Substance Use and Abuse

Russil Durrant received his Ph.D. from the University of Canterbury, where he also ompleted a Post Doctoral Fellowship. He then worked at the Centre for Behavioral Research in Cancer at the Cancer Control Research Institute in Melbourne, Australia. His research involves the design and evaluation of mass media tobacco prevention programs, and his other research interests include evolutionary psychology, cultural psychology, and the social history of drug use.  He currently teaches at Griffith University - Gold Coast Campus in Queensland, Australia.Jo Thakker is a lecturer in clinical psychology at the University of Waikato in Hamilton, New Zealand. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Canterbury and has worked as a clinical psychologist in a variety of therapeutic contexts. Along with work in the substance abuse area, her research interests include cultural psychology and mental health issues in relation to migrants and refugees.

• Preface1. What Needs to be Explained and How Should We Explain It?IntroductionLevels of Analysis & the Multidisciplinary Nature of Psychoactive Drug StudiesTowards an Integrated Model of Substance Use & AbuseOverviewEndnotes2. The Nature & Scope of Substance Use & AbuseIntroductionWhat Is a Drug?Who Uses Drugs?Taxonomy of Drug Use ContextsThe Harms & Benefits of DrugsFrom Use to AbuseSummaryEndnotes3. An Evolutionary PerspectiveIntroductionThe Nature and Role of Evolutionary ExplanationsHas Drug Use Been Selected For?Drugs & the BrainDrug Use, Sexual Selection, and Life History TheoryFrom Use to AbuseAn Integrated Evolutionary Model of Substance UseSummaryEndnotes4. Drugs in HistoryIntroductionWhat Can History Tell Us about Substance Use and Abuse?A Brief History of DrugsSummaryEndnotes5. The Forces of History: Explaining Patterns of Use and AbuseIntroductionThe Functions of Drugs in Historical PerspectivePharmacologyNew Forms, New Modes, New Substances: The Impact of Technological Change on Drug Use New Forms, New Modes, new Substances: The Impact of Technological Change on Drug UseAvailabilityEconomic and Political FactorsLegislation and Public PolicySocial FactorsA Complex Web: Multiple Influences on Patterns of Drug UseSummaryEndnotes6. Drugs and CultureIntroductionConceptual & Methodological IssuesIndigenous Patterns of Drug UseDrugs & MulticulturalismSummaryEndnotes7. The Role of Culture: Explaining Patterns of UseIntroductionDrugs and CultureCulture and DrugsSocial Structural FactorsIntegrating Cultural ExplanationsExplanationsSummaryEndnotes8. Conceptualizing & Treating Substance Use Problems: A Cultural-Historical PerspectiveIntroductionThe Pre and Early History of AddictionTreatment for Alcohol & Drug Problems in the Nineteenth CenturyThe Changing Face of Drug Addiction: 1914-1960The Alcoholism MovementContemporary DevelopmentsCulture & ClassificationImplicationsEndnotes9. Prevention, Treatment & Public PolicyIntroductionPreventionAssessmentTreatmentLegal Sanctions, Regulations, & RestrictionsHarm ReductionConclusionEndnotesReferencesAuthor IndexSubject Index

This book takes an integrative approach to the understanding of drug use and its relationship to social-cultural factors. It is lucidly and powerfully argued and constitutes a significant achievement. The authors sensibly argue that in order to fully understand and explain drug use and abuse it is necessary to take into account different levels of analysis, reflecting distinct domains of human functioning; the biological, psychosocial, and cultural-historical….Overall, this book represents an exceptional achievement and should be of interest to drug clinicians and researcher as well as social scientists and students.