This volume brings together basic research on the nature of stress reactivity with up-to-date research on the effectiveness and mechanisms of mindfulness interventions. The chapters review the major research areas that elucidate the impact of stress reactivity on health, and explore the mechanisms and effectiveness of mindfulness-based approaches for stress reduction and improved physical and emotional health. The first section examines biopsychosocial mechanisms of stress reactivity such as allostasis and allostatic load, neurobiology of stress, biology of the "fight-or-flight" and "tend-and-befriend" responses, and psychoneuroimmunology. This section concludes by addressing the roles of perception and appraisal, including the role of perceived threat in stress reactivity as well as the role that negative perceptions of the stress response itself play in compromising health. The second section opens with review of leading psychological models of mindfulness, including self-regulation, reperceiving, and the Intention, Attention, Attitude (IAA) triaxiomatic model. Subsequent chapters discuss mindfulness-based interventions and mechanisms of change for stress and related clinical conditions including chronic pain, traumatic stress, anxiety and related disorders, and clinical depression. The final chapter reviews possible neural networks and brain mechanisms associated with mindfulness meditation practice. As the research on stress reactivity and mindfulness-based stress reduction continues to proliferate, this book offers readers a single volume covering the most relevant information across this vast terrain. Other available volumes offer in-depth coverage of stress research with little mention of mindfulness and stress reduction. Conversely, many texts on the topic of mindfulness and mindfulness-based interventions do not adequately cover the biopsychosocial processes of stress reactivity.

This book examines the causes and consequences of suicide from the perspective of economics. The approach here differs from those in medical, psychiatric, epidemiological, and sociological studies of suicide and is thus novel in a way that highlights the importance of economic and institutional settings in the problem of suicide. The authors argue that suicide imposes a tremendous economic cost on contemporary society in a variety of ways, requiring the government to develop an effective prevention strategy. An empirical analysis using data from Japan and other developed countries shows that natural disasters and economic crises increase suicide rates, while liberal government policies favorable to the poor can decrease them. Further, the types of effective prevention strategies in the context of railway/subway suicides, celebrity suicides, public awareness campaigns, and education using data primarily from Japan are revealed. This book ultimately contributes to an understanding of suicides and the development of evidence-based policy proposals. The Japanese version of this book won the 56th Nikkei Prize for Economics Books (Nikkei Keizai Tosho Bunka Award) in 2013. Yasuyuki Sawada is Chief Economist of the Asian Development Bank and Professor of Economics at The University of Tokyo. Michiko Ueda is Associate Professor in the Faculty of Political Science and Economics at Waseda University. Tetsuya Matsubayashi is Associate Professor of Osaka School of International Public Policy (OSIPP) at Osaka University.

The Great Irish Famine was one of the most devastating humanitarian disasters of the nineteenth century. In a period of only five years, Ireland lost approximately 25% of its population through a combination of death and emigration. How could such a tragedy have occurred at the heart of the vast, and resource-rich, British Empire?"Charity and the Great Hunger in Ireland" explores this question by focusing on a particular, and lesser-known, aspect of the Famine: that being the extent to which people throughout the world mobilized to provide money, food and clothing to assist the starving Irish. This book considers how, helped by developments in transport and communications, newspapers throughout the world reported on the suffering in Ireland, prompting funds to be raised globally on an unprecedented scale. Donations came from as far away as Australia, China, India and South America and contributors emerged from across the various religious, ethnic, social and gender divides. "Charity and the Great Hunger in Ireland "traces the story of this international aid effort and uses it to reveal previously unconsidered elements in the history of the Famine in Ireland.

This volume combines approaches from three disciplines - economics, sociology, and demography - and empirically analyzes the key aspects of the labor market and social demography processes in post-Soviet transitional societies while focusing on the gender perspective. Here, readers will find empirical studies on such countries as Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Estonia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan. The volume contributes to the literature by addressing the lack of academic empirical research on gender difference issues in the labor markets of post-Soviet countries as well as gender inequalities in fertility preferences, gender disparities among the youth and elderly, the gender pay gap, gender differences in employment, and female voices. The book brings together researchers of different disciplines from a variety of countries, distinguishing this project as international and interdisciplinary. The authors use the quantitative survey micro-data approach as well as the qualitative methods of interview data analysis to provide a comprehensive and detailed overview of the economic and social developments in the region regarding gender differences. The volume consists of three parts tackling the following topics: 1) gender differences and demography (family formation and fertility, youth and elderly employment); 2) gender differences and labor market (gender wage gap, motherhood wage penalty, gender differences among freelancers, and women in STEM science); and 3) gender differences, well-being, and gender equality attitudes (women's voices, women's collective actions, gender equality attitudes, and spending patterns of housewives).

Multicultural aspects of psychology have received some attention in the literature in the last decade. A number of texts currently address these significant concerns, for example, Counseling the Culturally Different (Sue & Sue, 2008); Handbook of Multicultural Counseling ( Poterotto et l., 2009); and Handbook of Multicultural Counseling Competencies (Pope-Davis & Coleman, 2005). In their most recent editions, several of these books address more nuanced complexities of diversity, for example, the intersections of gender or social class with race-ethnicity. Meanwhile, other texts have addressed gender issues in psychology (Handbook of Counseling Women, Counseling Men), with some attention paid to racial-ethnic and other diversity concerns. Clearly the progression of scholarship in this field reflects the importance of incorporating multiple aspects of diversity within psychology. However, no book currently exists that fully addresses the complexities of race-ethnicity and gender together. Better understanding of the dual impact of race-ethnicity and gender on psychological functioning may lead to more effective conceptualizations of a number of mental health issues, such as domestic violence, addictions, health-related behaviors and achievement. Exploring the impact of race-ethnicity and gender also may provide a broader understanding of self-in-community, as this affects individuals, families and other social groups and work and career development. Topics of interest may include identity development, worldviews and belief systems, parenting styles, interventions for promoting resilience and persistence and strategies for enhancing more accurate diagnostic and treatment modalities. Today's world is comprised of multiple and intersecting communities that remain in need of psychological models and interventions that support and promote both individual and collective mental health. We believe that utilizing unidimensional conceptual models (e.g. focusing solely on race-ethnicity or gender) no longer adequately addresses psychological concerns that are dynamic, complex and multi-faceted. The proposed Handbook will focus on timely topics which historically have been under-addressed for a number of diverse populations.

The dramatically increasing aging population of Hong Kong has elicited new risks and opportunities to facilitate a positive life for older adults. This book offers a holistic review of gerontological theories and literature, and constructs a conceptual framework of social support networks, coping and positive aging. In light of the implications of the convoy model of social support to depict an indigenous landscape of positive aging in Hong Kong, this is one of the very few empirical studies that adopts both quantitative research and qualitative research. The research consisted of a pilot study of in-depth interviews with 16 older Hong Kong Chinese and a main study surveying 393 older members of District Elderly Community Center. The results of the study indicate that family and peer support constitute the mainstay of support networks of the elderly, and that family and peer support are associated with positive aging. Moreover, the study shows that it is the depth of emotional closeness, namely, close interaction and intimacy with social partners that makes the greatest contribution to positive aging. Additionally, problem coping and emotion coping are found to mediate the relationship between social support networks and positive aging. There is potential in bringing more domestic helpers into elderly care and improving the service quality such that the goal of Aging in Place can be promoted in Hong Kong. Intended for researchers in social work, gerontology and positive psychology, it is also essential reading for graduates and social work professionals interested in this area. This book makes a valuable contribution to social gerontological research among Hong Kong older adults and the promotion of wellbeing in the elderly via the construct of positive aging in the culture of Chinese society.

This edited volume builds on existing alternative food initiatives and food movements research to explore how a systems approach can bring about health and well-being through enhanced collaboration. Chapters describe the myriad ways community-driven actors work to foster food systems that are socially just, embed food in local economies, regenerate the environment and actively engage citizens. Drawing on case studies, interviews and Participatory Action Research projects, the editors share the stories behind community-driven efforts to develop sustainable food systems, and present a critical assessment of both the tensions and the achievements of these initiatives. The volume is unique in its focus on approaches and methodologies that both support and recognize the value of community-based practices. Throughout the book the editors identify success stories, challenges and opportunities that link practitioner experience to critical debates in food studies, practice and policy. By making current practices visible to scholars, the volume speaks to people engaged in the co-creation of knowledge, and documents a crucial point in the evolution of a rapidly expanding and dynamic sustainable food systems movement. Entrenched food insecurity, climate change induced crop failures, rural-urban migration, escalating rates of malnutrition related diseases, and aging farm populations are increasingly common obstacles for communities around the world. Merging private, public and civil society spheres, the book gives voice to actors from across the sustainable food system movement including small businesses, not-for-profits, eaters, farmers and government. Insights into the potential for market restructuring, knowledge sharing, planning and bridging civic-political divides come from across Canada, the United States and Mexico, making this a key resource for policy-makers, students, citizens, and practitioners.

There is no one method for doing culturally alert counseling. Instead, culturally alert counseling consists of intentionally adapting existing ways to help clients (1) understand their socially constructed worldviews through culture, (2) appreciate their various cultures, (3) to make choices about adherence to cultural norms, and (4) to recognize and respond to external bias relating to their cultural group membership.

Introduces critical issues that are highlighted by case studies, for example cultural relativism, power, oppression, attribution, and definitions of illness, and treatment. The case studies are presented in chapters that are co-authored by two to six experts representing a diverse range of professional and personal backgrounds. Concepts such as cultural competence, multicultural practice, and ethnosensitivity have taken root in the literature. At the same time, concepts such as cross-disciplinary, transdisciplinary, interdisciplinary, and interprofessional practice have been articulated. Although these two trends coexist in print, the literature in the various helping professions does not address whether and how the issues of client diversity and interprofessional practice can come together in productive and better informed ways. The present book promises to close this gap and offer health care professionals theoretically grounded examples of "best practices." The range of diversity includes Native American, Taiwanese, Portuguese, African-American, Algerian, Irish, South Asian, and gay clients.

With this 4th edition, Psychoeducational Groups remains the only comprehensive, user-friendly guide to planning, implementing, facilitating, and evaluating psychoeducational groups. The 4th edition expands the discussions about group leaders' knowledge base, self-development, and techniques; best practices for group facilitation; and effective uses for group therapeutic factors. Substantial new material includes templates, scripts, and sample forms; suggestions for leader interventions for group and individual issues and difficulties; a social media policy; and the effectiveness of manualized and cyber/virtual groups.

This handbook synthesizes and integrates the science of internalizing and externalizing childhood disorders with the diagnostic structure of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual - 5th Edition (DSM-5) of the American Psychiatric Association. It offers a comprehensive overview of DSM-5 disorders in childhood, covering etiology, symptom presentation, assessment methods, diagnostic criteria, and psychotherapeutic and pharmacological approaches to treatment, prognosis, and outcomes. Clinical vignettes and empirical insights illustrate key concepts and diagnostic and treatment issues such as developmental, cultural, gender, and other considerations that may influence diagnosis and case formulation. In addition, chapters on psychosocial therapies offer robust guidelines for working with children and adolescents with DSM-5 disorders. The Handbook also addresses the shift from categorical to dimensional, diagnostic, and treatment systems, particularly focusing on the current shift in funded research in childhood disorders. Topics featured in this Handbook include: Intellectual disabilities and global developmental delay. Depressive disorders in youth. Posttraumatic and acute stress disorders in childhood and adolescence. Autism spectrum and social pragmatic language disorders. Alcohol-related disorders and other substance abuse disorders. Parent-child and sibling relationships. Cognitive-behavioral interventions and their role in improving social skills. The Handbook of DSM-5 Disorders in Children and Adolescents is a must-have resource for researchers, professors, and graduate students as well as clinicians, professionals, and scientist-practitioners in clinical child and school psychology, pediatrics, social work, and educational psychology.

Have you ever thought, "I can't sit around and watch this horrible thing happen?" Did you get up, go out, and try to make a difference? This is the true tale of one family's leap of faith to pursue God's calling and walk across America, in order to bring attention to the global clean water crisis. When the Hinman family discovered that children as young as four are walking long distances each day to fetch water that can be dirty and dangerous, they set off on this hilarious journey in the hopes of changing the future of some of the water walkers across the globe. Along the way, they encountered a nation's worth of generous individuals as they endured the hardships of living out of their SUV, the elements, and sacrificial living. Join the Hinmans in this walk to discover what it means to be patriotic, experience God's enduring love and provision, and learn about the difference one person can make in the lives of others.The author of this book has pledged all personal royalties to benefit the clean water crisis.

For more information, please visit waterwalkamerica.com

This expert compendium surveys the current state of military psychology across the branches of service at the clinical, research, consulting, and organizational levels. Its practical focus examines psychological adjustment pre- and post-deployment, commonly-encountered conditions (e.g., substance abuse), and the promotion of well-being, sleep, mindfulness, and resilience training. Coverage pays particular attention to uses of psychology in selection and assessment of service personnel in specialized positions, and training concerns for clinicians and students choosing to work with the military community. Chapters also address topics of particular salience to a socially conscious military, including PTSD, sexual harassment and assault, women's and LGBT issues, suicide prevention, and professional ethics. Among the specific chapters topics covered: * Military deployment psychology: psychologists in the forward environment. * Stress and resilience in married military couples. * Assessment and selection of high-risk operational personnel: processes, procedures, and underlying theoretical constructs. * Understanding and addressing sexual harassment and sexual assault in the US military. * Virtual reality applications for the assessment and treatment of PTSD. * Plus international perspectives on military psychology from China, Australia, India, and more. Grounding its readers in up-to-date research and practice, Military Psychology will assist health psychologists, clinical psychologists, psychiatrists, and clinical social workers in understanding and providing treatment for military populations, veterans, and their families, as well as military psychologists in leadership and consulting positions.