This book explains the personality disorders and their treatment in terms of a broad biopsychosocial model.

Studies reveal that nearly 10% of the adult population meet criteria for an official diagnosis of personality disorder. Personality disorders have been shown to be strongly influenced by biological and psychological factors, however, less attention has been paid to the social context of these disorders. Synthesizing over 25 years of research since the first edition, this book explores how certain social forces can amplify heritable traits into disorders. It considers these interactions in the framework of a broad biopsychosocial model. Chapters cover clinically important categories, including borderline, narcissistic, and antisocial personality, as well as topics such as modernity, exploring how rapid social change is acting as a major risk factor for these disorders. Concise, balanced, and evidence-based throughout, this important book offers a unique perspective and shows how this can inform treatment decisions for all mental health professionals. It will also be of interest to researchers in the social sciences.

A review of the social context of personality disorders and the relevance of a biopsychosocial model of etiology and treatment.

This Handbook provides both breadth and depth regarding current approaches to the understanding, assessment, and treatment of personality disorders. The five parts of the book address etiology; models; individual disorders and clusters; assessment; and treatment. A comprehensive picture of personality pathology is supplied that acknowledges the contributions and missteps of the past, identifies the crucial questions of the present, and sets a course for the future. It also follows the changes the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM–5) has triggered in the field of personality disorders. The editors take a unique approach where all chapters include two commentaries by experts in the field, as well as an author rejoinder. This approach engages multiple perspectives and an exchange of ideas. It is the ideal resource for researchers and treatment providers at all career stages.

This text provides a summary of what is currently known about the diagnosis, assessment, construct validity, etiology, pathology, and treatment of personality disorders. It also provides extensive coverage of the many controversial changes for the DSM-5, including chapters by proponents and opponents to these changes.

Social isolation and loneliness are serious yet underappreciated public health risks that affect a significant portion of the older adult population. Approximately one-quarter of community-dwelling Americans aged 65 and older are considered to be socially isolated, and a significant proportion of adults in the United States report feeling lonely. People who are 50 years of age or older are more likely to experience many of the risk factors that can cause or exacerbate social isolation or loneliness, such as living alone, the loss of family or friends, chronic illness, and sensory impairments. Over a life course, social isolation and loneliness may be episodic or chronic, depending upon an individual's circumstances and perceptions. A substantial body of evidence demonstrates that social isolation presents a major risk for premature mortality, comparable to other risk factors such as high blood pressure, smoking, or obesity. As older adults are particularly high-volume and high-frequency users of the health care system, there is an opportunity for health care professionals to identify, prevent, and mitigate the adverse health impacts of social isolation and loneliness in older adults. Social Isolation and Loneliness in Older Adults summarizes the evidence base and explores how social isolation and loneliness affect health and quality of life in adults aged 50 and older, particularly among low income, underserved, and vulnerable populations. This report makes recommendations specifically for clinical settings of health care to identify those who suffer the resultant negative health impacts of social isolation and loneliness and target interventions to improve their social conditions. Social Isolation and Loneliness in Older Adults considers clinical tools and methodologies, better education and training for the health care workforce, and dissemination and implementation that will be important for translating research into practice, especially as the evidence base for effective interventions continues to flourish.

The Social Determinants of Mental Health aims to fill the gap that exists in the psychiatric, scholarly, and policy-related literature on the social determinants of mental health: those factors stemming from where we learn, play, live, work, and age that impact our overall mental health and well-being. The editors and an impressive roster of chapter authors from diverse scholarly backgrounds provide detailed information on topics such as discrimination and social exclusion; adverse early life experiences; poor education; unemployment, underemployment, and job insecurity; income inequality, poverty, and neighborhood deprivation; food insecurity; poor housing quality and housing instability; adverse features of the built environment; and poor access to mental health care. This thought-provoking book offers many beneficial features for clinicians and public health professionals: Clinical vignettes are included, designed to make the content accessible to readers who are primarily clinicians and also to demonstrate the practical, individual-level applicability of the subject matter for those who typically work at the public health, population, and/or policy level. Policy implications are discussed throughout, designed to make the content accessible to readers who work primarily at the public health or population level and also to demonstrate the policy relevance of the subject matter for those who typically work at the clinical level. All chapters include five to six key points that focus on the most important content, helping to both prepare the reader with a brief overview of the chapter's main points and reinforce the "take-away" messages afterward. In addition to the main body of the book, which focuses on selected individual social determinants of mental health, the volume includes an in-depth overview that summarizes the editors' and their colleagues' conceptualization, as well as a final chapter coauthored by Dr. David Satcher, 16th Surgeon General of the United States, that serves as a "Call to Action," offering specific actions that can be taken by both clinicians and policymakers to address the social determinants of mental health. The editors have succeeded in the difficult task of balancing the individual/clinical/patient perspective and the population/public health/community point of view, while underscoring the need for both groups to work in a unified way to address the inequities in twenty-first century America. The Social Determinants of Mental Health gives readers the tools to understand and act to improve mental health and reduce risk for mental illnesses for individuals and communities. Students preparing for the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) will also benefit from this book, as the MCAT in 2015 will test applicants' knowledge of social determinants of health. The social determinants of mental health are not distinct from the social determinants of physical health, although they deserve special emphasis given the prevalence and burden of poor mental health.

Since the second edition of this authoritative text was published in 2002, the research base supporting the Five-Factor Model (FFM) of personality disorder has more than quadrupled. As a result, the vast majority of this volume is new.

The understanding of how to reduce risk factors for mental disorders has expanded remarkably as a result of recent scientific advances. This study, mandated by Congress, reviews those advances in the context of current research and provides a targeted definition of prevention and a conceptual framework that emphasizes risk reduction. Highlighting opportunities for and barriers to interventions, the book draws on successful models for the prevention of cardiovascular disease, injuries, and smoking. In addition, it reviews the risk factors associated with Alzheimer's disease, schizophrenia, alcohol abuse and dependence, depressive disorders, and conduct disorders and evaluates current illustrative prevention programs. The models and examination provide a framework for the design, application, and evaluation of interventions intended to prevent mental disorders and the transfer of knowledge about prevention from research to clinical practice. The book presents a focused research agenda, with recommendations on how to develop effective intervention programs, create a cadre of prevention researchers, and improve coordination among federal agencies.