bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Family Consultation for Couples Coping with Health Problems: A Social Cybernetic Approach
Authors: Rohrbaugh Michael J. , Shoham Varda
Published: February 2013

We describe a social-cybernetic view of health behavior problems and a family consultation (FAMCON) intervention based on that view. Resurrecting foundational ideas from cybernetic family systems theory, this approach takes relationships rather than individuals as a primary unit of analysis, attaches more importance to problem maintenance than to etiology, downplays linear causality, and blurs the conceptual boundary between an individual patient and factors such as stress or support in his or her social environment. Intervention aims to interrupt two types of interpersonal problem maintenance—ironic processes and symptom–system fit (conceptualized, respectively, as positive and negative feedback cycles)—and to mobilize communal coping as a relational resource for change. Although this chapter draws primarily on a couple-focused intervention project with health-compromised smokers to illustrate both the clinical approach and supporting research, we have also applied both the FAMCON format and the social cybernetic view of problem maintenance to help couples and families cope with problems ranging from heart disease, cancer, and chronic pain to alcoholism, anxiety, and depression. If FAMCON proves effective with health problems that do not respond to other, more straightforward behavioral approaches, it could offer a useful alternative to psychoeducational and cognitive-behavioral interventions in the framework of stepped care.
Childhood Health and Chronic Illness
Authors: Tinsley Barbara J. , Burleson Mary H.
Published: February 2013

Children’s health has profound and sustained consequences for later life. Although child morbidity and mortality have been greatly reduced over the past few decades due to medical discoveries, immunization efforts, and improved technology, many children continue to face poor health due to poverty or related issues, behavioral risk factors, and chronic illness or disability. In this chapter, we provide a state-of-the-art summary of research on children’s health and its developmental consequences.
Obesity
Authors: Van Walleghen Emily L. , Steeves Betsy A. , Raynor Hollie A.
Published: February 2013

The prevalence of obesity has increased in recent years and is now considered a global epidemic. Due to the serious health and economic impacts of weight gain, an understanding of the consequences and causes of obesity is necessary in order to develop effective weight management strategies and implement weight loss programs. The objective of this chapter is to review the epidemiology, implications, etiology, and treatment of adult obesity. Obesity prevalence and trends, the health and economic implications of obesity, environmental and genetic determinants of obesity, benefits of weight loss treatment and treatment goals, obesity assessment, lifestyle, behavioral, and medical obesity treatment, and weight loss maintenance will be discussed.
Asian Meditation and Health
Authors: Sakairi Yosuke , Sugamura Genji , Suzuki Masao
Published: February 2013

This chapter explores the theory and methods of achieving well-being, focusing on meditation as a behavioral-physical-psychological training system. It includes a discussion of the training system of zen, yoga training, types of meditation methods, simple techniques for meditation, systems for practicing meditation, conditioning in meditation, mindfulness in meditation, and the effects of the meditation method.
Computer-Based Assessment
Authors: Butcher James N. , Perry Julia N. , Dean Brooke L.
Published: February 2013

Psychological testing has become integral to clinical and forensic practice in contemporary psychology today, and numerous psychological assessments exist for use by clinicians and researchers alike. These assessments and tests provide evaluation for various areas of functioning, such as neuropsychology, personality, career interests and values, and psychopathology. There are generally two sources of information available for computer-based personality tests: the published psychological literature and the publisher's catalogs of commercially available tests. This article provides a contemporary overview of computer-based personality assessment, examines the extent of current computer-based assessment, presents a historical context for computerized psychological assessment, and illustrates computer-based personality assessment with a clinical case example. It also addresses some contemporary issues in computer-based assessment, including computer-adapted test administration strategies and the use of the Internet to conduct psychological assessments. In addition, the article looks at some computer applications for use in clinical assessment in three areas: clinical interview and diagnosis, psychopathology screening, and psychotherapy treatment intervention.
The Clinical Interview
Authors: Craig Robert J.
Published: February 2013

This article describes the anatomy of the basic clinical interview, focusing on its structure, content, factors affecting it, techniques, types, patient and psychologists' expectations, reliability, and computer-assisted clinical interviews. The term “clinical interview” as used in this article refers to the assessment of personality, personality disorders, and psychopathology. Too often, clinicians rely primarily on the clinical interview as their major tool for personality assessment and diagnosis. This is often never the case among forensic psychologists who routinely consult these sources as part of their exploration to determine fact. The article also uses the terms “client” and “patient” interchangeably.
Personality Assessment with the Rorschach Inkblot Method
Authors: Weiner Irving B. , Meyer Gregory J.
Published: February 2013

This article reviews the development of the Rorschach Inkblot Method (RIM) and delineates its value in identifying a broad range of personality traits. It examines the value of the RIM in a test battery and how Rorschach assessment can be applied. The article looks at particularly useful purposes served by Rorschach assessment in clinical and forensic evaluations when it is integrated with self-report measures. Available evidence indicates that Rorschach personality assessment is a psychometrically sound procedure that is being actively practiced and studied, both in the United States and in many other parts of the world, and which can be meaningfully applied in diverse countries and cultures. Some concern is raised, however, about the adequacy of education and training in Rorschach assessment currently provided in graduate programs. In addition to assisting in differential diagnosis, personality characteristics identified or suggested by Rorschach data are often useful in treatment planning and outcome evaluation. The article also assesses the reliability and validity of the Rorschach assessment.
Understanding and Assessing Aggression and Violence
Authors: Megargee Edwin I.
Published: February 2013

This article examines the issues involved in understanding and, especially, assessing, human aggression and violence. First, it defines aggression and discusses a broad range of factors that influence its assessment, before differentiating individualized from generalized assessments. In the former, the clinician analyzes the factors influencing aggressive behavior in a particular individual. A conceptual framework, the “algebra of aggression,” is offered for analyzing physiological and psychological factors, such as instigation, inhibitions, and habit strength, which influence the relative response strength of different aggressive and non-aggressive acts. Generalized assessments are focused on identifying which members of a group, such as applicants for parole, are most likely to be aggressive. A number of subjective and objective rationally and actuarially derived risk-assessment instruments are described and evaluated.
Assessing Antisocial and Psychopathic Personalities
Authors: Gacono Carl B. , Meloy J. Reid
Published: February 2013

Understanding that antisocial personality disorder and psychopathy are distinct but related constructs is crucial to clinical and forensic assessment of these patients. This article describes the use of the Hare Psychopathy Checklist-Revised, Rorschach, and Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) for a comprehensive evaluation of these patients. These measures lend incremental validity to understanding these difficult patients, especially when combined with testing of intelligence and cognitive functioning. Integrating data from multiple domains is essential to answering the psycholegal and forensic treatment questions surrounding the antisocial and psychopathic patient. The forensically trained clinical psychologist is best suited to assess psychopathy, a task that historically has been overlooked or avoided in traditional mental health settings.
A Prolegomenon to Clinical Psychology: Two 40-year Odysseys
Authors: Barlow David H.
Published: February 2013

In 1969, David Shakow, generally acknowledged as the founding father of modern-day clinical psychology, recounted his 40-year odyssey in the field. He focused on advances in training, diagnosis and assessment, and treatment, and projected trends in these areas in the years to come. The author recounts his own 40-year odyssey, beginning in 1969, and reflects on the remarkable growth of clinical psychology, progress that has occurred in the areas of training, diagnosis and assessment, and treatment, and the extent to which Shakow’s vision has been realized.
Emerging Policy Issues for Psychology: A Key to the Future of the Profession
Authors: DeLeon Patrick H. , Kenkel Mary Beth , Oliveira Gray Jill M. , Sammons Morgan T.
Published: February 2013

Involvement in the public policy process is essential to the continued growth of the profession of psychology. The authors posit that five dimensions of involvement in the policy process are fundamental to ensuring the success of advocacy efforts: patience, persistence, the establishment of effective partnerships, emphasizing interpersonal relationships in the policy process, and the adoption of a long-term perspective. These key mediators are described in the context of current major public policy issues affecting psychology: mental health legislation in general, prescriptive authority, provision of psychological services in community health centers, expansion of the available treatments for autistic spectrum disorders, and recasting psychology as a primary health-care delivery profession. The authors suggest that policy makers will value the contributions of psychology only insofar as they are convinced of the profession’s ability to improve the public weal.
The Role of Psychology in Emerging Federal Health-care Plans
Authors: Zeiss Antonette M. , Karlin Bradley E.
Published: February 2013

Professional psychology plays a prominent role at a number of key levels in the federal mental health-care system. This chapter examines the increasing impact professional psychology has had in recent years on two major and evolving federal mental health-care systems: the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) and the Medicare program. Within the VHA, professional psychology has helped to promote the expansion and transformation of evidence-based and recovery-oriented mental health care at the levels of policy, practice, and research. As the largest integrated health-care system in the nation, mental health-care transformation within the VHA and psychology’s contributions to this major effort may help to inform other private and public mental health-care systems. Similarly, important changes within the Medicare program designed to promote mental health-care access, coverage, and quality portend that professional psychology will have an increasingly prominent role within Medicare. These developments provide unprecedented opportunities for psychologists to influence the future practice of psychology and the mental health-care landscape of the nation.
Creating Public Health Policy: The Dissemination of Evidenced-based Psychological Interventions
Authors: Chorpita Bruce F. , Miranda Jeanne , Bernstein Adam
Published: February 2013

In recent years, clinical psychology has made significant contributions to mental health policy through its increasing focus on the notion of evidence-based practice and an empirical approach to clinical decision-making. These developments have not been without challenges, however. Most notable are issues with the acceptability of treatment design among practitioners and the difficulty of implementing and sustaining high-quality practices in real-world contexts. Two specific barriers central to these challenges are discussed, namely, the highly specialized architecture of most research-based mental health treatments and the unavailability of a dedicated supervisory and training infrastructure. Solutions are proposed that suggest the need to rethink both the way treatments are packaged and the way they are supported in real-world practice.
Diagnoses, Dimensions, and DSM-5
Authors: Widiger Thomas A. , Edmundson Maryanne
Published: February 2013

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Third Edition (DSM-III) is often said to have provided a significant paradigm shift in how psychopathology is diagnosed. The authors of DSM-5 have the empirical support and the opportunity to lead the field of psychiatry to a comparably bold new future in diagnosis and classification. The purpose of this chapter is to address the validity of the categorical and dimensional models for the classification and diagnosis of psychopathology. Considered in particular will be research concerning substance use disorders, mood disorders, and personality disorders. Limitations and concerns with respect to a dimensional classification of psychopathology are also considered. The chapter concludes with a recommendation for a conversion to a more quantitative, dimensional classification of psychopathology.
The Anxiety-Depression Spectrum
Authors: Leyfer Ovsanna , Brown Timothy A.
Published: February 2013

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) has undergone considerable revisions since its first publication, with a continuous increase in the number of the anxiety and mood disorder categories. However, many researchers have expressed concern that the expansion of our nosology has resulted in less consideration of the overlapping features of emotional disorders. The purpose of this chapter is to review current issues and empirical evidence pertinent to the classification of anxiety and mood disorders and the relevance of these issues to treatment planning. It discusses discriminant validity, including diagnostic reliability and comorbidity, reviews the existing hierarchical models of emotional disorders, proposes a dimensional approach for classification of anxiety and mood disorders, and reviews transdiagnostic treatments of emotional disorders.
The Nature and Treatment of Bipolar Disorder and the Bipolar Spectrum
Authors: Otto Michael W. , Applebaum Allison J.
Published: February 2013

In this chapter, we review the nature and treatment of bipolar disorder. We first present a perspective on the disorder, based on the dominant bipolar I and II classifications, and review the current state of medication and empirically supported psychosocial interventions (e.g., cognitive-behavioral therapy, family-focused therapy, interpersonal and social rhythm therapy, and group treatment), including factors that lead to poor treatment response. Given the increased attention to how bipolar I and II may lie at one end of a continuum of patterns of mood instability, we subsequently address spectrum conceptualizations of bipolar disorder. The proposed spectrum models are presented and then considered in relation to revised prevalence rates and treatment implications.
The Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Spectrum
Authors: Abramowitz Jonathan S. , Mahaffey Brittain
Published: February 2013

This chapter presents a comprehensive overview of the nature, psychological conceptualization, assessment, and treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and related conditions. First, we describe the symptoms of OCD and the proposal that numerous other disorders overlap with this condition. We critically review this proposal, and conclude that the number of overlapping conditions is somewhat smaller than some authors have suggested. From there, we turn to a review of the empirically supported psychological models of OCD and these related conditions. A discussion of the assessment and treatment of these disorders then follows.
Somatoform and Physical Disorders
Authors: Woolfolk Robert L. , Allen Lesley A.
Published: February 2013

This chapter provides an overview of the treatment of somatoform and related disorders. A brief history of the disorder is provided, along with a sociocultural framework in which to conceptualize somatization. The epidemiology of somatoform disorders is discussed. Empirical research evaluating psychosocial treatments for somatoform disorders, including the functional somatic syndromes, is reviewed and critiqued. The rather substantial assortment of treatment options available to clinicians is compared and contrasted, and their level of empirical support evaluated. The limitations of the empirical literature, as well as the treatment implications that can be drawn, are discussed.
Alcohol Use and Alcohol Use Disorders
Authors: Sher Kenneth J. , Littlefield Andrew K. , Martinez Julia A.
Published: February 2013

Alcohol use disorders (AUDs), alcohol abuse, and alcohol dependence, are among the most prevalent mental disorders in the United States and elsewhere. Considerable controversy exists concerning the optimal way of classifying these disorders and the boundaries between normal and abnormal drinking. Although AUDs can occur over much of the life span, from an epidemiological perspective, it is largely a disorder of adolescence and young adulthood. Many who experience AUDs are “mature out” of them as they age and acquire adult roles and, perhaps, as a function of normal personality. However, a significant minority of individuals fail to mature out, and some individuals develop AUDs later in adulthood. A number of etiological pathways are associated with developing an AUD; foremost among them, a pathway shared with other externalizing disorders such as conduct disorder, adult antisociality, and other substance dependence. However, pathways associated with internalizing disorders and with individual differences in alcohol effects also exist. All of these pathways likely involve major genetic and environmental determinants. Given the etiological pathways that have been documented, it is not surprising that AUDs are often comorbid with other mental disorders. A number of effective approaches to the prevention and treatment of AUDs have been developed. Additionally, basic research is setting the stage for further advances in both behavior and drug treatments of AUDs.
Sex and Gender Disorders
Authors: Bradford Andrea , Meston Cindy M.
Published: February 2013

Sex and gender disorders are classified into three major categories. The sexual dysfunctions are problems that inhibit one’s motivation or ability to engage in sexual activity. Paraphilias are recurrent patterns of sexual arousal and/or behavior involving inappropriate targets of sexual expression. Gender identity disorder is the experience of intense discomfort with one’s assigned gender role, accompanied by the desire to live as a person of the opposite sex. Conceptualizations of sex and gender disorders are ever evolving in response to multiple cultural, scientific, political, and commercial influences. This chapter reviews current practice and emerging concepts in the diagnosis and treatment of sex and gender disorders, with emphasis on recent research findings and key unresolved questions.
Disorders of Development
Authors: Durand V. Mark
Published: February 2013

Disorders of development include a range of problems first evidenced in childhood. Although most disorders have their origins in childhood, a few fully express themselves before early adulthood. This chapter describes the nature, assessment, and treatment of the more common disorders that are revealed in a clinically significant way during a child’s developing years. The disorders of development affect a range of functioning, from single skills deficits to more pervasive problems that negatively impact a child’s ability to function. Included is coverage of several disorders usually diagnosed first in infancy, childhood, or adolescence, including attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, oppositional defiant disorder, conduct disorder, learning disorders, communication and related disorders, pervasive developmental disorders (including autistic disorder and Asperger disorder), and intellectual disabilities. Recommendations for future research on the potential for advancing knowledge regarding spectrums within some of these disorders, as well as recommendations for treatment, are outlined.
Cognitive Disorders in Adults
Authors: White Roberta F.
Published: February 2013

This chapter provides an overview on cognitive disorders in adults from a neuropsychological perspective. It begins with a critical review of existing taxonomies for these disorders, especially those contained in the DSM-IV, and continues with a summary of neuropsychological terminology used in the chapter and the effects of focal brain lesions. A number of medical and neurological disorders are described, and their cognitive correlates are reviewed using data from clinical case studies and epidemiologic research. The conditions summarized include a brief consideration of medical disorders that do not involve primary central nervous system pathology, followed by extensive review of brain insults (trauma, infections, exposures) and primary neurological disorders (dementias, cerebrovascular disease, motor system disorders, structural lesions, epilepsy, autoimmune disorders). A concluding section describes current issues in understanding cognitive disorders and likely future approaches to research on them.
Clinical Psychology Interventions in Primary Care
Authors: Haas Leonard J.
Published: February 2013

This chapter reviews the need for clinical psychology services that are integrated into the primary health-care environment and covers in depth the issues that an effective primary care clinical psychologist must understand to function effectively in primary care. These are understanding the primary medical care environment, recognizing the unique characteristics of primary medical care patients who seek psychological services, and the key treatment tactics and strategies necessary for effective work in a primary care environment. Recommendations are illustrated with numerous case examples adapted from the experiences of a veteran primary care clinical psychologist.
Behavioral Interventions in Public Health Settings: Physical Activity, Weight Loss, and Smoking
Authors: Lewis Beth A. , Statt Eric , Marcus Bess H.
Published: February 2013

This chapter discusses three health behaviors that significantly impact public health. Specifically, physical activity behavior, weight loss, and smoking cessation are associated with many health benefits, including decreased risk of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and cancer. These three health behaviors are important modifiable risk factors that can have a significant impact on health. Unfortunately, only half of Americans are physically active at the recommended levels. Additionally, 66.3% of Americans are overweight or obese. Finally, despite the health problems related to smoking, about one-fifth of Americans continue to smoke cigarettes. We provide an overview of the theoretical models commonly used in intervention studies and summarize the research evidence from randomized trials. Finally, we review three different intervention approaches for improving health behaviors, including an individual-level approach for physical activity, a community-level approach for weight loss, and a group-based approach for smoking cessation.
Virtue Ethics and the Treatment of Animals
Authors: Hursthouse Rosalind
Published: February 2013

This article considers a theory that most philosophers view as deriving historically from the work of the ancient Athenian-Macedonian philosopher Aristotle. It shows how virtue ethics promotes the paradigm that we should think about moral rights and wrongs in our treatment of animals in terms of virtues and vices rather than in terms of consequences or rights and duties. The article argues that two leaders in the field of ethics and animals, Peter Singer and Tom Regan, each implicitly picks out one virtue, but one virtue only—a too concentrated focus that renders their moral theories unsatisfactory. This discussion holds that we ought to be thinking in terms of all of the virtues and vices pertinent to the moral problems that arise in human uses of nonhuman animals. It suggests that many theories have made this path difficult because of an undue focus on the concept of moral status.
The Capabilities Approach and Animal Entitlements
Authors: Nussbaum Martha C.
Published: February 2013

This article begins with a sketch of current knowledge about animal thinking. It inquires into what this knowledge suggests for ethics and for public policy. It finds that it challenges what has been the most influential approach to the ethics of animal treatment, namely classical utilitarianism. After rejecting this theory, it proposes a theoretical approach that has two non-utilitarian elements as centerpieces. First, the approach has a Kantian element—a fundamental ethical starting point that we must respect each individual sentient being as an end in itself. Second, the approach has a neo-Aristotelian, capabilities-theory element: the Aristotelian idea that each creature has a characteristic set of capabilities, or capacities for functioning, distinctive of that species, and that those more rudimentary capacities need support from the material and social environment if the animal is to flourish in its characteristic way.
The Idea of Moral Standing
Authors: Morris Christopher W.
Published: February 2013

This article investigates the idea of moral status for nonhuman animals and how that status compares to the moral status of most humans. It considers whether some artifacts and natural objects have a significant moral status. It finds much of the philosophical literature confusing, so it offers an innovative distinction between the notion of status and that of standing. It regards standing as a special status that humans and perhaps a limited number of other beings have. It takes the idea of “duties to” other beings as critical for an account of moral status. It suggests that something has moral standing if it is owed any moral consideration or duty whatever.
Animals, Fundamental Moral Standing, and Speciesism
Authors: Copp David
Published: February 2013

This article considers whether we have moral duties that are owed directly to animals, or whether all duties regarding animals are derivative from duties we have to human beings. It maintains that we have moral duties directly toward nonhuman animals, not merely duties regarding them, and that this claim can be adequately grounded in the thesis of the fundamental standing of animals. Nonetheless, it finds that the thesis of the fundamental standing of animals is in tension with a very different and intuitively plausible thesis called the thesis of the fundamental concern of morality: morality is fundamentally concerned with advancing human welfare by enabling human beings to live together successfully in societies. This article argues that the two theses can be shown to be compatible; even the apparent “speciesism” of the second thesis is compatible with recognizing the fundamental standing of animals.
Animal Mentality
Authors: Carruthers Peter
Published: February 2013

This article continues the discussion of whether animals possess moral standing, which it considers to be the question of whether they are deserving of our sympathy and concern and whether they possess moral rights. It notes that the question of moral rights should receive a negative answer, even though it believes firmly in the evolutionary and cognitive continuities between humans and other animals. The first half of this article argues that pain and suffering of a great many animals do appropriately make them objects of sympathy, and it shows that they have minds with structures often similar to those of humans. However, the final half of this article turns to a defense of a contractualist perspective, which is that all humans, and probably no other animals, possess moral standing. From this contractualist perspective, morality is the outcome of an idealized contract among agents who can then constrain and guide their relations with others.
Minimal Minds
Authors: Huebner Bryce
Published: February 2013

This article starts out by observing that we often speak in a loose manner as if beings all the way down to viruses have something like beliefs, desires, and intentions. It sets aside these ways of speaking to see how far down the chain of being there might be true mentality—minimal mindedness. Profound theoretical issues confront attempts to provide a general strategy for distinguishing mentality from witless and mechanical behavior. The discussion tries to establish the minimal conditions. It argues that the explanatory resources provided by contemporary cognitive science provide compelling reasons for thinking that even invertebrates such as cockroaches, termites, and honeybees possess genuine cognitive capacities. It recognizes that many may be skeptical of this claim, but supports the idea that invertebrates possess minimal minds in a number of ways.
Beyond Anthropomorphism
Authors: Andrews Kristin
Published: February 2013

This article discusses “anthropomorphism” in the sense of the attribution of uniquely human mental characteristics to nonhuman animals. One philosophical problem is to figure out how we can identify which properties are uniquely human. The discussion maintains that one goal of animal cognition studies is to determine which cognitive abilities animals use and whether some identifiable cognitive properties are found only in the human species. If the properties are uniquely human, then asserting that some other animal has that property would be false and an example of anthropomorphism. In the empirical and the philosophical literatures, features that have been described as uniquely human include psychological states such as beliefs and desires, personality traits such as confidence or timidity, emotions such as happiness or anger, social-organizational properties such as culture or friendship, and moral behavior such as punishment or rape.
On the Origin of Species Notions and Their Ethical Limitations
Authors: Greene Mark
Published: February 2013

This article probes the difference between the concerns we have about using individual animals, such as laboratory animals, and the concerns found in environmental ethics, which focus not on individual beings but on entities such as ecosystems, the wilderness, or even the whole biosphere. A concern that cuts across environmental ethics and ethical issues about animals is whether we have a duty to preserve species, most notably those threatened by human activities. It notes that once defenders of species preservation have realized that their arguments are entirely contingent on whether animal species make contributions to humans, the defenders of a general duty of species preservation will want to dig in and argue that species must have non-derivative value in their own right. It believes that evolutionary biology calls into question the intelligibility of defending the non-derivative value of species.
Literary Works and Animal Ethics
Authors: Zamir Tzachi
Published: February 2013

This article notes that a number of Anglo-American moral philosophers have turned to literature for insights into moral reflection on animals. This “literary turn” in moral philosophy finds that some sensitivities or aspects of moral reflection are deepened by literary works. The main literary work focusing on animals that has attracted substantial interest from philosophers is J. M. Coetzee's Elizabeth Costello. Philosophers such as Stanley Cavell, Cora Diamond, Stephen Mulhall, and Peter Singer have all found it a repository of moral insight. This article suggests that moral philosophers are only beginning to mine rich literary descriptions of animals to gain moral insight and to explore the ways in which the invocation of animals awakens morally relevant dimensions in literary works.
Eugenics in Britain: The View from the Metropole
Authors: Bland Lucy , Hall Lesley
Published: February 2013

This article discusses the impact of eugenics in Britain. It discusses eugenics as a biological way of thinking about social, economic, political, and cultural change. It gives scientific credibility to prejudices, anxieties, and fears that are prevalent primarily among the middle and upper classes. It delineates the tensions between “classic” and “reform”, although this is only one modality along which to align the complex factors that polarized the society—some of them ideological, some of them about tactics, and some based on personalities. It gives a detailed description of the differentiation of societies' activities into study and practice. The social problem group; research into contraceptive methods; family allowances; race mixture; and immigration are discussed. The practices are divided into negative and positive. Finally, this article concludes that eugenicists see feeblemindedness as hereditary, emblematic of degeneracy, and contributes to numerous social problems, such as poverty and unemployment.
Eugenics in Australia and New Zealand: Laboratories of Racial Science
Authors: Garton Stephen
Published: February 2013

Australians and New Zealanders were active participants in international dialogues and movements seeking to promote the propagation of the fit and prevent the multiplication of the inferior. This article deals with the reasons for failure of eugenics to have the influence its proponents hoped and its failure in achieving its aims. It also discusses eugenic ideas and policies as scientific, useful, and essential to the repertoire of policies that governments and reformers should pursue to promote social progress. It presents reasons for little success of eugenicists in Australia and New Zealand in enforcing even segregation. It discusses the conventional areas of eugenic concern namely, segregation, sterilization, marriage advice, maternal and infant welfare. It examines particular policies in detail, and more importantly shifts the focus from the discourses contesting to shape policy to the outcomes of those contests.
Eugenics in Postcolonial Southeast Asia
Authors: Amrith Sunil S.
Published: February 2013

The rich vein of writing on race and racial thought in the region provides an essential point of entry to eugenics in Southeast Asia. This article focuses on the experience of postcolonial Malaysia and Singapore and suggests that traces of eugenic thought and practice have played a role in shaping strategies of state-directed development from the 1950s. The “science of racial improvement” exerts a powerful influence on the political elite of both countries, providing a rationale and a model for many attempts to understand, differentiate, and improve the population. This article focuses on close connections between race and racial aptitudes, and the politics of immigration control and colonial reservations. It further discusses the focus of eugenic policies in Southeast Asia on using state power to rebalance the plural society, and signification of racial improvement in the identification and exclusion of particular peoples.
Eugenics in France and the Colonies
Authors: Fogarty Richard S. , Osborne Michael A.
Published: February 2013

The pre-history of French eugenics resides in early modern and Enlightenment ideas on human perfectibility, theories of generation and inheritance, and considerations of demography and national strength. This article gives a brief discussion on the study of population and the surveys which enumerate attributes of colonial populations, including age, place of birth, numbers of slaves, health information, and much more. It addresses human heredity and breeding, and its use in scientific and political lexicons. It states that the origins of the modern French eugenics movement lie in multifaceted movements for regeneration through various social hygiene and pronatalist organizations. The French Eugenics Society's enthusiastic activity and coherence gives way to organizational atrophy and marginalization.
Eugenics in Eastern Europe, 1870s–1945
Authors: Bucur Maria
Published: February 2013

Eugenics is a powerful tool used both for imperial control and for nationalist anti-imperial challenges from the Baltic to the Balkans. This article deals with the role of race theories and eugenics that has become a subject of scholarly engagement. Eugenics serves as a rationale for separating communities according to their national identity and to redistribute resources along ethnocentric lines as part of an imperial discourse. It presents an array of institutional developments connected to eugenics in this region. It shows that as the medical profession flourished in post-imperial eastern Europe, doctors of the new ethnic majorities saw opportunities open up—professionally, economically, and socially. Finally, it examines the importance of constructing a discourse that focuses on preserving and strengthening the potentialities of the underprivileged, poor, uneducated peasants for the purpose of making a persuasive argument with the political and social elites.
Epilogue: where did eugenics go?
Authors: Bashford Alison
Published: February 2013

This Epilogue looks at the history and historians of postwar eugenics, focusing on the Anglophone world. The Epilogue surveys several of the key substantive trajectories of eugenics: its connections with transhumanism; genetic counseling; sterility and infertility research; and human and medical genetics.
Chronology
Authors: Bashford Alison
Published: February 2013

The Chronology provides a detailed outline of the relevant publications, organizations, and statutes from the year 1859 to 1989 that relate to the field of eugenics.
Introduction and Overview
Authors: Agras W. Stewart
Published: February 2013

This chapter provides a brief introduction to and overview of the contents of the Handbook. Several issues are highlighted, including the history of eating disorders over the ages, diagnostic issues including the overlap of eating disorders and obesity, and the problem of eating disorders not otherwise specified (EDNOS). The relative neglect of eating disorders in childhood and adolescence is noted. Finally, progress toward building an evidence base for the treatment of eating disorders is considered.
The Classification of Eating Disorders
Authors: Gordon Kathryn H. , Holm-Denoma Jill M. , Crosby Ross D. , Wonderlich Stephen A.
Published: February 2013

The purpose of the chapter is to elucidate the key issues regarding the classification of eating disorders. To this end, a review of nosological research in the area of eating disorders is presented, with a particular focus on empirically based techniques such as taxometric and latent class analysis. This is followed by a section outlining areas of overlap between the current Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders – Fourth Edition, Text Revision (DSM-IV-TR; American Psychiatric Association, 2000) eating disorder categories and their symptoms. Next, eating disorder classification models that are alternatives to the DSM-IV-TR are described and critically examined in light of available empirical data. Finally, areas of controversy and considerations for change in next version of the DSM (i.e., the applicability of DSM criteria to minority groups, children, males; the question of whether clinical categories should be differentiated from research categories) are discussed.
Proposed Syndromes and the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual V
Authors: Allison Kelly C. , Lundgren Jennifer D.
Published: February 2013

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM-IV-TR) of the American Psychiatric Association (2000) is currently being revised and new disorders are being considered for inclusion in DSM-V. In this chapter, we evaluate three proposed eating disorders for the DSM-V: binge eating disorder (BED), night eating syndrome (NES), and purging disorder (PD). The history and definition for each is reviewed, relevant theoretical models are presented and compared, and evidence for the usefulness of the models is described. Empirical studies of all three disorders show their independence from other disorders, although comorbid psychopathology is common. Psychological distress is also high, but evidence for negative impact on physical health is less pronounced. Finally, remaining questions for future research are summarized.
Appetitive Regulation in Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia Nervosa
Authors: Kaye Walter , Oberndorfer Tyson
Published: February 2013

Anorexia and bulimia nervosa are complex disorders with dysregulated appetitive behaviors. The underlying causes of disturbed eating patterns are unknown, but in theory, could involve aberrant functioning of brain or peripheral systems. New technologies, such as positron emission tomography (PET) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), can be used to explore whether there are perturbations of the monoamine systems and the neurocircuitry of gustatory processing in eating disorders. Together, PET and fMRI data suggest that individuals with eating disorders have disturbance of taste and reward processing regions of the brain, which may contribute to eating disorder symptoms.
Psychosocial Risk Factors for Eating Disorders
Authors: Jacobi Corinna , Fittig Eike
Published: February 2013

The objective of this chapter is to provide an updated overview of risk factors for eating disorders on the basis of the risk factor taxonomy described by Kraemer et al. (1997). The chapter summarizes risk factors identified in longitudinal studies and markers and retrospective correlates from cross-sectional studies through April 2002 for the eating disorder syndromes anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge eating disorder. Limitations of these earlier studies are indicated. As part of an update of the previous analysis, results of studies identified between May 2002 and November 2008 are integrated into results of our earlier review. The updated review indicates that longitudinal evidence on risk factors is still much stronger for bulimia nervosa and binge related syndromes, whereas our knowledge of risk factors for anorexia nervosa remains limited. While recent studies were able to overcome some of the limitations of the earlier studies, results of our earlier review are mostly confirmed.
Dieting and the Eating Disorders
Authors: Stice Eric , Presnell Katherine
Published: February 2013

This chapter reviews theory and empirical evidence linking dietary restraint to eating pathology. Although prospective studies suggest that dieting increases risk for future onset of eating pathology, experiments suggest that assignment to weight loss and weight maintenance diets reduces eating disorder symptoms. Because these two findings have opposing public health implications, this chapter also considers various explanations for these inconsistent findings. Our analysis suggests that dieting is not a causal risk factor for bulimic pathology, but rather may be a proxy risk factor. We posit that a tendency towards overeating may lead to both dieting and bulimic pathology, which seems to better account for the pattern of observed findings, and propose a number of studies that might help further resolve whether dietary restraint is causally related to the development of eating pathology.
Mood, Emotions, and Eating Disorders
Authors: Vögele Claus , Gibson E. Leigh
Published: February 2013

Mood and emotions are intrinsically involved with eating. The question is in what ways do these normal emotional relations with food contribute to, or shed light on, the development of abnormal relations with food that eventually become clinical eating disorders (EDs). This chapter discusses basic mechanisms, findings, and models that help our understanding of the interactions between eating and emotions, in both clinical and nonclinical populations. The finding that comorbidity with mood and anxiety disorders is the norm among patients with EDs suggests that EDs may not necessarily be restricted to domains of eating behavior and body image but may also be associated with significant difficulties in affective functioning. This chapter reviews the evidence relating to the notion that EDs are disturbances of mood regulation, in which regulatory strategies specifically related to eating and the body are used to diminish negative affect associated with food, body image, or stress.
Psychological Assessment of the Eating Disorders
Authors: Anderson Drew A. , Murray Andrea D.
Published: February 2013

The purpose of this chapter is to describe a process, based on a functional approach, that will help assessors to develop assessments for eating disorders and eating-related problems. This approach takes into account both theoretical and practical concerns, and allows assessors to individualize their assessments depending on their particular needs. This process starts with broad considerations about the context in which the assessment is to be given and ends with the choice of specific instruments to be used.
Medical Comorbidities of Eating Disorders
Authors: Mitchell James E. , Crow Scott J.
Published: February 2013

Eating disorders are frequently characterized by medical complications that at times can be severe. Because of this, the medical assessment of patients with eating disorders is an important part of the evaluation process. Frequent complications include cardiovascular problems, including a decrement in heart rate variability that is a known risk factor for cardiac arrhythmias. Skeletal system changes, particularly the risk for osteoporosis and osteopenia, are common in patients with anorexia nervosa. Gastrointestinal complications can be quite prominent. In particular, there is a risk for gastric dilatation and gastric rupture in patients who binge eat. A variety of endocrine changes have also been described and there appears to be an association with eating disorders and poor control of diabetes mellitus.
Costs and Cost-Effectiveness in Eating Disorders
Authors: Crow Scott J. , Smiley Nicholas
Published: February 2013

Costs and cost-effectiveness are now well recognized as important aspects of the burdens of and treatment for eating disorders. Ample evidence indicates that the cost burdens associated with eating disorders are high; this is true whether viewed from the perspective of a health care payer or from a national perspective. On the other hand, it is important to note that studies involving cost modeling and direct cost collection in treatment have shown that eating disorders treatment is quite cost-effective. This is an area of great need for further research.
Overview
Authors: Agras W. Stewart
Published: February 2013

This chapter briefly summarizes some of the research issues raised in this volume and highlights some of the potential areas for further research. Among the areas examined are the contributions of genetics, environmental factors, developmental issues, treatment, and prevention. The role of other areas of research that impinge on these topics is also examined.
Beauty
Authors: MacDonald Elizabeth
Published: February 2013

This article discusses beauty as a goal of urban planning, and presents a brief history of beauty as a driving force in city building and professional city-planning activities from the pre-modern era up to the present day. It also considers several theoretical frameworks that lend insight into why beauty in cities is important and then moves on to key concerns voiced about beauty in contemporary planning practice.