1st Edition

Faith, Medicine, and Science A Festschrift in Honor of Dr. David B. Larson

Edited By Harold G Koenig, Jeff Levin Copyright 2005
    348 Pages
    by Routledge

    354 Pages
    by Routledge

    A perfect introduction to the connection between religious faith and physical and mental health!

    Faith, Medicine, and Science: A Festschrift in Honor of Dr. David B. Larson is a comprehensive collection of groundbreaking work from one of the principal figures in the establishment, expansion, and acceptance of scientific research at the interface of religion, spirituality, and health. Dr. Jeff Levin and Dr. Harold G. Koenig honor their late colleague with a retrospective of his writings on the impact of religious faith and identity on physical and mental health and on a variety of social issues, including criminal behavior, substance abuse, mental illness, juvenile delinquency, reproductive decisions, marital satisfaction, family functioning, and the quality of life. The book also features a concise history of the religion and health field, a biography of Dr. Larson, and tributes, essays, and remembrances from the leading figures in the field.

    Faith, Medicine, and Science honors Dr. Larson’s role in raising awareness of the health effects of religious faith and his vision and efforts in establishing coursework on religion and spirituality within undergraduate and graduate medical education programs. His body of theoretical and empirical writings serves as a permanent record of the powerful role played by religion and spirituality, and his work stands as a lasting contribution to science, medicine, and society. These articles combine with the book’s supplemental features to provide social and behavioral scientists, medical researchers, and clinicians with an essential resource for clinical research and education.

    Topics examined in Faith, Medicine, and Science include:

    • the religious life of alcoholics
    • religion, spirituality, and mortality
    • the impact of religion on men’s blood pressure
    • the systematic analysis of research on religious variables
    • a systematic review of nursing home research
    • religious affiliations in mental health research samples as compared with national samples
    • the associations between dimensions of religious commitment and mental health
    • and much more!
    Faith, Medicine, and Science: A Festschrift in Honor of Dr. David B. Larson documents the work of one of the most important writers on the interface of the human spirit and the healing arts. His death in 2002 at the age of 54 remains a profound loss, but through this book, his pioneering research will continue to serve as a thorough and accessible introduction to the religion and health field.

    • About the Editors
    • About Dr. David B. Larson
    • Foreword
    • Preface (William P. Wilson)
    • PART I: TRIBUTES TO DR. DAVID B. LARSON
    • Chapter 1. Faith Matters: Reflections on the Life and Work of Dr. David B. Larson (Jeff Levin and Harold G. Koenig)
    • Introduction
    • Dave Larson, the Pioneer
    • Dave Larson, the Person
    • Dave Larson, the Scientist
    • Dave Larson’s Legacy
    • Chapter 2. Personal Remembrances
    • Chapter 3. Eulogies (David Chad Larson and Kristen Joan Larson)
    • Chapter 4. The Nearly Forgotten Factor in Psychiatry: What a Difference a Decade
      Makes: The Twentieth Annual Oskar Pfister Award Address (Susan S. Larson)
    • Spiritual Coping After 9/11: New England Journal of Medicine Findings
    • Importance of Religion/Spirituality in the U.S. Population
    • Relevance of Religion/Spirituality for Mental Health Patients
    • A Research Quest
    • Summary
    • PART II: SELECTED WRITINGS OF DR. DAVID B. LARSON
    • Chapter 5. Religious Life of Alcoholics (David B. Larson and William P. Wilson)
    • Method
    • Results
    • Discussion
    • Conclusion
    • Chapter 6. Systematic Analysis of Research on Religious Variables in Four Major
      Psychiatric Journals, 1978-1982 (David B. Larson, Abdul R. Omran, E. Mansell Pattison, Berton H. Kaplan, and Dan G. Blazer)
    • Religious Research in Psychiatry and in Behavioral Science
    • Results
    • Discussion
    • Chapter 7. Religious Affiliations in Mental Health Research Samples As Compared with National Samples (David B. Larson, Mansell Pattison, Michael J. Donahue, Everett L. Worthington Jr., John S. Lyons, Dan G. Blazer, and Peter L. Benson)
    • Method
    • Results
    • Discussion
    • Chapter 8. Associations Between Dimensions of Religious Commitment and Mental
      Health Reported in the American Journal of Psychiatry and Archives of General Psychiatry: 1978-1989 (David B. Larson, Samuel B. Thielman, Kimberly A. Sherrill, Mary A. Greewold, John S. Lyons, Susan S. Larson, and Frederic C. Craigie Jr.)
    • Method
    • Results
    • Discussion
    • Chapter 9. Religious Content in the DSM-III-R Glossary of Technical Terms (David B. Larson, Stephen G. Post, Samuel B. Thielman, Kimberly A. Sherrill, Mary A. Greenwold, Glenn G. Wood, John S. Lyons, and Susan S. Larson)
    • Method
    • Results
    • Discussion
    • Chapter 10. The Couch and the Cloth: The Need for Linkage (David B. Larson, Keith G. Meador, Ann A. Hohmann, Jeffrey H. Boyd, Larry G. Kessler, and Elisabeth McSherry)
    • Methods
    • Results
    • Discussion
    • Chapter 11. The Impact of Religion on Men’s Blood Pressure (David B. Larson, Raymond S. Greenberg, Harold G. Koenig, Everett Logue, Berton H. Kaplan, and Herman A. Tyroler)
    • Introduction
    • Methods
    • Results
    • Discussion
    • Conclusion
    • Chapter 12. A Systematic Review of Nursing Home Research in Three Psychiatric Journals: 1966-1985 (David B. Larson, Wendy M. Huckeba, John S. Lyons, Peter V. Rabins, Ann A. Hohmann, Barry D. Lebowitz, and Robert S. Beardsley)
    • Methods
    • Results
    • Discussion
    • Chapter 13. Mortality and Religion/Spirituality: A Brief Review of the Research (David B. Larson, Susan S. Larson, and Harold G. Koenig)
    • Mortality Findings in Community-Dwelling Study Populations
    • Longitudinal Mortality Studies in Israel
    • Recent Mortality Studies of U.S. Regional Community Samples
    • Meta-Analysis of Mortality Studies
    • Findings Among Patient Populations
    • Summary
    • Chapter 14. Have Faith: Religion Can Heal Mental Ills (David B. Larson)
    • PART III: THE LIFE OF DAVID B. LARSON
    • Chapter 15. David: My D

    Biography

    Jeff Levin, PhD, MPH, an epidemiologist and former medical school professor, received his AB from Duke University, his MPH from the University of North Carolina, and his PhD from the University of Texas Medical Branch, and completed postdoctoral training in gerontology at the University of Michigan. Harold G. Koenig, MD, completed his undergraduate education at Stanford University, his medical training at the University of California at San Francisco, and his geriatric medicine, psychiatry, and biostatistics training at Duke University Medical Center.