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Biobehavioral Mechanisms

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Encyclopedia of Behavioral Medicine

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Synonyms

Biomarkers

Definition

Biobehavioral mechanisms within behavioral medicine refer to the interaction of biological, psychosocial, behavioral, and environmental factors that contribute to health-related outcomes and disease status. Biological processes are believed to mediate the influence of psychosocial, behavioral, and environmental factors on health and disease outcomes.

Description

Research concerned with biobehavioral mechanisms of health and disease has primarily focused on the impact of psychosocial, behavioral, and environmental factors on biological processes of the immune and endocrine systems. These factors can impact biological responses individually and/or synergistically and may include both acute and chronic effects. Psychological distress in response to stressors (i.e., negative life events, both acute and chronic) has been related to alterations in immune and endocrine functioning and much of this work has focused on the effects of stress on immunocompetence and...

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, University of Miami, 5665 Ponce de Leon Blvd, Coral Gables, FL, 33146, USA

    Dr. Catherine Benedict

Authors
  1. Dr. Catherine Benedict
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Catherine Benedict .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Behavioral Medicine Research Center, Department of Psychology, University of Miami, Miami, FL, USA

    Marc D. Gellman

  2. Cardiovascular Safety, Quintiles, Durham, NC, USA

    J. Rick Turner

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Benedict, C. (2013). Biobehavioral Mechanisms. In: Gellman, M.D., Turner, J.R. (eds) Encyclopedia of Behavioral Medicine. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-1005-9_153

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-1005-9_153

  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4419-1004-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4419-1005-9

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