Drug Abuse and Antisocial Behavior

"Is there anything new under the sun on the topic of drug abuse? Yes! This must-read book brings together the latest science, biological, social, and life-course developmental, in one very readable package. I recommend it for experts and for students encountering the topic of drug abuse for the first time." (Terrie Moffitt, Professor, Duke University and King's College London) "A top-notch synthesis-with all the necessary nuances-of the present biosocial state of knowledge with regards to drug abuse and antisocial behavior across the life course." (Richard E. Tremblay, Professor, University College Dublin and University of Montreal) "An excellent, informative, and wide-ranging book on the interactions between biological and social factors -- in childhood, adolescence, and adulthood -- in influencing drug abuse and antisocial behavior." (David P. Farrington, Emeritus Professor, Cambridge University)

This book is rooted in the conviction that human biology plays a critical role in understanding drug abuse and antisocial behavior.This book is rooted in the conviction that human biology plays a critical role in understanding drug abuse and antisocial behavior. In the same breath, however, it fundamentally affirms the importance of the many social and environmental factors that influence our behavior across the life course. The study begins with an overview of the scope of the problem of drug abuse and crime, and an examination of how these problems often feed into one another. Building upon that foundation, the focus shifts to a review of cutting-edge research on the genetics and neurobiology of addiction and antisocial behavior  across the developmental periods of childhood, adolescence, and adulthood. An exploration of the implications of a biosocial life course approach in terms of drug abuse prevention, and an examination of what lies ahead for drug abuse and criminological research conclude this detailed and timely book. Policy makers, practitioners and scholars of criminology and sociology will find this of particular interest.