Abstract
In its broadest terms, behavioral medicine represents, “the integration of behavioral and biomedical expertise in the search for solutions to problems of health and illness”(Schwartz & Weiss, 1978, p. 4). Although scientific inquiry in the behavioral sciences and medicine has a long history, the confluence of these disciplines is a relatively new area of investigation. Some authors have suggested that the term behavioral medicine first appeared in 1973 with the publication of Birk’s volume, Behavioral Medicine: Biofeedback (Blanchard, 1982; Russo & Varni, 1982). Beginning in 1977, significant organizing events occurred, such as the Yale Conference on Behavioral Medicine and the formation of special-interest groups such as the Society of Behavioral Medicine and the Academy of Behavioral Medicine Research. Another area of development originating in the late 1970s was the establishment of several university-affiliated centers specializing in behavioral medicine treatment and research. As an outflow of this increased clinical and experimental activity, scholarly publications in behavioral medicine proliferated during the decade of 1977 to 1987. These include the appearance of peer-refereed journals (Journal of Behavioral Medicine,Annals of Behavioral Medicine) and numerous texts addressing general issues in behavioral medicine (Ferguson & Taylor, 1980; Pomerleau & Brady, 1979; Williams & Gentry, 1977), as well as more circumscribed target areas such as cardiology (Surwit, Williams, & Shapiro, 1982), rehabilitation (Ince, 1976), and pediatrics (Russo & Varni, 1982; Varni, 1983).
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