The Power of Clan: Influence of Human Relationships on Heart Disease - Softcover

Wolf, Stewart

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0765804492 ISBN 13: 9780765804495

Publisher: Routledge, 1998

Synopsis

Medical sociologists have long recognized the importance of community and family structure in the health of individuals. However, the past quarter century in America has seen an increasing emphasis on individualism and materialism that has effectively diminished the cohesiveness and emotional support provided by these basic social units. The Power of Clan examines the health effects of social change in a largely Italian-American town over a twenty-five-year period and provides substantial evidence of the protective effect of family bonds and shared social values against coronary heart disease and sudden death.

The unique feature of the Roseto, Pennsylvania community was its remarkably low death rate from heart attacks, this in spite of the fact that such risk factors as smoking, lack of exercise, high fat and cholesterol diet were found to be just as prevalent in Roseto as in four nearby control towns. Roseto's traditional, family-oriented social structure, however, differed vastly from that of neighboring towns where materialistic values were predominant and where the individual, rather than the family, was considered to be the unit of society.

At the beginning of their study in the early 1960s, the authors noted indications of imminent social change toward a more Americanized system of values and behavior. Interviews with younger inhabitants revealed much respect for old-world traditions but not as much enthusiasm for living by them. The study's prediction that the abandonment of selfless, communal standards would undermine Rosetans relative immunity to heart disease was borne out as death rates from heart attack climbed to levels comparable to those of the control towns by 1975. The Power of Clan is the product of twenty-five years of continuous observation. The findings of its original study have been carefully examined and its predictions largely confirmed. It is a landmark volume in the longitudinal study of health in an advanced industrial society. It also constitutes a large step forward in the cooperation of medical and sociological researchers.

About this title

About the Author

Stewart Wolf (1914-2005) was professor of medicine at Temple University School of Medicine in Philadelphia and director of the Totts Gap Medical Research Laboratories. Before his tenure at Temple University, he headed the department of medicine at the University of Oklahoma. He authored, edited, or co-authored numerous books, including Social Environment and Health, The Stomach, and Educating Doctors.

Review

“Wolf and Bruhn report on a longitudinal epidemiological study of the factors influencing the incidence of coronary heart disease in Roseto, Pennsylvania, from the early 1960s to the mid 1980s. Comparisons were made with four control communities in close geographic proximity. The study demonstrates that a remarkably low initial incidence of coronary heart disease in Roseto was influenced negatively over the years by a transition from immigrant community values and family traditions to those of a highly industrialized, technological, and individualized US society. This book represents a sound and powerful blend of medical and social science, with philosophical foundations, hypothesis, analysis of alternate hypotheses, methodology, data analysis, and conclusions carefully addressed... An important acquisition for libraries serving education and research in medicine, medical sociology, public health, and public policy. Advanced undergraduate through professional.” 

—R. E. Darnell, Choice

"[The Power of Clan] is meticulous, tenacious, dedicated, if not Herculean."

—Robert S. Eliot, M.D., clinical professor of medicine. University of Nebraska's Medical Center

"The Power of Clan will stimulate and revive discussion on the effects of personal relationships on health." 

—Annals of Internal Medicine 

"The Power of Clan describes a large scale, longitudinal, multidisciplinary study relating social conditions and heart disease. . . . This well-written and well-documented book interweaves fascinating social history, medical statistics, and research rationale. It should be read by all segments of the health care establishment." 

—Chester M. Pierce, Physchosomatic Medicine 

Edition details

• Publisher: Routledge
• Publication date: 1998
• ISBN 10: 0765804492
• ISBN 13: 9780765804495
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 202