The term drug abuse, as defined by the American Psychiatric Association (2000), captures the legal, social, and health-related consequences of the regular use of legal and illegal drugs for an individual. Besides this clinical definition, it is often overlooked that drug abuse not only affects the individual but also the individual's environment, and society as a whole. Drug abuse is without doubt a complex topic, and only understood in its complexity by a few. The book Drug Abuse – Concepts, Prevention and Cession is an ambitious attempt to synthesize the various psychological concepts of drug abuse, including their theoretical underpinnings and practical applications. The book provides the reader with sufficient background knowledge to understand the complexity of the psychology of drug abuse.

This book is divided into five sections: (1) Concepts and classes of drugs provides a detailed overview of the different drugs, their use and abuse, as well as the classification of drug-related problems, including the diagnostic criteria of substance abuse and dependence. The section closes with an interesting summary of the history of drug abuse. The section (2) Etiology explains the development of drug abuse in the light of four different psychological disciplines: biological psychology, cognitive psychology, social psychology and ecological psychology. For each psychological discipline, background information is provided in layman's language. For example, the chapter on biological psychology gives a brief overview of the neurotransmitter systems involved in the effects produced by different types of drugs, of genetic variations, of brain systems involved in drug abuse, and of the most common neuroscientific theories of drug addiction. The other psychological disciplines and the relevant theories are introduced with equal brevity, and the reader is made familiar with the prevailing perspectives of each discipline. The section closes with a chapter on assessment methods which includes mainly questionnaires that are based on the aforementioned theories from the different psychological disciplines. The following two sections (3) Prevention and (4) Cession are structured in the same way, i.e. starting with background information on the concepts of prevention, and cession, respectively. The introduction of the background is then followed by separate chapters in which the concepts are discussed in the light of the four different psychological disciplines. The final section, (5) Conclusion, recent and future directions discusses the challenges that the psychology of drug abuse is facing with regard to multicultural societies, to drug abuse in different age groups and the need for transdisciplinary approaches in research in this area.

This book is written by two psychologists for the reader interested in psychology. The use of non-jargon language and the provision of numerous examples make this complex topic accessible to a non-specialist readership. However, the coverage of such a broad range of psychological theories and their application in the field of drug abuse requires brevity and simplicity; and this means that the key theories are explained on approximately one page each, which inevitably leaves out a number of critical points of discussion. The simplistic way of writing does not require much background knowledge from the reader in order to understand the concepts and descriptions. On the contrary, there are times when an over-simplistic example may antagonize the educated reader.

The book is undoubtedly a comprehensive source of information; key points are summarized in tables and graphs throughout the book, and each chapter closes with a summary. References are provided to guide further reading on the different theories. At times, examples are described in too much detail and with too much illustration, but the coherent structure of each chapter prevents the reader from losing focus. The book provides a comprehensive overview of drug abuse from the perspective of different psychological disciplines and it facilitates an understanding of the ‘bigger picture’. However, it remains questionable whether the book is sufficient to inspire trans-disciplinary research in the field of drug abuse, as the authors are hoping.