Behavioral Factors in Asthma‪.‬

Asthma is a chronic airway disorder of increasing interest to behavioral psychologists in past decades. Despite treatment advances, increases in asthma morbidity and mortality, particularly among Hispanic and African American persons, continue to be a major public health concern. Several behavioral factors have been identified as having an impact on the development, presentation, management, and treatment of asthma. Our review summarizes the state of knowledge in several of these areas, including social-operant processes, treatment adherence, environmental control, symptom perception, self-monitoring, physician behavior, and the effects of comorbid psychopathology. We also discuss cultural and other contextual factors that may influence asthma-related outcomes. **********