Stress, Coping, and Development: An Integrative Perspective / Edition 2

by Carolyn M. Aldwin PhD, Emmy E. Werner

Overview

How do people cope with stressful experiences? What makes a coping strategy effective for a particular individual? This volume comprehensively examines the nature of psychosocial stress and the implications of different coping strategies for adaptation and health across the lifespan. Carolyn M. Aldwin synthesizes a vast body of knowledge within a conceptual framework that emphasizes the transactions between mind and body and between persons and environments. She analyzes different kinds of stressors and their psychological and physiological effects, both negative and positive. Ways in which coping is influenced by personality, relationships, situational factors, and culture are explored. The book also provides a methodological primer for stress and coping research, critically reviewing available measures and data analysis techniques.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781572308404
Publisher:	Guilford Publications, Inc.
Publication date:	03/23/2007
Edition description:	Second Edition
Pages:	432
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

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.

 

Table of Contents

1. Introduction and Purpose of the Book

2. Why Is Stress Important?

3. Definitions of Stress

4. The Physiology of Stress

5. Design and Measurement Issues in Stress Research

6. Why is Coping Important?

7. Theoretical Approaches to Coping

8. Measurement of Coping Strategies

9. Statistical Issues in Coping Research

10. Coping and Mental Health

11. Coping and Physical Health

12. Coping with Traumatic Stress

13. Sociocultural Aspects of Coping

14. Developmental Studies of Coping

15. Stress-Related Growth and Transformational Coping

16. Self-Regulation, Self-Development, and Wisdom

What People are Saying About This

Susan Folkman, Ph.D.

Stress, Coping, and Development is the right book at the right time.... It provides an excellent account of contemporary coping theory and research.... This is an important book for students as well as experienced researchers, and it can be used for people in diverse behavioral, social, and health science disciplines.

Interviews

Researchers, practitioners, and students in developmental, personality/social, health, and clinical psychology, as well as psychiatry and social work. May serve as a text in advanced undergraduate- and graduate-level courses addressing lifespan development, stress and coping, health psychology, and related topics.

Editorial Reviews

"In this second edition, Aldwin provides an informed overview of the huge body of research and theory on coping. She presents potentially difficult content in easy-to-digest terms and covers a broad array of important issues. Thus, the book is ideal for graduate-level classes. It also will be of great interest to social and behavioral scientists and professionals who want to understand the basic empirical findings on this important topic and their relevance to real-world concerns, particularly in the areas of mental and physical health and aging."—Nancy Eisenberg, PhD, Department of Psychology, Arizona State University
 

"Carolyn Aldwin has further enriched a book that was already rich in ideas, facts, and theory. This second edition offers a comprehensive account of the field of stress and coping with some very appealing new material, especially in the areas of development, positive aspects of stress, social aspects of stress, and stress and health. Aldwin’s multidisciplinary perspective is exactly what is needed in the field."—Susan Folkman, PhD, Osher Center for Integrative Medicine, University of California, San Francisco
 

"I didn't realize that there was so much I didn't know about stress until I read this book. While giving fair coverage to reductionism and interactionism, Aldwin makes a convincing case for transactionism as a way to integrate a vast amount of research on stress. Anyone interested in health psychology will find this work very useful."—Ellen J. Langer, PhD, Department of Psychology, Harvard University
 
"I know of no other book that has accomplished what this work does: It provides an insightful and thorough examination of stress and coping research as it relates to human development across the lifespan. The second edition includes valuable new chapters on the physiology of stress; transformational coping; and self-regulation, self-development, and wisdom. Also laudable is the discussion of methodological advances, such as methods for the analysis of longitudinal data, which have permitted the field to examine the effects of stress and coping on human development more rigorously."—Manfred Diehl, PhD, Department of Human Development and Family Studies, Colorado State University

From the Publisher

4 Stars! from Doody

This is a fresh perspective on the historically rich field of stress and coping, using a transactional paradigm. The author reviews basic issues in both conceptualization and measurement while presenting a cogent argument for her more integrative approach to this area. The purpose is to synthesize theoretical and empirical material from a variety of fields that examine transactions (both mind/body and person/environment) within the context of stress, coping, and adaptation research. The task of organizing these bodies of literature to enhance this field as well as the field of developmental psychology seems a very worthwhile endeavor. The book is largely successful in meeting this objective, with the possible exception of early developmental issues. The author has targeted a broad readership, from students to researchers and clinicians. Any individual who has an interest in the ever-present topic of stress will find this volume informative and comprehensible. The book is well referenced as the author blends her own theoretical viewpoint with a wealth of psychological and biomedical expertise. Additionally, she uses simple diagrams to illustrate fairly complex concepts, which may help the less scientifically sophisticated reader. 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. It offers the reader a unique viewpoint on an area that has been the focus oflong-standing scientific debate, and it may provide the next logical step in this ongoing empirical process.

Daniel J. Goodman

Provides an integrative approach to stress and coping which examines all the approaches in the area, identifies their strengths and weaknesses, and specifies the circumstances under which the various approaches are more or less appropriate. Key methodological issues of relevance to both the conduct of research and its interpretation are also considered. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Booknews

Reviewer: Daniel J. Goodman, MA (Rush Medical College of Rush University)
Description: This is a fresh perspective on the historically rich field of stress and coping, using a transactional paradigm. The author reviews basic issues in both conceptualization and measurement while presenting a cogent argument for her more integrative approach to this area.
Purpose: The purpose is to synthesize theoretical and empirical material from a variety of fields that examine transactions (both mind/body and person/environment) within the context of stress, coping, and adaptation research. The task of organizing these bodies of literature to enhance this field as well as the field of developmental psychology seems a very worthwhile endeavor. The book is largely successful in meeting this objective, with the possible exception of early developmental issues.
Audience: The author has targeted a broad readership, from students to researchers and clinicians. Any individual who has an interest in the ever-present topic of stress will find this volume informative and comprehensible.
Features: The book is well referenced as the author blends her own theoretical viewpoint with a wealth of psychological and biomedical expertise. Additionally, she uses simple diagrams to illustrate fairly complex concepts, which may help the less scientifically sophisticated reader.
Assessment: 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. It offers the reader a unique viewpoint on an area that has been the focus of long-standing scientific debate, and it may provide the next logical step in this ongoing empirical process.

Doody's Review Service