0000000000433878

AUTHOR

Adrienne Stauder

Proposal for an Update of the Definition and Scope of Behavioral Medicine

Purpose: We aim to provide an update of the definition and scope of behavioral medicine in the Charter of ISBM, as the present version was developed more than 25 years ago. Methods: We identify issues which need clarification or updating. This leads us to propose an update of the definition and scope of behavioral medicine. Results: Issues in need of clarification or updating include the scope of behavioral medicine (biobehavioral mechanisms, clinical diagnosis and intervention, and prevention and health promotion); research as an essential characteristic of all three areas of behavioral medicine; the application of behavioral medicine; the terminology of behavioral medicine as a multidisci…

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Validation of the Hungarian PHQ-15. A latent variable approach

Somatic symptoms without a clear-cut organic or biomedical background, also called "medically unexplained" or "somatoform" symptoms, are frequent in primary and secondary health care. They are often accompanied by depression and/or anxiety, and cause functional impairment. The Patient Health Question-naire Somatic Symptom Scale (PHQ-15) was developed to measure somatic symptom distress based on the frequency and bothersomeness of non-specific somatic symptoms. The study aimed to (1) evaluate the Hungarian version of the PHQ-15 from a psychometric point of view; (2) replicate the bifactor structure and associations with negative affect described in the literature; and (3) provide the Hungari…

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Defining the Field of Behavioral Medicine: A Collaborative Endeavor.

Purpose: To respond to comments on our proposal for an update of the definition and scope of behavioral medicine. Methods: We identify common themes in the comments and provide a response. Results: We discuss the relationship of behavioral medicine to other disciplines and fields, the scope of behavioral medicine, and issues related to the application of behavioral medicine. Conclusion: Based on the comments of our esteemed colleagues and our reflection on those comments, we now offer the following refined definition and scope of behavioral medicine. ‘Behavioral medicine can be defined as the field characterized by the collaboration among multiple disciplines concerned with the development …

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