Women's Health Contemporary International Perspectives [Paperback]

Covering the lifespan of women from puberty to old age, this comprehensive collection provides ground-breaking research and theory that challenges current conceptions of women's health and illustrates the diversity of approaches in this burgeoning field. The interdisciplinary angle of the book will appeal to a wide-ranging readership and includes detailed commentaries on key topics such as anorexia nervosa, depression, women and cancer, sexual abuse, disability, exercise, body image, pregnancy, sexual violence and drug use.

List of contributors x

Preface xx

Acknowledgements xx

Introduction

Women’s health: Contemporary concerns 1
Jane M. Ussher

Section One: An Overview of Critical Issues in Women’s Health

1 Psychology of women’s health: A critique 26
Christina Lee

2 Qualitative methods and women’s health research 40
Michael Murray and Kerry Chamberlain

3 Choosing a life span developmental orientation 50
Sheila Greene

Section Two: Young Women’s Health

4 Young Asian women and self-harm 59
Harriette Marshall and Anjum Yazdani

5 Girls on “E”: Social problem or social panic? 69
Maria Pini

6 Women and substance abuse: Problems of visibility and empowerment 76
Helen Keane

7 Young lesbians and mental health: The closet is a depressing place to be 83
Julie Mooney-Somers and Jane Ussher

8 Femininity as a barrier to positive sexual health for adolescent girls l3