Stress, Health, and Behavior

Exposure to stressful life experiences can disrupt key regulatory systems in the body and contribute to a variety of negative health outcomes. This authoritative text takes a biopsychosocial approach to understanding the role of stress in alcohol use disorder, posttraumatic stress disorder, depression, cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, cancer, and other chronic diseases. It presents cutting-edge knowledge about how stressors are conceptualized and measured; connections to disease processes; systemic racism as a significant, ongoing stressor for people of color; and factors that promote resilience. For each of the disorders discussed, proven and promising stress-targeted clinical interventions are reviewed. Student-friendly features include an end-of-book glossary and an extensive bibliography to facilitate in-depth study of selected topics of interest.

Preface 1. Historical Aspects of the Stress Field 2. Biological Measures of Stress 3. Behavioral Measures of Stress 4. Stress and Alcohol Use 5. Posttraumatic Stress Disorder 6. Stress and Depression 7. Stress and Cardiovascular Disease 8. Stress and Diabetes 9. Stress and the Gastrointestinal System 10. Stress and Cancer 11. Stress and Infectious Diseases 12. Systemic Racism as a Stressor 13. Resilience Glossary of Terms References Index

Richard McCarty, PhD, is Research Professor of Psychology at Vanderbilt University, where he has taught undergraduate courses in stress and health since 2015. Dr. McCarty started his academic career at the University of Virginia and previously served as Dean of the College of Arts and Science and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs and Provost at Vanderbilt. He has published several books and more than 200 articles and book chapters. Dr. McCarty is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association, the Association for Psychological Science, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science.