Homesickness is a topic which has been neglected in research. It focuses on pre-occupation with home, family and friends and is further manifest in terms of distress such as depression, anxiety, obsessionality, absent-mindedness and physical symptoms. It has much in common with agitated depression and is in many ways similar to bereavement, and could be described as a form of post-traumatic stress syndrome.
Originally published in 1989, this title will be of considerable interest to those who have counselling or care-giving roles. An attentional resource model of homesickness experience is developed, and the implications for self-help and counselling are considered. The book will also be of interest to cognitive psychologists, since investigation of the cognitive basis of homesickness provides information into the way in which planning processes operate, and in this sense there is a contribution to the understanding of cognitive factors in change and transition.
Preface 1. Geographical Transitions: Context-Dependent Effects and the Concept of Congruence 2. Theories of the Psychological Effects of Change and Transition 3. The Incidence and Features of Homesickness 4. Episodic Homesickness Reporting: The Implications for Attentional Resources 5. The Correlates of Homesickness: Associated Psychological States and Health 6. Circumstantial and Vulnerability Factors in Homesickness 7. Thinking Homesick: The Implications of Differences in Cognitive Organisation and Memory 8. Homesickness, Commitment, and the Job Strain Model 9. A Multi-Causal Cognitive Theory of Homesick Experience 10. Helping the Homesick: An Attentional Management Approach. Appendix – The Dundee Relocation Inventory: A Diagnostic Test for the Assessment of Homesickness and Distress Following Transition. References. Author Index. Subject Index.
Biography
Shirley Fisher
