This book presents a longitudinal study of cultural influence on psychiatric disorders, from late imperial China to contemporary China, drawing on both reviews and lab results to do so. While predominantly offering evidence of cultural influences on psychiatric disorders from a Chinese perspective, it will also be of global benefit since “the national exemplifies the international.” It presents the Chinese “emic” components of culture, including Chinese personality traits, Chinese forms of emotional regulation, and Chinese styles of family structure and function, which will stimulate international interest and research in related areas. The intended readership includes cultural psychiatrists and psychologists, family therapists, personality psychologists, literature-related researchers, and members of the general public who are interested in cultures expressed in fictions.

This volume presents cutting-edge work in cross-cultural psychiatry by an international group of clinicians, researchers, and leaders in mental health policy. The book grew out of a recent lecture series at the Massachusetts General Hospital and features contributions from diverse fields including psychiatry, psychology, anthropology, social work, social medicine, and public policy. The first section highlights the implications of biological and cultural diversity for psychiatric diagnosis and treatment. Subsequent sections focus on psychotherapy in cross-cultural contexts and international mental health policy. Chapters examine a variety of patient populations, including Asian, African, and Hispanic Americans and populations in Europe and developing countries.

This handbook describes ways in which society shapes the mental health of its members, and shapes the lives of those who have been identified as mentally ill. The text explores the social conditions that lead to behaviors defined as mental illness, and the ways in which the concept of mental illness is socially constructed around those behaviors. The book also reviews research that examines socially conditioned responses to mental illness on the part of individuals and institutions, and ways in which these responses affect persons with mental illness. It evaluates where the field has been, identifies its current location and plots a course for the future.

Increasingly, psychologists are becoming aware of sensitivity needs with respect to treating patients from differing cultures. Culture can play an important role both in what a patient discloses about themselves, how likely they are to follow a therapist's advice, and whether specific therapies are likely to be effective for them. Following on the heels of Tseng's "Handbook of Cultural Psychiatry" comes this "Clinical Application of Cultural Psychiatry." This more concise book focuses on information most relevant to treating patients. The book discusses how culture plays a role in specific disorders (depression, anxiety, eating and sexual disorders, substance abuse, schizophrenia, etc.). relevant sensitivities to keep in mind in treating specific patient populations (age groups, differing religions, and differing ethnicity's).* Written by a nationally and internationally recognized scholar, clinician, and author* Has the proper combination of knowledge, skill, and conceptual discussion for clinical practicalities* Provides comprehensive and systematic coverage of major topics for clinical application * Enhanced by more than 120 tables and figures and nearly 30 case illustrations* Will serve as a major textbook in the training of psychiatric residents and clinical psychologists

The field of health psychology has grown dramatically in the last decade, with exciting new developments in the study of how psychological and psychosocial processes contribute to risk for and disease sequelae for a variety of medical problems. In addition, the quality and effectiveness of many of our treatments, and health promotion and disease prevention efforts, have been significantly enhanced by the contributions of health psychologists (Taylor, 1995). Unfortunately, however, much of the theo rizing in health psychology and the empirical research that derives from it continue to reflect the mainstream bias of psychology and medicine, both of which have a primary focus on white, heterosexual, middle-class American men. This bias pervades our thinking despite the demographic heterogeneity of American society (U. S. Bureau of the Census, 1992) and the substantial body of epidemiologic evidence that indicates significant group differences in health status, burden of morbidity and mortality, life expectancy, quality of life, and the risk and protective factors that con tribute to these differences in health outcomes (National Center for Health Statistics, 1994; Myers, Kagawa-Singer, Kumanyika, Lex, & M- kides, 1995). There is also substantial evidence that many of the health promotion and disease prevention efforts that have proven effective with more affluent, educated whites, on whom they were developed, may not yield comparable results when used with populations that differ by eth nicity, social class, gender, or sexual orientation (Cochran & Mays, 1991; Castro, Coe, Gutierres, & Saenz, this volume; Chesney & Nealey, this volume).

Indigenous psychology is an emerging new field in psychology, focusing on psychological universals in social, cultural, and ecological contexts - Starting point for psychologists who wish to understand various cultures from their own ecological, historial, philosophical, and religious perspectives

Cultural Psychology draws upon major psychological topics, theories, and principles to illustrate the importance of culture in psychological inquiry. Exploring how culture broadly connects to psychological processing across diverse cultural communities and settings, it highlights the applied nature of cultural psychology to everyday life events and situations, presenting culture as a complex layer in which individuals acquire skills, values, and abilities. Two central positions guide this textbook: one, that culture is a mental and physical construct that individuals live, experience, share, perform, and learn; and the second, that culture shapes growth and development. Culture-specific and cross-cultural examples highlight connections between culture and psychological phenomena. The text is multidisciplinary, highlighting different perspectives that also study how culture shapes human phenomena. Topics include an introduction to cultural psychology, the history of cultural psychology, cultural evolution and cultural ecology, methods, language and nonverbal communication, cognition, and perception. Through coverage of social behaviour, the book challenges students to explore the self, identity, and personality; social relationships, social attitudes, and intergroup contact in a global world; and social influence, aggression, violence, and war. Sections addressing growth and development include human development and its processes, transitions, and rituals across the lifespan, and socializing agents, socialization practices, and child activities. Additionally, the book features discussions of emotion and motivation, mental health and psychopathology, and future directions for cultural psychology. Chapters contain teaching and learning tools including case studies, multidisciplinary contributions, thought-provoking questions, class and experiential activities, chapter summaries, and additional print and media resources.

Bringing together leading authorities, this definitive handbook provides a comprehensive review of the field of cultural psychology. Major theoretical perspectives are explained, and methodological issues and challenges are discussed. The volume examines how topics fundamental to psychology—identity and social relations, the self, cognition, emotion and motivation, and development—are influenced by cultural meanings and practices. It also presents cutting-edge work on the psychological and evolutionary underpinnings of cultural stability and change. In all, more than 60 contributors have written over 30 chapters covering such diverse areas as food, love, religion, intelligence, language, attachment, narratives, and work.

In recent years China has witnessed unprecedented economic growth, emerging as a powerful, influential player on the global stage. Now, more than ever, there is a great interest and need within the West to better understand the psychological and social processes that characterize the Chinese people. The Oxford Handbook of Chinese Psychology is the first book of its kind - a comprehensive and commanding review of Chinese psychology, covering areas of human functioning with unparalleled sophistication and complexity. In 42 chapters, leading authorities cite and integrate both English and Chinese-language research in topic areas ranging from the socialization of children, mathematics achievement, emotion, bilingualism and Chinese styles of thinking to Chinese identity, personal relationships, leadership processes and psychopathology. With all chapters accessibly written by the leading researchers in their respective fields, the reader of this volume will learn how and why China has developed in the way it has, and how it is likely to develop. In addition, the book shows how a better understanding of a culture so different to our own can tell us so much about our own culture and sense of identity. A book of extraordinary breadth, The Oxford Handbook of Chinese Psychology will become the essential sourcebook for any scholar or practitioner attempting to understand the psychological functioning of the world's largest ethnic group.

Cross-cultural psychology has come of age as a scientific discipline, but how has it developed? The field has moved from exploratory studies, in which researchers were mainly interested in finding differences in psychological functioning without any clear expectation, to detailed hypothesis tests of theories of cross-cultural differences. This book takes stock of the large number of empirical studies conducted over the last decades to evaluate the current state of the field. Specialists from various domains provide an overview of their area, linking it to the fundamental questions of cross-cultural psychology such as how individuals and their cultures are linked, how the link evolves during development, and what the methodological challenges of the field are. This book will appeal to academic researchers and post-graduates interested in cross-cultural research.