Addiction In America Society Psychology And Heredity

Almost 40 percent of people living in the United States have an addiction to alcohol, drugs, or some form of tobacco. These addictions cost Americans hundreds of billions of dollars every year. Clearly, addiction is an enormous problem. Addiction in America: Society, Psychology, and Heredity takes a look at what leads people to a life of addiction—the social, psychological, and hereditary factors that might make an individual susceptible to addiction. This book provides you with an overview of one of the most serious problems facing American society today.

This book examines various aspects of addiction in the United States.

Containing more than 450 entries, this easy-to-read encyclopedia provides concise information about the history of and recent trends in drug use and drug abuse in the United States—a societal problem with an estimated cost of $559 billion a year. Despite decades of effort and billions of dollars spent to combat the problem, illicit drug use in the United States is still rampant and shows no sign of abating. Covering illegal drugs ranging from marijuana and LSD to cocaine and crystal meth, this authoritative reference work examines patterns of drug use in American history, as well as drug control and interdiction efforts from the nineteenth century to the present. This encyclopedia provides a multidisciplinary perspective on the various aspects of the American drug problem, including the drugs themselves, the actions taken in attempts to curb or stop the drug trade, the efforts at intervention and treatment of those individuals affected by drug use, and the cultural and economic effects of drug use in the United States. More than 450 entries descriptively analyze and summarize key terms, trends, concepts, and people that are vital to the study of drugs and drug abuse, providing readers of all ages and backgrounds with invaluable information on domestic and international drug trafficking and use. The set provides special coverage of shifting societal and legislative perspectives on marijuana, as evidenced by Colorado and Washington legalizing marijuana with the 2012 elections.

Human beings have been using intoxicating substances for millennia. But while most people have used psychoactive substances without becoming dependent on them, a significant minority develop substance use disorders. The question remains: why does addiction occur in some and not others? The 61st installment of the Nebraska Symposium on Motivation, Genes and the Motivation to Use Substances probes the complex role of genetics in substance use and abuse across diverse methodologies, research organisms, levels of analysis and disciplines. Its combined lifespan/motivation approach to individual differences sheds necessary light on genetic vs. environmental factors in vulnerability, addiction risk, the relationship between behavioral disinhibition and substance use and the motivation to quit. While alcohol use/abuse is the focus of much of the book, its chapters provide scientific and clinical insights into substance abuse in general as well as implications for treatment. And an intriguing conclusion discusses the need to bridge the gap between genetics and neuroscience and the best scientific conditions in which this integration may thrive. Included in the coverage: • Rodent models of genetic contributions to the motivation to use alcohol. • The adolescent origins of substance abuse disorders • The developmental matrix of addictive behavior • The genetics of cannabis involvement • The DNA methylation signature of smoking • Genomics of impulsivity: integrating genetics and neuroscience. Reflecting the current state of knowledge in a field with groundbreaking potential, Genes and the Motivation to Use Substances is a fascinating resource for psychologists, psychiatrists, geneticists, neuroscientists, social workers, policymakers and researchers in addiction.

A comprehensive review of research examining intermediary mechanisms to understand the link between genetic variation and addiction liability. Although there is scientific consensus that genetic factors play a substantial role in an individual's vulnerability to drug or alcohol addiction, specific genetic variables linked to risk or resilience remain elusive. Understanding how genetic factors contribute to addiction may require focusing on intermediary mechanisms, or intermediate phenotypes, that connect genetic variation and risk for addiction. This book offers a comprehensive review of this mechanistic-centered approach and the most promising intermediate phenotypes identified in empirical research. The contributors first consider the most established findings in the field, including variability in drug metabolism, brain electrophysiological profiles, and subjective reactions to direct drug effects; they go on to review highly promising areas such as expectancies, attentional processing, and behavioral economic variables; and finally, they investigate more exploratory approaches, including the differential susceptibility hypothesis and epigenetic modifications. Taken together, the chapters offer a macro-level testing of the hypothesis that these alternative, mechanistic phenotypes can advance the understanding of genetic influences on addiction. The book will be of interest to researchers and practitioners in a range of disciplines, including behavioral genetics, psychology, pharmacology, neuroscience, and sociology. Contributors John Acker, Steven R.H. Beach, Gene H. Brody, Angela D. Bryan, Megan J. Chenoweth, Danielle M. Dick, Eske D. Derks, Mary-Anne Enoch, Meg Gerrard, Frederick X. Gibbons, Thomas E. Gladwin, Mark S. Goldman, Marcus Heilig, Kent E. Hutchison, Hollis C. Karoly, Steven M. Kogan, Man Kit Lei, Susan Luczak, James MacKillop, Renee E. Magnan, Leah M. Mayo, Marcus R. Munafò, Daria Orlowska, Abraham A. Palmer, Danielle Pandika, Clarissa C. Parker, Robert A. Philibert, Lara A. Ray, Richard R. Reich, Ronald L. Simons, Courtney J. Stevens, Rachel E. Thayer, Rachel F. Tyndale, Tamara L. Wall, Reinout W. Wiers, Michael Windle, Harriet de Wit

When does a harmless habit become an addition? Why do only some of us get addicted? What can make recovery possible? The Psychology of Addiction is a fascinating introduction to the psychological issues surrounding addiction and the impact they have on social policy, recovery and an addict’s everyday life. The book focuses on drug and alcohol addiction and tackles topics such as whether drug use always leads to addiction and the importance of social networks to recovery. It also looks at how people can become addicted to activities like gambling, gaming and sex. In a society that still stigmatises addiction The Psychology of Addiction emphasises the importance of compassion, and provides a sensitive insight to anyone with experience of addiction.

"The image of the addict in popular culture combines victimhood and moral failure; we sympathize with addicts in films and novels because of their suffering and their hard-won knowledge. And yet actual scientific knowledge about addiction tends to undermine this cultural construct. In What Is Addiction? leading addiction researchers from neuroscience, psychology, genetics, philosophy, economics, and other fields survey the latest findings in addiction science. They discuss such questions as whether addiction is one kind of condition, or several; if addiction is neurophysiological, psychological, or social, or incorporates aspects of all of these; to what extent addicts are responsible for their problems, and how this affects health and regulatory policies; and whether addiction is determined by inheritance or environment or both." --Book Jacket.