-
ter 24 on occupational health psychology and Chapter 25 on
complementary and alternative therapies), we added Part
Five titled Special Topics.
Although we provided wide latitude to the various authors
in terms of chapter structure and content, we insisted on com-
prehensive and timely coverage for each topic. We believe
each set of authors did a magni“cent job. We wish to thank
them for their outstanding contributions. We also wish to
thank Irv Weiner, Editor-in-Chief of the Handbook,for his in-
defatigable support, feedback, and advice concerning this
volume. Much appreciation also should be extended to the
editorial staff at Wiley, Jennifer Simon and Isabel Pratt, for
their support and advice. Finally, we need to underscore the
huge assistance that Marni Zwick, soon to be a clinical health
psychologist in her own right, gave to this project. Without
her, this book would not have come to fruition.ARTHURM. NEZU
CHRISTINEMAGUTHNEZU
PAMELAA. GELLER