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.

Antisocial behaviour and conduct disorders are the most common reason for referral to child and adolescent mental health services and have a significant impact on the quality of life of children and young people and their parents and carers. Rates of other mental health problems (including antisocial personality disorder) are considerably increased for adults who had a conduct disorder in childhood. This new NICE guideline seeks to address these problems by offering advice on prevention strategies and a range of psychosocial interventions.It reviews the evidence across the care pathway, encompassing access to and delivery of services, experience of care, selective prevention interventions, case identification and assessment, psychological and psychosocial indicated prevention and treatment interventions, and pharmacological and physical interventions.Readership: Intended for healthcare professionals in CAMHS, but this will also be useful to professionals in primary care (as there is much emphasis on recognition).

In the latter part of this century, an increasingly vigorous and sophisticated scientific study of antisocial behavior has emerged. This new science has offered partial answers to some very important questions which will lead to better understanding and prevention of antisocial behavior. In 50 chapters, more than 100 leading scientists, clinicians, and scholars review the research in their area of expertise to provide extraordinary extensive and deep coverage of the field in a single volume. The Handbook of Antisocial Behavior is an indispensable resource for mental health practitioners, as well as anyone involved in research into violence and aggression, including psychologists, psychiatrists, neuroscientists, public health professionals, epidemiologists, sociologists, and criminologists.

Estimates indicate that as many as 1 in 4 Americans will experience a mental health problem or will misuse alcohol or drugs in their lifetimes. These disorders are among the most highly stigmatized health conditions in the United States, and they remain barriers to full participation in society in areas as basic as education, housing, and employment. Improving the lives of people with mental health and substance abuse disorders has been a priority in the United States for more than 50 years. The Community Mental Health Act of 1963 is considered a major turning point in America's efforts to improve behavioral healthcare. It ushered in an era of optimism and hope and laid the groundwork for the consumer movement and new models of recovery. The consumer movement gave voice to people with mental and substance use disorders and brought their perspectives and experience into national discussions about mental health. However over the same 50-year period, positive change in American public attitudes and beliefs about mental and substance use disorders has lagged behind these advances. Stigma is a complex social phenomenon based on a relationship between an attribute and a stereotype that assigns undesirable labels, qualities, and behaviors to a person with that attribute. Labeled individuals are then socially devalued, which leads to inequality and discrimination. This report contributes to national efforts to understand and change attitudes, beliefs and behaviors that can lead to stigma and discrimination. Changing stigma in a lasting way will require coordinated efforts, which are based on the best possible evidence, supported at the national level with multiyear funding, and planned and implemented by an effective coalition of representative stakeholders. Ending Discrimination Against People with Mental and Substance Use Disorders: The Evidence for Stigma Change explores stigma and discrimination faced by individuals with mental or substance use disorders and recommends effective strategies for reducing stigma and encouraging people to seek treatment and other supportive services. It offers a set of conclusions and recommendations about successful stigma change strategies and the research needed to inform and evaluate these efforts in the United States.

Reflecting the work of an international panel of experts, the International Handbook on Psychopathic Disorders and the Law offers an in-depth and multidisciplinary look at key aspects of the development and etiology of psychopathic disorders, current methods of intervention, treatment and management, and how these disorders impact decision making in civil and criminal law.

Adolescent substance abuse is the nation's #1 public health problem. It originates out of a developmental era where experimentation with the world is increasingly taking place, and where major changes in physical self and social relationships are taking place. These changes cannot be understood by any one discipline nor can they be described by focusing only on the behavioral and social problems of this age period, the characteristics of normal development, or the pharmacology and addictive potential of specific drugs. They require knowledge of the brain's systems of reward and control, genetics, psychopharmacology, personality, child development, psychopathology, family dynamics, peer group relationships, culture, social policy, and more. Drawing on the expertise of the leading researchers in this field, this Handbook provides the most comprehensive summarization of current knowledge about adolescent substance abuse. The Handbook is organized into eight sections covering the literature on the developmental context of this life period, the epidemiology of adolescent use and abuse, similarities and differences in use, addictive potential, and consequences of use for different drugs; etiology and course as characterized at different levels of mechanistic analysis ranging from the genetic and neural to the behavioural and social. Two sections cover the clinical ramifications of abuse, and prevention and intervention strategies to most effectively deal with these problems. The Handbook's last section addresses the role of social policy in framing the problem, in addressing it, and explores its potential role in alleviating it.

Substance misuse and abuse exist in almost every human society. In our western civilization, the bulk of attention has focused on those indi viduals who specifically seek treatment or those who have become so disabled by these problems that they require treatment. These indi viduals usually qualify for a psychiatric diagnosis of alcohol or other substance abuse. However, just as it has been recognized that primary substance abuse is frequently associated with other diagnosable psychi atric disorders, such as sociopathy or attention deficit disorder (residual type) and that the origins of substance abuse are multivariate, we have also begun to become aware that many other individuals in our society with psychiatric or other problems also suffer, to varying degrees, from substance abuse. These problems may be considered secondary by vari ous specialists or treatment personnel; but nevertheless, they are prob lems, and what disorder is primary or secondary in a given individual may often be very difficult to determine in a meaningful fashion. Thus, within the past decade, research studies have reported significant inci dences of substance abuse/or misuse in high school and college-aged populations, in medical populations, and in individuals with other psy chiatric disorders such as schizophrenia, depression, and the anxiety and personality disorders. Yet to date little has been done to bring together and systematize this widely scattered data that describes the presence of substance abuse problems in various populations.

This volume reviews the latest information about the treatment and prevention of major mental disorders that emerge during adolescence. It should be a primary resource for both clinicians and researchers, with special attention to gaps in our knowledge.

Drug abuse persists as one of the most costly and contentious problems on the nation's agenda. Pathways of Addiction meets the need for a clear and thoughtful national research agenda that will yield the greatest benefit from today's limited resources. The committee makes its recommendations within the public health framework and incorporates diverse fields of inquiry and a range of policy positions. It examines both the demand and supply aspects of drug abuse. Pathways of Addiction offers a fact-filled, highly readable examination of drug abuse issues in the United States, describing findings and outlining research needs in the areas of behavioral and neurobiological foundations of drug abuse. The book covers the epidemiology and etiology of drug abuse and discusses several of its most troubling health and social consequences, including HIV, violence, and harm to children. Pathways of Addiction looks at the efficacy of different prevention interventions and the many advances that have been made in treatment research in the past 20 years. The book also examines drug treatment in the criminal justice setting and the effectiveness of drug treatment under managed care. The committee advocates systematic study of the laws by which the nation attempts to control drug use and identifies the research questions most germane to public policy. Pathways of Addiction provides a strategic outline for wise investment of the nation's research resources in drug abuse. This comprehensive and accessible volume will have widespread relevanceâ€"to policymakers, researchers, research administrators, foundation decisionmakers, healthcare professionals, faculty and students, and concerned individuals.

This book examines childhood personality and behaviour to adulthood from major longitudinal studies in psychopathology.