Originally published in 1984 the study of psychological aspects of health was a rapidly expanding enterprise. Most of the contributors to this volume were trained as social psychologists or by social psychologists. Some have been more applied in their focus or on the edge of several fields. All however share a common approach focusing on the individual as he or she is buffeted about by social forces and copes with these forces. All consider situational and psychological factors in the determination of behavior emotion or cognition and all apply their expertise to the study of health-related issues. The grouping of the chapters in this volume by the authors’ subspecialty social psychology is a somewhat unconventional method of clustering. Ordinarily the materials presented here would be published in journals or texts concerned with behavior or psychosocial in health and medicine or in specialty publications dealing with a particular disease or health issue. That clustering of articles is functional in providing information to those most likely to utilize it but it diffuses the origin and background of the studies. These chapters speak to the diversity of health issues that are amenable to successful social psychological analysis. | Handbook of Psychology and Health Volume IV Social Psychological Aspects of Health