Despite tremendous progress in understanding the human body as a biological mechanism, researchers are finding that many aspects of physical health are strongly linked to a person's thoughts, emotions, and behaviors, and to features of the sociocultural environment. This interdisciplinary volume, the newest in the Rutgers Series on Self and Social Identity, provides a survey of this research, emphasizing the connections between health and an individual's sense of self.

Drawing on psychology, sociology and anthropology, the collection examines the health-related effects both of broad...