Family Health Issues

Marriage and Family Encyclopedia

Disabilities - Definition And Prevalence, Impact Of Disabilities On Families, Family Response To Disabilities, Programs And Interventions

This way of thinking about the reciprocal effects of the disability on the family and the family on the person with disability is called a family systems perspective (Patterson 1991a). This perspective has become increasingly important for those who develop policies and design programs and interventions to support persons with disability and their families to have a full and complete life (Dunst e…

1 minute read

Eating Disorders - Who Develops Eating Disorders, How Culture Contributes, The Family's Role, Treatment, Conclusion

Eating disorders have become a major health problem in Western society, and there is evidence of their emergence in most parts of the world. The most common eating disorders are anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa, with a number of variations on these, including binge eating disorder. What they have in common, besides an excess preoccupation with weight and shape, is poor self-esteem. Indeed, the…

1 minute read

Separation Anxiety - Separation Anxiety Disorder

Separation anxiety is defined as feelings of negative emotions such as loss, loneliness, and sadness that are experienced by individuals when they are separated from an important person in their life. Separation anxiety is typically used to describe the reaction of an infant who is separated from a major caregiver such as the mother or father. Separation anxiety, however, has also been noted to oc…

11 minute read

Failure to Thrive - Causative Factors, Effects Of Failure To Thrive, Evaluation And Treatment, Public Policy

Failure to thrive is defined as poor growth in children during the first three years of life. A child's growth is evaluated by comparison with standard growth charts for normal children. Poor growth will sometimes be apparent because a child does not grow as fast as other children: Over time his or her position on the growth chart becomes lower. It may also be apparent because he or she is …

less than 1 minute read

Sexual Dysfunction - Sexual Desire Disorders, Sexual Arousal Disorders, Orgasm Disorders, Sexual Pain Disorders, Sex Therapy

Psychosexual disorders were listed for the first time in 1980 in the third edition of the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-III), a handbook used by almost all mental health professionals. This listing has led to an increasing medicalization of sexual problems that can allow individuals to avoid examining their own attitudes and ex…

2 minute read

Sexuality - Cross-cultural Variations, The Ideology Of Romantic Love In The West, Changing Views Of Sex

Sexual behavior is behavior that produces sexual arousal and increases the chance of orgasm (Hyde and DeLamater 2003). Sexuality refers to sexual behavior, and the thoughts and feelings the person has in relation to that behavior. Every society controls the sexuality of its members, by embedding it in the institutions of family, religion, and law. The core social arrangement within the institution…

1 minute read

Sexuality Education - Sexuality Education And Development Stages, Contexts And Types Of Sexuality Education, Approaches And Controversies In Other Countries

There is little debate that the words sex and sexuality produce immediate attention. Researchers and teachers in this area have also come to employ the terms family life education, human growth and development, and human sexuality to describe instruction in human reproduction and sexuality (Roth 1993). The Sex Information and Education Council of the United States (SIECUS) recommends the term sexu…

1 minute read

Sexuality in Adulthood - Sexual Revolution, Women's Movement, Contraception, Same-sex Relationships, Children, Length Of A Relationship

Since the early part of the twentieth century, sex and sexuality have been crucial elements of both private and public discourse. From the bedroom to the living room to the classroom, from religious venues to the streets, and via television, movies, magazines, and other media, sex and sexuality are prevalent topics. Although there are many facets of sexuality in adulthood, the available research t…

1 minute read

Chronic Illness - Sickness In Historical Context, The Rise Of Chronic Illness, Living With Chronic Illness, Family Caregiving

Patterns of health, sickness, and death differ dramatically among countries based on levels of economic development, health policies, and medical technologies. By the mid-1900s, people living in developed (industrialized) countries experienced a sharp decline in their incidence of acute, infectious illness and an increase in rates of chronic illness. The National Commission on Chronic Illness defi…

1 minute read

Sexually Transmitted Diseases - Bacterial Stds, Viral Stds, Another Important Std, Global Distribution And Epidemiology Of Stds, Conclusion

The world continues to live with the ironic realization that the most intimate form of human relations, that of sexual interactions, carries the threat of serious disease. Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), once known as venereal diseases, have menaced humankind since the dawn of recorded history. There are references to STDs in Egyptian papyri dating to 1550 BCE, and according to biblical scho…

3 minute read

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) - Prevalence, Epidemiology, And Comorbidity, Etiology, Risk Indicators And Factors That Promote Resilience, Assessment And Treatment - Conclusion

The essential feature of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is the development of characteristic symptoms following exposure to a traumatic event that arouses "intense fear, helplessness, or horror," or in children, "disorganized or agitated behavior" (American Psychiatric Association 1994, p. 428). A host of stressors, both natural and manmade, can be traumatizing. N…

7 minute read

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) - History, Modes Of Transmission, Testing And Diagnosis, Symptoms, Treatment, Psychosocial Issues, Global Implications

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) is caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), which destroys the cells in the human body that combat infections. Although recent medical advances have caused a shift from the mindset of a terminal disease to one of a chronic, manageable condition in some areas of the world, this new approach brings challenges of its own, as the disease is eventually…

less than 1 minute read

Conduct Disorder - A Model Of Conduct Problems, Biological Factors, Family Management, Peer Deviance, Contextual Influences

Aggressive conduct is that which threatens or causes physical harm to people or animals and typically involves acts such as initiating fights, bullying, intimidating, overt aggression, and physical cruelty. Nonaggressive conduct is characterized by vandalism or intentional destruction of property. Common manifestations of deceitfulness include stealing, persistent lying, and fraudulent behavior. L…

2 minute read

Anxiety Disorders - Ethnic And Cultural Variations, Biological Factors, Family Environment And Parenting Factors, Family-focused Interventions

Anxiety disorders include separation anxiety disorder, social phobia, specific phobia, generalized anxiety disorder, agoraphobia, panic disorder with and without agoraphobia, obsessive-compulsive disorder, posttraumatic stress disorder, acute stress disorder, anxiety disorder due to a general medical condition, substance-induced anxiety disorder, and anxiety disorder not otherwise specified. Commo…

less than 1 minute read

Dementia - Signs And Symptoms, Types And Causes Of Dementia, Diagnosing Dementia, Impact Of Dementia

Dementia (from the Latin de mens—from the mind) is not a specific disease itself, but rather a group of psychological and behavioral symptoms associated with a variety of diseases and conditions that affect the brain (Rabins, Lyketsos, and Steele 1999). Generally, dementia is characterized as the loss or impairment of mental abilities. With dementia, these cognitive losses (e.g., in reasoni…

1 minute read

Substance Abuse - Prevalence And Incidence, Effects Of Substance Abuse On Families, Family Factors Contributing To Risk And Resiliency

Substance abuse has a substantial and reciprocal impact upon families. There are many definitions of substance abuse and dependence but two authoritative sources are the fourth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM-IV-TR) (American Psychiatric Association 1994), commonly used in the United States, and the tenth edition of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10) (World…

1 minute read

Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) - Demographics, Developmental Course, And Etiology, Family Processes And Adhd, Culture And Ethnicity, Treatment

Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is the diagnostic term used to describe patterns of behavior, beginning in childhood, related to deficient self-regulation. In the course of the twentieth century, ADHD has been called minimal brain dysfunction, hyperkinesis, or attention deficit disorder. The core symptoms include (a) difficulties in paying attention, particularly in situations that…

2 minute read

Developmental Psychopathology - Risk And Resilience, The Complexity Of Risk Processes, Resilience And The Role Of Protective Factors

Developmental psychopathology is an approach or field of study designed to better understand the complexities of human development. Its primary goal is to chart the diverse pathways individuals take in the development of psychological difficulties (e.g., aggression, depression, substance use) and normal or optimal psychological health (e.g., self-esteem, scholastic success, moral development). Sev…

less than 1 minute read