The Social Cure: Identity, Health and Well-Being

by Jetten; Jolanda

• ISBN13: 9781848720213
• ISBN10: 1848720211
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2011-08-24
• Publisher: Psychology Pres

Summary

There is a growing body of research showing that social networks and identities have a profound impact on mental and physical health. With such mounting evidence of the importance of social relationships in protecting health, the challenge we face is explaining why this should be the case. What is it that social groups offer that appears to be just as beneficial as a daily dose of vitamin C or regular exercise?This edited book brings together the latest research on how group memberships, and the social identities associated with them, determine people's health and well-being. The volume provides a variety of perspectives and insights from clinical, social, organisational and applied fields that offer theoretical and empirical insights into these processes and their consequences. The contributions provide a novel and intellectually promising perspective on core theoretical issues relating to the role of social identity in well-being. Each explores how social identities, and factors associated with them such as social support and a sense of community, can bolster individuals' sense of self and contribute to physical and mental health. Social identities thereby constitute a 'social cure', capable of promoting adjustment, coping and well-being for individuals dealing with a range of illnesses, injuries, trauma and stressors. In addition, the theorizing can be used to develop practical strategies for maintaining and enhancing well-being - particularly among vulnerable populations.The contributors to the book are at the forefront of these developments and the book's strength derives from its analysis of these issues in a broad range of groups and application within diverse fields of psychology, from health and clinical to social and organizational.

Author Biography

Jolanda Jetten is Professor of Social Psychology at the University of Queensland, Australia. Catherine Haslam is an Associate Professor at the University of Exeter, UK. S. Alexander Haslam is Professot of Social and Organisational Psychology at the University of Exeter, UK.

Table of Contents

List of figures and tables	p. ix
List of contributors	p. xi
Preface	p. xv
Social identity, health, and well-being	p. 1
The case for a social identity analysis of health and well-being	p. 1
Group identification, social relationships, and health	p. 21
Promoting positive orientation towards health through social identity	p. 39
How much is social capital worth?	p. 55
Social identity, stigma, and coping	p. 73
In sickness and in health: Influences of social categorizations on health-related outcomes	p. 75
Not wanting to grow old: A Social Identity Model of Identity Change (SIMIC) analysis of driving cessation among older adults	p. 97
Moving toward or away from a group identity: Different strategies for coping with pervasive discrimination	p. 115
Biological and psychosocial responses to discrimination	p. 133
Social identity, stress, and trauma	p. 155
When other people are heaven, when other people are hell: How social identity determines the nature and impact of social support	p. 157
Stress and well-being in the workplace: Support for key propositions from the social identity approach	p. 175
Collective resilience in mass emergencies and disasters: A social identity model	p. 195
Social cure or social curse? The psychological impact of extreme events during the Kosovo conflict	p. 217
Social identity, recovery, and rehabilitation	p. 235
Social linkage, self-concept, and well-being after severe traumatic brain injury	p. 237
Deciding to disclose: The importance of maintaining social relationships for well-being after acquired brain injury	p. 255
The experience of self in the world: The personal and social contexts of identity change after brain injury	p. 273
The importance of remembering and deciding together: Enhancing the health and well-being of older adults in care	p. 297
Conclusion	p. 317
Advancing the social cure: Implications for theory, practice and policy	p. 319
Appendix: Measures of identity, health, and well-being	p. 345
Author index	p. 369
Subject index	p. 383
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.