Illegal psychoactive substances and illicit prescription drugs are currently used on a daily basis all over the world. Affecting public health and social welfare, illicit drug use is linked to disease, disability, and social problems. Faced with an increase in usage, national and global policymakers are turning to addiction science for guidance on how to create evidence-based drug policy. Drug Policy and the Public Good is an objective analytical basis on which to build global dru...

Alcohol: No Ordinary Commodity is a collaborative effort by an international group of addiction scientists to improve the linkages between addiction science and alcohol policy. It presents, in a comprehensive, practical, and readily accessible form, the accumulated scientific knowledge on alcohol research that has a direct relevance to the development of alcohol policy on local, national, and international levels. It provides an objective basis on which to build relevant policies ...

Commercial gambling is a recent historical phenomenon. It has developed into a profitable industry that supplies a range of recreational activities to its customers, and is a significant way of collecting money from players to distribute to companies, state budgets, and other beneficiaries. Many of these are civil society organizations, using the money for producing services in sports, culture, social work, and health care. However, gambling can also develop into pathological behaviour. Us...

How can 'binge drinking' be explained and understood? Is alcohol consumption related to the particular cultural characteristics of some European countries? Should heavy drinking cultures be seen as a mainstream youth phenomenon or as marginal - and is this different in different countries? A team of leading researchers addresses these questions and more in their analysis of the alcohol consumption patterns of European young people. Alcohol consumption is an important marker of transition f...

Impact of Addictive Substances and Behaviours on Individual and Societal Well-being outlines an innovative and fascinating new framework for understanding the harm that addictive substances and behaviours can cause. Taking a holistic approach and with well-being as a central tenet, it demonstrates how using different methods can lead to a more just and evidence-based approach to dealing with addictions. Presenting the latest and most comprehensive research, the expert team of auth...

A growing body of research shows that social networks and identities have a profound impact on mental and physical health. With such mounting evidence of the importance of social relationships in protecting health, the challenge we face is explaining why this should be the case. What is it that social groups offer that appears to be just as beneficial as a daily dose of vitamin C or regular exercise?This edited book brings together the latest research on how group memberships, and ...

Now in an updated fifth edition, this book provides readers with overviews of all the key theories, concepts and terminology associated with mental health, summarising them succinctly in a series of easily digestible yet expertly written entries.Structured into four sections, the text starts with entries related to Mental Health and Mental Abnormality, before moving onto Mental Health Services and Society.The new edition offers:68 concise chapters including ne...

Public policy responses to child sexual abuse are dominated by interventions designed to take effect only after offenders have already begun offending, and after children have already been sexually abused. Comparatively little attention has been given to alternative prevention strategies – particularly to those aimed at preventing sexual abuse before it might otherwise occur. Considerable knowledge has been accumulated on the characteristics, modus operandi and persistence of offe...

The Wiley-Blackwell Handbook of Childhood Social Development*, Second Edition* presents an authoritative and up-to-date overview of research and theory concerning a child's social development from pre-school age to the onset of adolescence.Presents the most up-to-date research and theories on childhood social developmentFeatures chapters by an international cast of leaders in their fieldsIncludes comprehensive coverage of a range of disciplinary p...

This book provides a sociological analysis of major areas of mental health and illness.

In this volume, Elena Garralda and Jean-Philippe Raynaud aim to contribute to advancing awareness of child and adolescent mental health within an international framework that gives special consideration to problems arising in different contexts around the world and through expert views supported by empirical evidence and considering clinical implications.There is increasing recognition worldwide of the importance of child and adolescent mental health problems, of the distress and i...

Are hallucinations and delusions really symptoms of an illness called ‘schizophrenia’? Are mental health problems really caused by chemical imbalances and genetic predispositions? Are psychiatric drugs as effective and safe as the drug companies claim? Is madness preventable?This second edition of Models of Madness challenges those who hold to simplistic, pessimistic and often damaging theories and treatments of madness. In particular it challenges beliefs that madness can...