Abnormal Psychology by James Hansell and Lisa Damour bridges the gap between the evolving field of abnormal psychology and the current textbook market. This text is a new, innovative approach to the teaching of abnormal psychology. While covering the latest DSM-IV-TR system and categories, core concepts in abnormal psychology form the backbone of the text. Abnormal Psychology provides an alternative for professors searching for a manageable textbook for their students. Hansell and Damour wrote Abnormal Psychology to help students not get lost in the details of this complex and ever changing field. To achieve this feat, the authors focus on six core concepts that make this field intriguing and appealing to students:

• The importance of context in defining and understanding abnormality
  
  
  
  
• The continuum between normal and abnormal behavior
  
  
  
  
• Cultural and historical relativism in defining and classifying abnormality
  
  
  
  
• The advantages a nd limitations of diagnoses
  
  
  
  
• The principle of multiple causality
  
  
  
  
• The connection between mind and body in abnormal behavior
  
  

Abnormal Psychology is designed to be accessible to the student and easy to use for the instructor. Hansell and Damour have streamlined the traditional table of contents of an abnormal psychology text to a fourteen chapter, affordable text without eliminating important material. For example, research methods are discussed throughout the text, social and legal issues are addressed in the chapters where they are most relevant, and treatment methods are covered in every chapter, not in a separate chapter on psychotherapy.