The branch of psychology concerned with psychological methods of recognizing and treating behavior disorders.

The study of normal and abnormal behavior of children.

The science dealing with the study of mental processes and behavior in man and animals.

The branch of psychology concerned with the effects of group membership upon the behavior, attitudes, and beliefs of an individual.

Procedures for finding the mathematical function which best describes the relationship between a dependent variable and one or more independent variables. In linear regression (see LINEAR MODELS) the relationship is constrained to be a straight line and LEAST-SQUARES ANALYSIS is used to determine the best fit. In logistic regression (see LOGISTIC MODELS) the dependent variable is qualitative rather than continuously variable and LIKELIHOOD FUNCTIONS are used to find the best relationship. In multiple regression, the dependent variable is considered to depend on more than a single independent variable.

The branch of psychology concerned with similarities or differences in the behavior of different animal species or of different races or peoples.

The branch of psychology concerned with psychological aspects of teaching and the formal learning process in school.

The branch of psychology which seeks to learn more about the fundamental causes of behavior by studying various psychologic phenomena in controlled experimental situations.

A branch of psychology in which there is collaboration between psychologists and physicians in the management of medical problems. It differs from clinical psychology, which is concerned with the diagnosis and treatment of behavior disorders.

The branch of applied psychology concerned with the application of psychologic principles and methods to industrial problems including selection and training of workers, working conditions, etc.

Principles applied to the analysis and explanation of psychological or behavioral phenomena.

The interdisciplinary field concerned with the development and integration of behavioral and biomedical science, knowledge, and techniques relevant to health and illness and the application of this knowledge and these techniques to prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation.

Studies beyond the bachelor's degree at an institution having graduate programs for the purpose of preparing for entrance into a specific field, and obtaining a higher degree.

Statistical models which describe the relationship between a qualitative dependent variable (that is, one which can take only certain discrete values, such as the presence or absence of a disease) and an independent variable. A common application is in epidemiology for estimating an individual's risk (probability of a disease) as a function of a given risk factor.

The combined discipline of psychology and economics that investigates what happens in markets in which some of the agents display human limitations and complications.

Disciplines concerned with the study of human and animal behavior.

Ecological and environmental entities, characteristics, properties, relationships and processes.

The scientific disciplines concerned with the embryology, anatomy, physiology, biochemistry, pharmacology, etc., of the nervous system.

A system which emphasizes that experience and behavior contain basic patterns and relationships which cannot be reduced to simpler components; that is, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

A psychologic theory, developed by John Broadus Watson, concerned with studying and measuring behaviors that are observable.

Those forces and content of the mind which are not ordinarily available to conscious awareness or to immediate recall.

Research that involves the application of the behavioral and social sciences to the study of the actions or reactions of persons or animals in response to external or internal stimuli. (from American Heritage Dictionary, 4th ed)

An aspect of personal behavior or lifestyle, environmental exposure, or inborn or inherited characteristic, which, on the basis of epidemiologic evidence, is known to be associated with a health-related condition considered important to prevent.

The study of the physiological basis of human and animal behavior.

A love or pursuit of wisdom. A search for the underlying causes and principles of reality. (Webster, 3d ed)

The study of the precise nature of different mental tasks and the operations of the brain that enable them to be performed, engaging branches of psychology, computer science, philosophy, and linguistics. (Random House Unabridged Dictionary, 2d ed)

Psychoanalytic theory focusing on interpretation of behavior in reference to self. (From APA, Thesaurus of Psychological Terms, 1994) This elaboration of the psychoanalytic concepts of narcissism and the self, was developed by Heinz Kohut, and stresses the importance of the self-awareness of excessive needs for approval and self-gratification.

Disappearance of a neoplasm or neoplastic state without the intervention of therapy.

The process by which an emotional or behavioral response that is appropriate for one situation appears in another situation for which it is inappropriate.

A return to earlier, especially to infantile, patterns of thought or behavior, or stage of functioning, e.g., feelings of helplessness and dependency in a patient with a serious physical illness. (From APA, Thesaurus of Psychological Index Terms, 1994).

The branch of applied psychology concerned with psychological aspects of selection, assignment, training, morale, etc., of Armed Forces personnel.

The science which utilizes psychologic principles to derive more effective means in dealing with practical problems.

Theoretical representations that simulate psychological processes and/or social processes. These include the use of mathematical equations, computers, and other electronic equipment.

Predetermined sets of questions used to collect data - clinical data, social status, occupational group, etc. The term is often applied to a self-completed survey instrument.

A relational pattern in which a person attempts to derive a sense of purpose through relationships with others.

Statistical models in which the value of a parameter for a given value of a factor is assumed to be equal to a + bx, where a and b are constants. The models predict a linear regression.

The period from about 5 to 7 years to adolescence when there is an apparent cessation of psychosexual development.

Field of psychology concerned with the normal and abnormal behavior of adolescents. It includes mental processes as well as observable responses.

Critical and exhaustive investigation or experimentation, having for its aim the discovery of new facts and their correct interpretation, the revision of accepted conclusions, theories, or laws in the light of newly discovered facts, or the practical application of such new or revised conclusions, theories, or laws. (Webster, 3d ed)

The study of the structure, growth, activities, and functions of NEURONS and the NERVOUS SYSTEM.

In current usage, approximately equivalent to personality. The sum of the relatively fixed personality traits and habitual modes of response of an individual.

Intellectual or mental process whereby an organism obtains knowledge.

A psychological theory based on dimensions or categories used by a given person in describing or explaining the personality and behavior of others or of himself. The basic idea is that different people will use consistently different categories. The theory was formulated in the fifties by George Kelly. Two tests devised by him are the role construct repertory test and the repertory grid test. (From Stuart Sutherland, The International Dictionary of Psychology, 1989)

A state in which attention is largely directed inward upon one's self.

A generic term for the treatment of mental illness or emotional disturbances primarily by verbal or nonverbal communication.

A branch of psychology which investigates the correlation between experience or behavior and the basic neurophysiological processes. The term neuropsychology stresses the dominant role of the nervous system. It is a more narrowly defined field than physiological psychology or psychophysiology.

The branch of psychology which investigates the psychology of crime with particular reference to the personality factors of the criminal.

The principles of proper conduct concerning the rights and duties of the professional, relations with patients or consumers and fellow practitioners, as well as actions of the professional and interpersonal relations with patient or consumer families. (From Stedman, 25th ed)

A state of harmony between internal needs and external demands and the processes used in achieving this condition. (From APA Thesaurus of Psychological Index Terms, 8th ed)

The conscious portion of the personality structure which serves to mediate between the demands of the primitive instinctual drives, (the id), of internalized parental and social prohibitions or the conscience, (the superego), and of reality.

Studies in which the presence or absence of disease or other health-related variables are determined in each member of the study population or in a representative sample at one particular time. This contrasts with LONGITUDINAL STUDIES which are followed over a period of time.

The term "United States" in a medical context often refers to the country where a patient or study participant resides, and is not a medical term per se, but relevant for epidemiological studies, healthcare policies, and understanding differences in disease prevalence, treatment patterns, and health outcomes across various geographic locations.

A process by which an individual unconsciously endeavors to pattern himself after another. This process is also important in the development of the personality, particularly the superego or conscience, which is modeled largely on the behavior of adult significant others.

The persistence to perform a learned behavior (facts or experiences) after an interval has elapsed in which there has been no performance or practice of the behavior.

A set of techniques used when variation in several variables has to be studied simultaneously. In statistics, multivariate analysis is interpreted as any analytic method that allows simultaneous study of two or more dependent variables.

The medical science that deals with the origin, diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of mental disorders in children.

Studies in which subsets of a defined population are identified. These groups may or may not be exposed to factors hypothesized to influence the probability of the occurrence of a particular disease or other outcome. Cohorts are defined populations which, as a whole, are followed in an attempt to determine distinguishing subgroup characteristics.

The process of discovering or asserting an objective or intrinsic relation between two objects or concepts; a faculty or power that enables a person to make judgments; the process of bringing to light and asserting the implicit meaning of a concept; a critical evaluation of a person or situation.

Dissertations embodying results of original research and especially substantiating a specific view, e.g., substantial papers written by candidates for an academic degree under the individual direction of a professor or papers written by undergraduates desirous of achieving honors or distinction.

Elements of limited time intervals, contributing to particular results or situations.

Age as a constituent element or influence contributing to the production of a result. It may be applicable to the cause or the effect of a circumstance. It is used with human or animal concepts but should be differentiated from AGING, a physiological process, and TIME FACTORS which refers only to the passage of time.

Highly pleasant emotion characterized by outward manifestations of gratification; joy.

Strong desires to accomplish something. This usually pertains to greater values or high ideals.

Differential response to different stimuli.

Observation of a population for a sufficient number of persons over a sufficient number of years to generate incidence or mortality rates subsequent to the selection of the study group.

The continuous developmental process of a culture from simple to complex forms and from homogeneous to heterogeneous qualities.

Behavior-response patterns that characterize the individual.

Societies whose membership is limited to scientists.

Cultural contacts between people of different races.

Evaluation undertaken to assess the results or consequences of management and procedures used in combating disease in order to determine the efficacy, effectiveness, safety, and practicability of these interventions in individual cases or series.

Use for general articles concerning nursing education.

Principles, models, and laws that apply to complex interrelationships and interdependencies of sets of linked components which form a functioning whole, a system. Any system may be composed of components which are systems in their own right (sub-systems), such as several organs within an individual organism.

The ratio of two odds. The exposure-odds ratio for case control data is the ratio of the odds in favor of exposure among cases to the odds in favor of exposure among noncases. The disease-odds ratio for a cohort or cross section is the ratio of the odds in favor of disease among the exposed to the odds in favor of disease among the unexposed. The prevalence-odds ratio refers to an odds ratio derived cross-sectionally from studies of prevalent cases.

Disciplines concerned with the interrelationships of individuals in a social environment including social organizations and institutions. Includes Sociology and Anthropology.

Studies used to test etiologic hypotheses in which inferences about an exposure to putative causal factors are derived from data relating to characteristics of persons under study or to events or experiences in their past. The essential feature is that some of the persons under study have the disease or outcome of interest and their characteristics are compared with those of unaffected persons.

The use of statistical methods in the analysis of a body of literature to reveal the historical development of subject fields and patterns of authorship, publication, and use. Formerly called statistical bibliography. (from The ALA Glossary of Library and Information Science, 1983)

Study of mental processes and behavior of schizophrenics.

Conceptual system developed by Freud and his followers in which unconscious motivations are considered to shape normal and abnormal personality development and behavior.

Maleness or femaleness as a constituent element or influence contributing to the production of a result. It may be applicable to the cause or effect of a circumstance. It is used with human or animal concepts but should be differentiated from SEX CHARACTERISTICS, anatomical or physiological manifestations of sex, and from SEX DISTRIBUTION, the number of males and females in given circumstances.

The body of truths or facts accumulated in the course of time, the cumulated sum of information, its volume and nature, in any civilization, period, or country.

The observable response of a man or animal to a situation.

The perceiving of attributes, characteristics, and behaviors of one's associates or social groups.

Mental activity, not predominantly perceptual, by which one apprehends some aspect of an object or situation based on past learning and experience.

A plan for collecting and utilizing data so that desired information can be obtained with sufficient precision or so that an hypothesis can be tested properly.

Statistical formulations or analyses which, when applied to data and found to fit the data, are then used to verify the assumptions and parameters used in the analysis. Examples of statistical models are the linear model, binomial model, polynomial model, two-parameter model, etc.

Studies which start with the identification of persons with a disease of interest and a control (comparison, referent) group without the disease. The relationship of an attribute to the disease is examined by comparing diseased and non-diseased persons with regard to the frequency or levels of the attribute in each group.

Those factors which cause an organism to behave or act in either a goal-seeking or satisfying manner. They may be influenced by physiological drives or by external stimuli.

A particular kind of learning characterized by occurrence in very early life, rapidity of acquisition, and relative insusceptibility to forgetting or extinction. Imprinted behavior includes most (or all) behavior commonly called instinctive, but imprinting is used purely descriptively.

The unconscious transfer to others (including psychotherapists) of feelings and attitudes which were originally associated with important figures (parents, siblings, etc.) in one's early life.

The statistical reproducibility of measurements (often in a clinical context), including the testing of instrumentation or techniques to obtain reproducible results. The concept includes reproducibility of physiological measurements, which may be used to develop rules to assess probability or prognosis, or response to a stimulus; reproducibility of occurrence of a condition; and reproducibility of experimental results.

A publication issued at stated, more or less regular, intervals.

The aggregate of social and cultural institutions, forms, patterns, and processes that influence the life of an individual or community.

Any behavior caused by or affecting another individual, usually of the same species.

Standards of conduct that distinguish right from wrong.

The medical science that deals with the origin, diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of mental disorders.

A book is not a medical term, but generally refers to a set of printed or written sheets of paper bound together that can contain a wide range of information including literature, research, educational content, and more, which may be utilized in the medical field for various purposes such as learning, reference, or patient education.

The reciprocal interaction of two or more persons.

The individual's experience of a sense of fulfillment of a need or want and the quality or state of being satisfied.

The capability to perform the duties of one's profession generally, or to perform a particular professional task, with skill of an acceptable quality.

Conscious or unconscious emotional reaction of the therapist to the patient which may interfere with treatment. (APA, Thesaurus of Psychological Index Terms, 8th ed.)

In screening and diagnostic tests, the probability that a person with a positive test is a true positive (i.e., has the disease), is referred to as the predictive value of a positive test; whereas, the predictive value of a negative test is the probability that the person with a negative test does not have the disease. Predictive value is related to the sensitivity and specificity of the test.

Studies in which individuals or populations are followed to assess the outcome of exposures, procedures, or effects of a characteristic, e.g., occurrence of disease.

Individuals enrolled in a school or formal educational program.

Time period from 1901 through 2000 of the common era.

The process of making a selective intellectual judgment when presented with several complex alternatives consisting of several variables, and usually defining a course of action or an idea.

An approach of practicing medicine with the goal to improve and evaluate patient care. It requires the judicious integration of best research evidence with the patient's values to make decisions about medical care. This method is to help physicians make proper diagnosis, devise best testing plan, choose best treatment and methods of disease prevention, as well as develop guidelines for large groups of patients with the same disease. (from JAMA 296 (9), 2006)

A person's view of himself.

A statistical technique that isolates and assesses the contributions of categorical independent variables to variation in the mean of a continuous dependent variable.

The total number of cases of a given disease in a specified population at a designated time. It is differentiated from INCIDENCE, which refers to the number of new cases in the population at a given time.

Excusing or pardoning for an offense or release of anger or resentment.

Social and economic factors that characterize the individual or group within the social structure.

Those affective states which can be experienced and have arousing and motivational properties.

A principle that learning is facilitated when the learner receives immediate evaluation of learning performance. The concept also hypothesizes that learning is facilitated when the learner is promptly informed whether a response is correct, and, if incorrect, of the direction of error.

Theoretical representations that simulate the behavior or activity of systems, processes, or phenomena. They include the use of mathematical equations, computers, and other electronic equipment.

The study of significant causes and processes in the development of mental illness.

The qualitative or quantitative estimation of the likelihood of adverse effects that may result from exposure to specified health hazards or from the absence of beneficial influences. (Last, Dictionary of Epidemiology, 1988)

The human ability to adapt in the face of tragedy, trauma, adversity, hardship, and ongoing significant life stressors.

Assessment of psychological variables by the application of mathematical procedures.

A cognitive process involving the formation of ideas generalized from the knowledge of qualities, aspects, and relations of objects.

Occupations of medical personnel who are not physicians, and are qualified by special training and, frequently, by licensure to work in supporting roles in the health care field. These occupations include, but are not limited to, medical technology, physical therapy, physician assistant, etc.

A prediction of the probable outcome of a disease based on a individual's condition and the usual course of the disease as seen in similar situations.

Educational institutions providing facilities for teaching and research and authorized to grant academic degrees.

Statistical models used in survival analysis that assert that the effect of the study factors on the hazard rate in the study population is multiplicative and does not change over time.

The study of natural phenomena by observation, measurement, and experimentation.

Senior professionals who provide guidance, direction and support to those persons desirous of improvement in academic positions, administrative positions or other career development situations.

The interaction of two or more persons or organizations directed toward a common goal which is mutually beneficial. An act or instance of working or acting together for a common purpose or benefit, i.e., joint action. (From Random House Dictionary Unabridged, 2d ed)

An enduring, learned predisposition to behave in a consistent way toward a given class of objects, or a persistent mental and/or neural state of readiness to react to a certain class of objects, not as they are but as they are conceived to be.

Time period from 1801 through 1900 of the common era.

The act of making a selection among two or more alternatives, usually after a period of deliberation.

The study of the effects of drugs on mental and behavioral activity.

The ability to generate new ideas or images.

Refusal to admit the truth or reality of a situation or experience.

Games designed to provide information on hypotheses, policies, procedures, or strategies.

Psychiatric illness or diseases manifested by breakdowns in the adaptational process expressed primarily as abnormalities of thought, feeling, and behavior producing either distress or impairment of function.

Application of statistical procedures to analyze specific observed or assumed facts from a particular study.

A state of increased receptivity to suggestion and direction, initially induced by the influence of another person.

Communication, in the sense of cross-fertilization of ideas, involving two or more academic disciplines (such as the disciplines that comprise the cross-disciplinary field of bioethics, including the health and biological sciences, the humanities, and the social sciences and law). Also includes problems in communication stemming from differences in patterns of language usage in different academic or medical disciplines.

The feeling-tone accompaniment of an idea or mental representation. It is the most direct psychic derivative of instinct and the psychic representative of the various bodily changes by means of which instincts manifest themselves.

Studies in which variables relating to an individual or group of individuals are assessed over a period of time.

The state wherein the person is well adjusted.

The number of new cases of a given disease during a given period in a specified population. It also is used for the rate at which new events occur in a defined population. It is differentiated from PREVALENCE, which refers to all cases, new or old, in the population at a given time.

The study, based on direct observation, use of statistical records, interviews, or experimental methods, of actual practices or the actual impact of practices or policies.

A theoretical technique utilizing a group of related constructs to describe or prescribe how individuals or groups of people choose a course of action when faced with several alternatives and a variable amount of knowledge about the determinants of the outcomes of those alternatives.

Stress wherein emotional factors predominate.

Consideration and concern for others, as opposed to self-love or egoism, which can be a motivating influence.

The educational process of instructing.

Acquired or learned responses which are regularly manifested.

The status during which female mammals carry their developing young (EMBRYOS or FETUSES) in utero before birth, beginning from FERTILIZATION to BIRTH.

The part of CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM that is contained within the skull (CRANIUM). Arising from the NEURAL TUBE, the embryonic brain is comprised of three major parts including PROSENCEPHALON (the forebrain); MESENCEPHALON (the midbrain); and RHOMBENCEPHALON (the hindbrain). The developed brain consists of CEREBRUM; CEREBELLUM; and other structures in the BRAIN STEM.

An indicator of body density as determined by the relationship of BODY WEIGHT to BODY HEIGHT. BMI=weight (kg)/height squared (m2). BMI correlates with body fat (ADIPOSE TISSUE). Their relationship varies with age and gender. For adults, BMI falls into these categories: below 18.5 (underweight); 18.5-24.9 (normal); 25.0-29.9 (overweight); 30.0 and above (obese). (National Center for Health Statistics, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

The application of modern theories of learning and conditioning in the treatment of behavior disorders.

Individuals enrolled in a school or formal educational program in the health occupations.

Levels within a diagnostic group which are established by various measurement criteria applied to the seriousness of a patient's disorder.

The science of designing, building or equipping mechanical devices or artificial environments to the anthropometric, physiological, or psychological requirements of the people who will use them.

The science and art of collecting, summarizing, and analyzing data that are subject to random variation. The term is also applied to the data themselves and to the summarization of the data.

The tendency of an individual or individuals to rely on others for advice, guidance, or support.

The state of the organism when it functions optimally without evidence of disease.

A distribution function used to describe the occurrence of rare events or to describe the sampling distribution of isolated counts in a continuum of time or space.

The process by which the nature and meaning of sensory stimuli are recognized and interpreted.

A collective expression for all behavior patterns acquired and socially transmitted through symbols. Culture includes customs, traditions, and language.

Tests designed to assess neurological function associated with certain behaviors. They are used in diagnosing brain dysfunction or damage and central nervous system disorders or injury.

Those psychological characteristics which differentiate individuals from one another.

It is a client-centered, directive method for eliciting intrinsic motivation to change using open-ended questions, reflective listening, and decisional balancing. This nonjudgmental, nonconfrontational interviewing style is designed to minimize a patient's resistance to change by creating an interaction that supports open discussion of risky or problem behavior.

Diagnostic, therapeutic and preventive mental health services provided for individuals in the community.

Depressive states usually of moderate intensity in contrast with major depression present in neurotic and psychotic disorders.

Inhaling and exhaling the smoke of burning TOBACCO.

Diseases which have one or more of the following characteristics: they are permanent, leave residual disability, are caused by nonreversible pathological alteration, require special training of the patient for rehabilitation, or may be expected to require a long period of supervision, observation, or care. (Dictionary of Health Services Management, 2d ed)

A generic concept reflecting concern with the modification and enhancement of life attributes, e.g., physical, political, moral and social environment; the overall condition of a human life.

An infant during the first month after birth.

Focusing on certain aspects of current experience to the exclusion of others. It is the act of heeding or taking notice or concentrating.

Relatively permanent change in behavior that is the result of past experience or practice. The concept includes the acquisition of knowledge.

Standardized tests designed to measure abilities, as in intelligence, aptitude, and achievement tests, or to evaluate personality traits.

"The business or profession of the commercial production and issuance of literature" (Webster's 3d). It includes the publisher, publication processes, editing and editors. Production may be by conventional printing methods or by electronic publishing.

Non-invasive method of demonstrating internal anatomy based on the principle that atomic nuclei in a strong magnetic field absorb pulses of radiofrequency energy and emit them as radiowaves which can be reconstructed into computerized images. The concept includes proton spin tomographic techniques.

The prediction or projection of the nature of future problems or existing conditions based upon the extrapolation or interpretation of existing scientific data or by the application of scientific methodology.

Conceptual functions or thinking in all its forms.

The practice of sending a patient to another program or practitioner for services or advice which the referring source is not prepared to provide.

Complex mental function having four distinct phases: (1) memorizing or learning, (2) retention, (3) recall, and (4) recognition. Clinically, it is usually subdivided into immediate, recent, and remote memory.

A group of disorders characterized by physical symptoms that are affected by emotional factors and involve a single organ system, usually under AUTONOMIC NERVOUS SYSTEM control. (American Psychiatric Glossary, 1988)

Readiness to think or respond in a predetermined way when confronted with a problem or stimulus situation.

Knowledge, attitudes, and associated behaviors which pertain to health-related topics such as PATHOLOGIC PROCESSES or diseases, their prevention, and treatment. This term refers to non-health workers and health workers (HEALTH PERSONNEL).

The scientific discipline concerned with the physiology of the nervous system.

Check list, usually to be filled out by a person about himself, consisting of many statements about personal characteristics which the subject checks.

The determination and evaluation of personality attributes by interviews, observations, tests, or scales. Articles concerning personality measurement are considered to be within scope of this term.

Systematic gathering of data for a particular purpose from various sources, including questionnaires, interviews, observation, existing records, and electronic devices. The process is usually preliminary to statistical analysis of the data.

A range of values for a variable of interest, e.g., a rate, constructed so that this range has a specified probability of including the true value of the variable.

Set of expectations that exempt persons from responsibility for their illness and exempt them from usual responsibilities.

Behavior which may be manifested by destructive and attacking action which is verbal or physical, by covert attitudes of hostility or by obstructionism.

Measurable and quantifiable biological parameters (e.g., specific enzyme concentration, specific hormone concentration, specific gene phenotype distribution in a population, presence of biological substances) which serve as indices for health- and physiology-related assessments, such as disease risk, psychiatric disorders, environmental exposure and its effects, disease diagnosis, metabolic processes, substance abuse, pregnancy, cell line development, epidemiologic studies, etc.

The selecting and organizing of visual stimuli based on the individual's past experience.

The condition in which reasonable knowledge regarding risks, benefits, or the future is not available.

The time from the onset of a stimulus until a response is observed.

New abnormal growth of tissue. Malignant neoplasms show a greater degree of anaplasia and have the properties of invasion and metastasis, compared to benign neoplasms.

Self-directing freedom and especially moral independence. An ethical principle holds that the autonomy of persons ought to be respected. (Bioethics Thesaurus)

Abstract standards or empirical variables in social life which are believed to be important and/or desirable.

Behaviors expressed by individuals to protect, maintain or promote their health status. For example, proper diet, and appropriate exercise are activities perceived to influence health status. Life style is closely associated with health behavior and factors influencing life style are socioeconomic, educational, and cultural.

The process of cumulative change over successive generations through which organisms acquire their distinguishing morphological and physiological characteristics.

Research that involves the application of the natural sciences, especially biology and physiology, to medicine.

The study of chance processes or the relative frequency characterizing a chance process.

The act of "taking account" of an object or state of affairs. It does not imply assessment of, nor attention to the qualities or nature of the object.

The continuous sequential physiological and psychological maturing of an individual from birth up to but not including ADOLESCENCE.

Support systems that provide assistance and encouragement to individuals with physical or emotional disabilities in order that they may better cope. Informal social support is usually provided by friends, relatives, or peers, while formal assistance is provided by churches, groups, etc.