Stress, Coping, and Development: An Integrative Perspective

Aldwin (human development and family sciences, Oregon State U., Corvallis) considers psychosocial stress, how people cope with it, and what that means for adaptation and health, with a focus on transactions between the mind and the body and the person and environment. She explains different definitions of stress, research design and measurement issues, the importance of coping, and theoretical approaches, with focus on their historical context and conceptual assumptions. Subsequent chapters concentrate on the measurement of strategies, statistical issues, coping and mental health, traumatic stress, and developmental studies. This updated edition contains two sections on physiology and physical health and coverage of sociocultural and religious aspects, stress-related growth, new approaches to coping (such as experience sampling and emotion regulation), and life stages. Annotation c2007 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Carolyn M. Aldwin, PhD, is Professor in the Department of Human Development and Family Sciences at Oregon State University. She received her doctorate from the University of California, San Francisco, in 1982, and was a National Institute of Mental Health postdoctoral scholar in Human Development, Environmental Demands, and Health at the University of California, Irvine. Dr. Aldwin received a FIRST award from the National Institute on Aging for her study of psychosocial factors and health in aging early in her career at the Boston Veterans Administration, and has published over 90 articles and chapters in this area. She is a fellow of both Divisions 20 (Adult Development and Aging) and 38 (Health Psychology) of the American Psychological Association, as well as of the Gerontological Society of America.