Critical Perspectives On Addiction

Featuring the work of several up-and-coming scholars working to deepen theoretical perspectives on addiction and its relationship to social control and deviance, this volume fills a gap in addiction studies by offering critical perspectives that interrogate and challenge traditional and/or mainstream understandings of addiction.

Children of alcoholics (COAs) are thought to be at heightened risk for the development of alcoholism. Yet, despite the recent spate of articles in both the professional literature and the popular press on the effects of having alcoholic parents, there remains much controversy surrounding the topic. Offering a state-of-the-art review of the literature and a critical evaluation of COA research, chapters in this volume analyze such key areas as: * The prevalence of alcoholism and other forms of maladjustment among COAs * The role of biological and environmental factors in the expression of alcoholism * Optimal ways of intervening to prevent or ameliorate harmful consequences associated with being the offspring of an alcoholic. With the widespread interest in COAs and their functioning across the life span, this volume serves as an invaluable resource for clinicians, alcohol researchers, developmentalists, school counselors, nurses, medical doctors, and educators.

Addiction: A biopsychosocial perspective provides students with an evidence-based approach to addiction whilst covering a broad range of topics, critical perspectives and influential theories in addiction. With chapters discussing key theories, psychological, biological and societal aspects of addiction, this is a highly accessible and essential resource for students and researchers that: Offers an evidence-based discussion of addiction Addresses the neuroscience and psychology of addiction Provides a critical account of the science and research in addiction Includes chapter overviews and summaries, learning aims and case studies to help students in their study

The study of addiction is dominated by a narrow disease ideology that leads to biological reductionism. In this short volume, editors Granfield and Reinarman make clear the importance of a more balanced contextual approach to addiction by bringing to light critical perspectives that expose the historical and cultural interstices in which the disease concept of addiction is constructed and deployed. The readings selected for this anthology include both classic foundational pieces and cutting-edge contemporary works that constitute critical addiction studies. This book is a welcome addition to drugs or addiction courses in sociology, criminal justice, mental health, clinical psychology, social work, and counseling.

Coercive medico-legal interventions are often employed to prevent people deemed to be unable to make competent decisions about their health, such as minors, people with mental illness, disability or problematic alcohol or other drug use, from harming themselves or others. These interventions can entail major curtailments of individuals’ liberty and bodily integrity, and may cause significant harm and distress. The use of coercive medico-legal interventions can also serve competing social interests that raise profound ethical, legal and clinical questions. Examining the ethical, social and legal issues involved in coerced care, this book brings together the views and insights of leading researchers from a range of disciplines, including criminology, law, ethics, psychology and public health, as well as legal and medical practitioners, social-service ‘consumers’ and government officials. Topics addressed in this volume include: compulsory treatment and involuntary detention orders in civil mental health and disability law; mandatory alcohol and drug treatment programs and drug courts; community treatment orders; the use of welfare cards with Indigenous populations; mandated treatment of seriously ill minors; as well as adult guardianship and substituted decision-making regimes. These contributions attempt to shed light on why we use coercive interventions, whether we should, whether they are effective in achieving the benefits that are offered to justify their use, and the impact that they have on some of society’s most vulnerable citizens in the names of ‘justice’ and ‘treatment’. This book is essential reading for clinicians, researchers and legal practitioners involved in the study and application of coerced care, as well as students and scholars in the fields of law, medicine, ethics and criminology. The collection asks important questions about the increasing use of coercive care that demand to be answered, and offers critical insights, guidance and recommendations for those working in the field.

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.

"Addiction: A Biopsychosocial Perspective" provides you with an evidence-based approach to addiction whilst covering a broad range of topics, critical perspectives and influential theories. With chapters discussing the psychological, biological and societal aspects of addiction, this is a highly accessible and essential resource for students and researchers. -- From publisher's description.

A unique and innovative collection, Critical Perspectives in Public Health Feminisms gives space to chronically underrepresented voices in public health through engaging with Public Health Feminisms (PHF). PHF describes a technique of analysis that attends gender and intersections of race, class, sexuality, age, and ability in public health. Including the perspectives of Black, Indigenous, women of colour, refugee, immigrant, (dis)abled, neurodivergent, two-spirit, non-binary, trans and/or gender diverse scholars, this text aims to fill a gap in public health scholarship and practice. Through a social justice approach, it critically addresses how public health services, policies, and programming are unable to protect and promote the health of all Canadians due to their lack of representation and inclusivity from inception to execution. This accessible and thought-provoking volume is essential for upper-year undergraduate and graduate students across all areas in public health and gender and health studies. It provides analytical, theoretical, and methodological tools to inform work in public health services, policies, and programming through a PHF lens.