Substance Use and Substance Use Disorders

Abstract

Abstract Substance use (SU) and substance use disorders (SUDs) represent major public health and clinical problems and have their roots in diverse domains in culture, the near social environment, and individual differences. Consequently, understanding both SU and SUD requires a multidisciplinary perspective that bridges diverse areas of scientific inquiry. This chapter provides a broad overview of the relevant literatures ranging from the evolutionary bases for the consumption of psychoactive substances to the effects of contemporary social factors, psychological processes involved in the seeking of substances and the transition to addiction, genetic predisposition to SU and SUD, and the neuropharmacological processes undergirding drug reinforcement and the development of substance dependence. Multiple competing theories of SUDs are considered, and a general framework for integrating diverse addiction-related mechanisms is proposed. It is hoped that adopting an evidence-based, mechanism-focused approach to understanding SUDs will lead to improved approaches to developing effective preventive and treatment interventions.