Occupational Medicine 2011;62:1–7
BOOK REVIEWS
doi:10.1093/occmed/kqr161
The Oxford Handbook of Stress, Health
and Coping
Edited by Susan Folkman. Published by Oxford University
Press, New York, 1st edition, 2011. ISBN: 9780195375343.
Price: £80. 469 pp.
The Oxford Handbook of Stress, Health and Coping is edited
by Susan Folkman, Professor Emeritus at University of
California, San Francisco. Professor Folkman is recog-
nized internationally for her work on the dynamic theory
of psychological stress and coping. She co-authored the
well-known 1984 publication Stress, Appraisal and Coping
with Professor Richard S. Lazarus. The intended target
audience of this book is students, researchers and practi-
tioners across the fields of health psychology, medicine
and palliative care.
Extensive research over the last few decades indicates
that stress and associate d negative emotions have a dele-
terious effect and are associated with a higher risk of
mortality in healthy and chronically ill samples. This book
provides a comprehensive review of the evidence of the
harmful effect of stress on health and well-being and
factors that may alleviate these harmful effects.
The book is organized into eight sections, for example,
the ‘developmental perspective on stress and coping’ and
‘coping interventions’. The book is further broken down
into 22 topic-based chapters where themes are explored
in relation to different health contexts, e.g. chapters in-
clude stress, coping and health in HIV/ AIDS, bereave-
ment and chronic ill health. Each of these chapters is
written by a leading researcher in their field with the in-
troductory and concluding chapters written by Folkman.
The scientific quality of the text is excellent and the
text is comprehensive in its overview of the cur rent state
of research in stress coping processes. The book also high-
lights areas of potential interest for future study.
The subject matter is highly relevant to occupational
physicians, however, the text is very technical and there
is little reference to the organizational setting with
a few exceptions. The chapter on ‘resilience’ has an inter-
esting narrative on the theory of resilience in organiza-
tions, and references research exploring factor s that
may support organizations to prosper especially during
times of change or economic downturn.
I found the chapter reviewing coping interventions
most interesting; this explores research on the impact
of activities such as yoga and exercise, meditation, ‘goal
setting’ and laughter/humour on positive effect and well-
being. Empirical studies are underway looking at the
beneficial effects of laughter yoga!
This book is a fascinating if slow read and, in my opin-
ion, represents excellent value for money. However, it
probably best serves as a reference book for an individual
with particular interest in the subject matter or someone
planning some research in the area. For this reason, this
book is best borrowed from the library book shelf.
The Oxford Handbook of Stress, Health and Coping is part
of the Oxford Library of Psychology.
Rating
ww (Reference only)
Jacqueline Thompson
Ó The Author 2011. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society of Occupational Medicine.
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