Health and Behaviour Selected Perspectives

This book is an important contribution to the understanding of the relationship between health and behaviour.

There is clear evidence of causal links between specific forms of behaviour and the improvement or deterioration of health states. Unless human behaviour can be influenced, there can be no progress in promoting health, preventing disease and alleviating suffering. This book is an important contribution to the understanding of the relationship between health and behaviour. Topics have been selected for expert review on the basis of their intrinsic importance and also their relative neglect in the published literature. They cover all stages of the life cycle and a range of social and cultural settings. Health workers and behavioural scientists, particularly those working in the fields of mental health, human development and community medicine, will find this a stimulating and informative work of direct relevance to their practice.

List of contributors; Preface; Acknowledgements; List of abbreviations; 1. Social and behavioural determinants of mental disorders Heinz Häfner and Rainer Welz; 2. Food-related behaviour M. Abdussalam, C. Foster and F. Käferstein; 3. The psychosocial environment and the development of competence in children Theodore D. Wachs; 4. Children in danger Philip Graham; 5. Adolescent health care and disease prevention in the Americas Beatrix A. Hamburg; 6. Social networks and mental disorder (with special reference to the elderly) Heinz Häfner and Rainer Welz; 7. Mental health aspects of general health care David Goldberg; 8. The sociology of health care in developing countries Debebar Banerji; 9. Population movements and health: global research needs Patricia L. Rosenfield; 10. Health and behaviour: a worldwide perspective David Hamburg and Norman Sartorius; Index.

There is clear evidence of causal links between specific forms of behaviour and the improvement or deterioration of health states. Unless human behaviour can be influenced, there can be no progress in promoting health, preventing disease and alleviating suffering.