Understanding the factors that place an individual at greater risk of developing psychopathology has important implications for both treatment and prevention of psychological disorders. Of critical relevance in this regard is the exploration of the potential influence of the family. Parenting and the family environment are considered to significantly contribute to a child's early development and adjustment. It follows then that parental behavior may also be of importance in the development, maintenance and or the prevention of psychopathology. Over the past 50 years there has been a...

Social fears are among the most common forms of anxiety in our society. Social phobia, the clinical syndrome, can seriously impact a person's life, increasing the risk of depression, substance abuse, and suicide, and reducing opportunities for social interaction, sustained relationships, and careers. The good news is that empirical evidence shows treatment for social phobia can be highly effective in producing change, and treatment that emphasizes the learning of new skills produces more change than simple education and/or medication. Rapee and Sanderson furnish a practical treatment program...

We know that stress is bad for us. We see evidence of this in the news, we hear it from our doctors, and we feel it at the end of a hectic week. Health professionals have learned that stress interferes with our lives-it increases missed work days, can lead to relationship difficulties, and can increase the risk of turning to drugs and alcohol. It has also been shown that in some cases, chronic stress can increase our risk of developing certain serious illnesses. We know of all these negative effects that stress can cause, but, realistically, for most of us there's no end in sight-stressful...