Social, Personality, Clinical, and Health Psychology Tributaries: The Merging of a Scholarly “River of Dreams”

Abstract

Results of a survey from the contents of six 1998 journals in social, clinical, personality, and health psychology allow one to conclude that interface research in these fields is grounded in theory, focuses more on understanding weaknesses than strengths, has personality variables playing major roles, and often involves correlation-based studies using related self-report variables. It is also suggested that promising future interface research would include the psychological predictors of medical outcomes, stress-related growth, enhancing psychotherapy outcomes, and the effects of social comparisons, as well as a methodological paradigm that involves the analyses of multilevel daily processes. The article closes with exhortations for enhancing the viability and potential impact of interface research.