Book Description

A tremendous amount of research has been performed looking at the relationship between personality and disease. Research on this topic has been spread throughout scientific journals on psychology, behavioral health, psychoneuroimmunology, oncology, and epidemiology. Personality and Disease brings this research together in one place for the first time. With contributions from world experts, the book summarizes research findings on personality as it relates to cancer, heart disease, diabetes, asthma and allergies, dementia, and more. Is there such a thing as a cancer- prone personality? Do sadness, anger, stress, or shyness affect the likelihood that we will fall ill to specific diseases? Can we protect ourselves from disease through a positive outlook? This book will address both what we know, and what we persist in believing despite evidence to the contrary, and why such beliefs persist in the face of evidence. - Investigates whether and how personality affects disease generally - Includes cancer, heart disease, diabetes, asthma, allergies, and dementia - Separates fact from fiction, evidence from beliefs - Collates research from a wide variety of scientific domains - Contains international perspectives from top scholars