About the Book
This volume provides a much-needed integration of major issues and research in the field of stress and coping. Focusing on transactions between mind and body and between persons and environments, the book examines how physiological, psychological, social, and cultural factors come together to influence both what people perceive as stressful and how they cope with it. Basic conceptual and methodological issues are reviewed in depth, and the strengths and weaknesses of various research models and measurement techniques are detailed. Topics covered include the psychophysiology of stress; the relationship between coping and health; coping with trauma; the development of coping strategies through the lifespan; cultural ramifications of coping; and the adaptive effects of stress. The paperback edition features a new preface by the author that reflects on current trends and outlines important recent developments in the field.
About the Author :
Carolyn M. Aldwin, PhD, is an Associate Professor in Human Development and Family Studies at the University of California, Davis. A consulting editor for the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, she also serves as a reviewer for a number of health psychology, behavioral medicine, and gerontology journals.
Review :
"Aldwin's integration of many disciplines should be of great value for graduate classes and will be useful as well to researchers in realted areas who need a state-of-the-art overview of the field." --Lynne A. Sturm "Carolyn Aldwin has taken on a challenging task with great success in Stress, Coping, and Development: A Lifespan Perspective. This is an exceptionally fine book that makes sense of the multidisciplinary literature on stress and adaptation across the life course and charts promising lines of inquiry for the coming years. Few health issues have captured more attention in scientific study than problems of stress and adaptation. With impressive scope and mastery, Aldwin advances our understanding of this surging field by identifying the exciting frontiers that extend across disciplines and by reporting what we know and should know. I warmly applaud her insistence that stress and coping are lifelong problems that call for multidisciplinary inquiry." --Glen H. Elder, Jr., PhD, Howard W. Odum Distinguished Professor of Sociology and Research Professor of Psychology
"This book presents an elegant synthesis of contemporary research and thinking about the role of stress and coping in human development. It offers us a provocative theory of adaptation that should generate a great deal of debate and stimulate interdisciplinary research that cuts across the human lifespan. I recommend it very highly to any reader who marvels at the resilience of the human spirit." --Emmy E. Werner, PhD, Professor of Human Development, University of California at Davis
"The right book at the right time. The field has needed a book that pulls together the major theoretical and empirical research in the field. Carolyn Aldwin has done this for us, and done it well. This book has breadth, depth, and balance, and it provides an excellent account of contemporary coping theory and research. The discussion of sociocultural, developmental, and transformational aspects of coping is especially rich and points to exciting new areas for coping theorists and researchers to explore. This is an important book for students as well as experienced researchers, and it can be used by people in diverse behavioral, social, and health science disciplines." --Susan Folkman, Ph.D., Professor of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, California
"Stress, Coping, and Development is a clearly written, inclusive, and integrative presentation of theory and research. It offers students an opportunity to examine the richness and depth of what is known and what is important about stress and coping. The book is a breath of fresh air in an area in which an important topic is typically presented in a superficial manner." --Professor Franklin Goodkin, PhD, Department of Psychology, Castleton State College, Castleton, Vermont
"This text will be an important addition to advanced human behavior courses. Helping us conceptualize life challenges and transitions from a biopsychosocial and spiritual perspective, the book also enhances our understanding of the psychophysiology of stress. Emphasis is placed upon much of the newer knowledge that social workers need to incorporate into their practice." --Rosemary Farmer, PhD, LCSW, School of Social Work, Virginia Commonwealth University
"A thoughtful, wide-ranging book that Richard Lazarus in his introduction says, 'fills a major need for a thorough review, analysis, and integration of the modern field of coping theory and Research." --"Advances: The Journal of Mind-Body Health"
"This is an extremely timely effort, particularly considering the paradigm shift Aldwin describes from interactionism to transactionism. She has successfully integrated key works in the stress and coping field with developmental perspectives, using this paradigm as a backdrop. The result is an exciting new theoretical model of adaptation, with implications for a range of disciplines." --"Doody's Annual"
"Stress and coping is a much researched, though surprisingly ill-researched area of study. Since 1978 there have been more than 10,000 articles written on stress and coping, and Aldwin's book masterfully ties it all together....For the practitioner, Aldwin's focus on complexity is a welcome change that mirrors what we see when dealing with real people and situations.... Another key idea Aldwin brings out is the value of seeing the person as part of a social and economic system and a subculture within that system." --"Clinical Sociology Review"
"A major reference on the current state of the art in stress and coping research...A seminal contribution that will help define the state of the art in years to come. This book is highly recommended for all who are interested in stress, coping, adaptation, and the possibility of transformation." --"Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease"
