In this special issue, top researchers from a diversity of disciplines provide an overview of and insights into the major social, cultural, and structural variables that play a role in Black women's poor health, and differential morbidity and mortality. The articles focus on the major threats to Black women's health such as diabetes, obesity, cancer, violence, and AIDS, and utilize a wide range of qualitative and quantitative methods from medicine, psychology, sociology, and feminist analysis. Among the articles are: An examination of the role of Black women's cultural and ethnomedical beliefs in their use of cancer screening by Laurie Hoffman-Goetz and Sherry Mills of the National Cancer Institute; An empirical analysis of Black women's utilization of health services entailing more than 18,000 women by Lonnie Snowden and his colleagues at the University of California-Berkeley Center for Mental Health Services Research; A comprehensive review and empirical analysis of the role of violence in Black women's health by Nancy Felipe Russo (Arizona State University), Mary Koss (University of Arizona), and Gwen Keita (APA Office on Women); An empirical investigation of the role of social and contextual variables in HIV risk among low-income Black women by Kathleen Sikkema, Timothy Heckman, and Jeffrey Kelly of the Center for AIDS Intervention Research, Medical College of Wisconsin. Other articles include comprehensive and critical analyses and reviews of diabetes, breast cancer risk perceptions, and obesity among Black women, as well as analyses of Black women's exclusion from research in medicine, women's health, health psychology, and behavioral medicine. The first issue of any psychology journal to be devoted to the health of Black women, this special issue is a step in the direction of redressing the long-overdue neglect of Black women's health. It provides a cogent overview of the state of Black women's health, numerous empiri

Should African American be construed as a race or as an ethnic group? If African Americans are defined as an ethnic group, what role does culture play in their lives and how can we measure their culture? This groundbreaking volume argues that we reject the concept of race and define African Americans as a cultural group. It presents the first scale ever devised for measuring acculturation among African Americans, along with powerful studies that empirically explore the role of culture and acculturation in African American behavior, health, and psychology. Among the authors' findings are how acculturation predicts symptoms--such as depression and anxiety--and physical problems such as hypertension. Public and mental health researchers and professionals will find this book an intriguing and useful presentation of an emerging approach to psychological and health theory and practice. "I found this volume to be compelling and informative. I believe that this book will stimulate a great advance in the way we conceptualize African American psychology in particular and psychology in general. The authors do an outstanding job of integrating perspectives from multiple disciplines into a psychological perspective and then in applying that perspective to their empirical work. . . . This is a wonderful book and is of great service to the field." --Hardin L. K. Coleman, Ph.D., Department of Counseling Psychology, University of Wisconsin

How frequently do women experience sexist discrimination? Is it widespread or concentrated in specific populations? Does sexism have any effect on womenAEs mental or physical health? How can we measure the impact of sexism, both blatant and subtle, on women exposed to it? In Discrimination Against Women, authors Hope Landrine and Elizabeth A. Klonoff offer the first empirically validated scale for measuring the health effects of sexism and present their findings from using the scale on a large sample of women they surveyed. The authors report on their studies assessing the frequency of discrimination against women and examining the physical and mental health impact of that discrimination. They found both that sexist discrimination is rampant in America and that it contributes significantly to physical and psychiatric symptoms among women. To make their scientific findings more accessible across disciplines and professions, the authors have included contributions from leading psychologists on what women can do about discrimination in their lives. They then present a review of the laws regarding discrimination against women to provide women with basic information on the legal status of discrimination suits. An appendix offers a guide through the methodological issues underlying the authorAEs sexism scale and findings and provides a primer for readers unfamiliar with scientific research and statistics. This volume is ideally suited to inform clinical workers and trainers, deepen discussions in womenAEs studies, and enrich the perspectives of professionals who work with women and those who establish policies that have an effect on them.

In this special issue, top researchers from a diversity of disciplines provide an overview of and insights into the major social, cultural, and structural variables that play a role in Black women's poor health, and differential morbidity and mortality. The articles focus on the major threats to Black women's health such as diabetes, obesity, cancer, violence, and AIDS, and utilize a wide range of qualitative and quantitative methods from medicine, psychology, sociology, and feminist analysis. Among the articles are: * An examination of the role of Black women's cultural and ethnomedical beliefs in their use of cancer screening by Laurie Hoffman-Goetz and Sherry Mills of the National Cancer Institute; * An empirical analysis of Black women's utilization of health services entailing more than 18,000 women by Lonnie Snowden and his colleagues at the University of California-Berkeley Center for Mental Health Services Research; * A comprehensive review and empirical analysis of the role of violence in Black women's health by Nancy Felipe Russo (Arizona State University), Mary Koss (University of Arizona), and Gwen Keita (APA Office on Women); * An empirical investigation of the role of social and contextual variables in HIV risk among low-income Black women by Kathleen Sikkema, Timothy Heckman, and Jeffrey Kelly of the Center for AIDS Intervention Research, Medical College of Wisconsin. Other articles include comprehensive and critical analyses and reviews of diabetes, breast cancer risk perceptions, and obesity among Black women, as well as analyses of Black women's exclusion from research in medicine, women's health, health psychology, and behavioral medicine. The first issue of any psychology journal to be devoted to the health of Black women, this special issue is a step in the direction of redressing the long-overdue neglect of Black women's health. It provides a cogent overview of the state of Black women's health, numerous empirical investigations, and clear suggestions for future research.

Preventing Misdiagnosis of Women is a crucial resource for all therapists who treat women. Not only will the information further the well-being of women clients, but it could literally save lives. Interesting, readable, and well-organized, this book belongs on the shelf next to the DSM-IV. The case examples will grip the reader whether professional or lay audience. --Natalie Porter, Ph.D., California School of Professional Psychology "I am greatly impressed with the book. It is a brand new idea, one that is long overdue." --Hannah Lerman, Ph.D., Clinical Psychologist, Los Angeles Some clients don't respond to a therapist's chosen treatment for a specific mental disorder. Could there be a physical disorder that is causing psychiatric symptoms? How can a therapist distinguish between similar psychiatric and physical disorders to arrive at the correct diagnosis, refer on, and/or suggest appropriate treatment? Preventing Misdiagnosis of Women gives the therapist the foundation for identifying those physiological disorders that may be at the root of the mental problems presented by women clients. Hyperthyroidism, for example, can result in depression and anxiety, and temporal lobe epilepsy can manifest itself with the same symptoms as bipolar disorder. This special guidebook sorts out potential mix-ups by providing detailed cases and illustrations, a quick reference table for checking symptoms, and a glossary. Making technical information clear and concise, the authors cover endocrinological--including thyroid, adrenal, pituitary, and parathyroid systems--and brain seizure problems as well as other diseases--such as multiple sclerosis, mitral heart valve prolapse, and lupus erythematosus. They offer a basic overview of the systems and organs involved and focus on how particular malfunctions can result in serious behavioral problems. A guide to providing the best and most effective care to women clients, Preventing Misdiagnosis of Women presents important information about assessment and interfacing with medical professionals. All mental health and helping professionals will find this book invaluable, as will students in clinical/counseling psychology, health psychology, social work, and gender studies. "This book is informative and interesting to read. This is a text that can be read more than once and be that much more helpful in subsequent readings. . . . Preventing Misdiagnosis of Women will certainly have an impact on feminist assessment, theory, and therapy. In a broader context, it provides a foundation to spawn research hypotheses on women's health and to reconnect the mind and body. Written accessibly even for reader without a background in physiological psychology, it fills a gap in the clinical and counseling literature. This text has far-reaching implications about the origin of psychiatric symptoms and possibly for explaining some differential rates in sex ratios for prevalence of certain psychologically based clinical syndromes. I found the text a humbling reminder of how easy it can be to miss the obvious and how easy it can be to attribute psychological explanations to symptom clusters one doesn't understand. This book could easily become a 'required' text for graduate students in mental health professions and mental health professionals. . . . This text will undoubtedly have an impact." --Maria P. P. Root, Ph.D., University of Washington "Preventing Misdiagnosis of Women is very good and will make an important contribution to the field. . . . The book's message--that it is critical that differential diagnosis include consideration of both psychiatric disorders--is convincing and important to emphasize to students in graduate programs." --Helene Jackson, Ph.D., The Columbia University School of Social Work

"Preventing Misdiagnosis of Women is a crucial resource for all therapists who treat women. Not only will the information further the well-being of women clients, but it could literally save lives. Interesting, readable, and well-organized, this book belongs on the shelf next to the DSM-IV. The case examples will grip the reader whether professional or lay audience." --Natalie Porter, Ph.D., California School of Professional Psychology "I am greatly impressed with the book. It is a brand new idea, one that is long overdue." --Hannah Lerman, Ph.D., Clinical Psychologist, Los Angeles Some clients don't respond to a therapist's chosen treatment for a specific mental disorder. Could there be a physical disorder that is causing psychiatric symptoms? How can a therapist distinguish between similar psychiatric and physical disorders to arrive at the correct diagnosis, refer on, and/or suggest appropriate treatment? Preventing Misdiagnosis of Women gives the therapist the foundation for identifying those physiological disorders that may be at the root of the mental problems presented by women clients. Hyperthyroidism, for example, can result in depression and anxiety, and temporal lobe epilepsy can manifest itself with the same symptoms as bipolar disorder. This special guidebook sorts out potential mix-ups by providing detailed cases and illustrations, a quick reference table for checking symptoms, and a glossary. Making technical information clear and concise, the authors cover endocrinological--including thyroid, adrenal, pituitary, and parathyroid systems--and brain seizure problems as well as other diseases--such as multiple sclerosis, mitral heart valve prolapse, and lupus erythematosus. They offer a basic overview of the systems and organs involved and focus on how particular malfunctions can result in serious behavioral problems. A guide to providing the best and most effective care to women clients, Preventing Misdiagnosis of Women presents important information about assessment and interfacing with medical professionals. All mental health and helping professionals will find this book invaluable, as will students in clinical/counseling psychology, health psychology, social work, and gender studies. "This book is informative and interesting to read. This is a text that can be read more than once and be that much more helpful in subsequent readings. . . . Preventing Misdiagnosis of Women will certainly have an impact on feminist assessment, theory, and therapy. In a broader context, it provides a foundation to spawn research hypotheses on women's health and to reconnect the mind and body. Written accessibly even for reader without a background in physiological psychology, it fills a gap in the clinical and counseling literature. This text has far-reaching implications about the origin of psychiatric symptoms and possibly for explaining some differential rates in sex ratios for prevalence of certain psychologically based clinical syndromes. I found the text a humbling reminder of how easy it can be to miss the obvious and how easy it can be to attribute psychological explanations to symptom clusters one doesn't understand. This book could easily become a 'required' text for graduate students in mental health professions and mental health professionals. . . . This text will undoubtedly have an impact." --Maria P. P. Root, Ph.D., University of Washington "Preventing Misdiagnosis of Women is very good and will make an important contribution to the field. . . . The book's message--that it is critical that differential diagnosis include consideration of both psychiatric disorders--is convincing and important to emphasize to students in graduate programs." --Helene Jackson, Ph.D., The Columbia University School of Social Work

Should African American be construed as a race or as an ethnic group? If African Americans are defined as an ethnic group, what role does culture play in their lives and how can we measure their culture? This groundbreaking volume argues that we reject the concept of race and define African Americans as a cultural group. It presents the first scale ever devised for measuring acculturation among African Americans, along with powerful studies that empirically explore the role of culture and acculturation in African American behavior, health, and psychology. Among the authors' findings are how acculturation predicts symptoms--such as depression and anxiety--and physical problems such as hypertension. Public and mental health researchers and professionals will find this book an intriguing and useful presentation of an emerging approach to psychological and health theory and practice. "I found this volume to be compelling and informative. I believe that this book will stimulate a great advance in the way we conceptualize African American psychology in particular and psychology in general. The authors do an outstanding job of integrating perspectives from multiple disciplines into a psychological perspective and then in applying that perspective to their empirical work. . . . This is a wonderful book and is of great service to the field." --Hardin L. K. Coleman, Ph.D., Department of Counseling Psychology, University of Wisconsin