Assessment tools for risky behaviors: Psychology and health

Thanks to the work of Division 38 of the American Psychological Association, Health Psychology has been defined in its methods and objectives. The biomedical vision of pathophysiological processes, indeed, could not take into account the complex relationship between medical conditions, psychological variables and contextual factors. Being healthy was not a matter of “silence of the organs” (Leriche, as cited by Canguilhem, 1991, p. 91) anymore, but encompassed representations, values, motivations and participation in social life. World Health Organization (WHO) still adopts this vision, referred to as biopsychosocial perspective. According to it, health disciplines should focus not only on treatment, but also on prevention, education, monitoring and social policy...