Book Reviews : The American Family: Life and Health, Robert D. Patton, Ed. Oakland, CA., Third Party Publishing Company, 1986, 639 pp
Abstract
Book ReviewsThe American Family: Life and Health, Robert D. Patton, Ed. Oakland, CA., Third Party Publishing Company, 1986, 639 pp SAGE Publications, Inc.1989DOI: 10.1177/109019818901600114 Lois Pratt PhD Sociology Jersey City State College There is an abundance of literature that proclaims the important influence the family has on health and which urges health professionals to seek greater involvement of the family in health care. There is also a substantial body of excellent scholarly work on the structure and functioning of the family, as well as on health and health behavior. By comparison, the body of work that conceptualizes and tests the family's relationship to health and health behavior is small indeed. Studies of the family-and-health have generally been driven by concern to promote the health and well being of individuals and the populace rather than by interest in the family itself. The tendency has been to frame research problems as he.alth issues, and this holds true for the work of social scientists as well as that of health educators and practitioners. Considerable attention has been given to trying to account for variations in health/illness, including overall levels of physical and mental health as well as particular diseases, such as