Handbook of Stressful Transitions Across the Lifespan

The modern life cycle is characterized by stressful transitions, when unexpected events—and even many expected ones—challenge people’s functioning, health, and sense of self-worth. The international, multidisciplinary perspectives provided in the Handbook of Stressful Transitions Across the Lifespan cover these periods as they occur through youth, adulthood, and aging, bringing together theoretical and clinical findings, case studies, and literature reviews in one authoritative volume. A diverse panel of clinicians, researchers, and educators focuses on the psychological, biological, cultural and spiritual factors surrounding not only trauma and loss but also coping and growth, risk and mitigating factors, and promising interventions. Whether topics are just beginning to receive in-depth attention (the first job; becoming adoptive parents), ongoing issues requiring new insights (veterans’ adjustment to civilian life; chronic illness), or emerging concepts (trauma growth; animal-assisted therapy), coverage is well-written, engaging, and eminently useful. A sampling of the topics featured in the Handbook:The developmental neurobiology of stress.The long-term effects of divorce on children.Self-regulation across life transitions.Money in (E)motion: stressful financial transitions.The influence of food on adapting to life stressors.The transition to retirement as a stressful event.With its comprehensive scope and wealth of data, the Handbook of Stressful Transitions Across the Lifespan will appeal to a variety of professional readers, including researchers and scholars in the fields of social, developmental and clinical psychology, sociology, and public health.

Thomas W. Miller is Professor at Department of Psychiatry, College of Medicine, University of Kentucky as well as a senior research scientist with the University of Connecticut’s Center for Health Intervention and Prevention. He is also a University Teaching Fellow and a Diplomate of the American Board of Professional Psychology in clinical psychology. He also is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association, the Association for Psychological Science, and the Royal Society of Medicine. The author of 10 books, his research has included cross-cultural studies of trauma in veterans; victims of natural disasters; medical conditions, including HIV; and applications of telemedicine in providing access to care for rural and underserved populations.