In our attempts to understand crime, researchers typically focus on proximate factors such as the psychology of offenders, their developmental history, and the social structure in which they are embedded. While these factors are important, they don't tell the whole story. Evolutionary Criminology: Towards a Comprehensive Explanation of Crime explores how evolutionary biology adds to our understanding of why crime is committed, by whom, and our response to norm violations. This understanding is important both for a better understanding of what precipitates crime and to guide approaches for effectively managing criminal behavior. This book is divided into three parts. Part I reviews evolutionary biology concepts important for understanding human behavior, including crime. Part II focuses on theoretical approaches to explaining crime, including the evolution of cooperation, and the evolutionary history and function of violent crime, drug use, property offending, and white collar crime. The developmental origins of criminal behavior are described to account for the increase in offending during adolescence and early adulthood as well as to explain why some offenders are more likely to desist than others. Proximal causes of crime are examined, as well as cultural and structural processes influencing crime. Part III considers human motivation to punish norm violators and what this means for the development of a criminal justice system. This section also considers how an evolutionary approach contributes to our understanding of crime prevention and reduction. The section closes with an evolutionary approach to understanding offender rehabilitation and reintegration.

This book provides a critical discussion of the way in which religion influences: criminal and antisocial behaviour, punishment and the law, intergroup conflict and peace-making, and the rehabilitation of offenders. The authors argue that in order to understand how religion is related to each of these domains it is essential to recognise the evolutionary origins of religion as well as how genetic and cultural evolutionary processes have shaped its essential characteristics. Durrant and Poppelwell posit that the capacity of religion to bind individuals into socially cohesive 'moral communities' can help us to understand its complex relationship with cooperation, crime, punishment, inter-group conflict and forgiveness. An original and innovative study, this book will be of special interest to criminologists and other social scientists interested in the role of religion in crime, punishment, intergroup conflict and law.

This book offers a clear, up-to-date, comprehensive, and theoretically informed introduction to criminal psychology, exploring how psychological explanations and approaches can be integrated with other perspectives drawn from evolutionary biology, neurobiology, sociology, and criminology. Drawing on examples from around the world, it considers different types of offences from violence and aggression to white-collar and transnational crime, and links approaches to explaining crime with efforts to prevent crime and to treat and rehabilitate offenders. This revised and expanded second edition offers a thorough update of the research literature and introduces several new features, including: detailed international case studies setting the scene for each chapter, promoting real-world understanding of the topics under consideration; a fuller range of crime types covered, with new chapters on property offending and white-collar, corporate, and environmental crime; detailed individual chapters exploring prevention and rehabilitation, previously covered in a single chapter in the first edition; an array of helpful features including learning objectives, review and reflect checkpoints, annotated lists of further reading, and two new features: 'Research in Focus' and 'Criminal Psychology Through Film'. This textbook is essential reading for upper undergraduate students enrolled in courses on psychological criminology, criminal psychology, and the psychology of criminal behaviour. Designed with the reader in mind, student-friendly and innovative pedagogical features support the reader throughout.

"This book takes an integrative approach to the understanding of drug use and its relationship to social-cultural factors. It is lucidly and powerfully argued and constitutes a significant achievement. The authors sensibly argue that in order to fully understand and explain drug use and abuse it is necessary to take into account different levels of analysis, reflecting distinct domains of human functioning; the biological, psychosocial, and cultural-historical?.Overall, this book represents an exceptional achievement and should be of interest to drug clinicians and researcher as well as social scientists and students."

--Professor Tony Ward, University of Melbourne

Substance use and abuse are two of the most frequent psychological problems clinicians encounter. Mainstream approaches focus on the biological and psychological factors supporting drug abuse. But to fully comprehend the issue, clinicians need to consider the social, historical, and cultural factors responsible for drug-related problems.

Substance Use and Abuse: Cultural and Historical Perspectives provides an inclusive explanation of the human desire to take drugs. Using a multidisciplinary framework, authors Russil Durrant and Jo Thakker explore the cultural and historical variables that contribute to drug use. Integrating biological, psychosocial, and cultural-historical perspectives, this innovative and accessible volume addresses the fundamental question of why drug use is such a ubiquitous feature of human society.

Addressing issues important to prevention, treatment, and public policy, the authors include

• A comprehensive, historical survey of drug use
• An exploration of the evolutionary basis of drug-taking behavior
• Historically and culturally based explanations of drug use and abuse
• Inclusive approaches that complement mainstream biopsychosocial perspectives

Designed for upper-division undergraduate and graduate students in psychology, counseling, sociology, social work, and health departments, Substance Use and Abuse: Cultural and Historical Perspectives will also be of significant interest to drug clinicians, researchers, and social scientists.

This book offers a clear, up-to-date, comprehensive, and theoretically informed introduction to criminal psychology, exploring how psychological explanations and approaches can be integrated with other perspectives drawn from evolutionary biology, neurobiology, sociology, and criminology. Drawing on examples from around the world, it considers different types of offences from violence and aggression to white-collar and transnational crime, and links approaches to explaining crime with efforts to prevent crime and to treat and rehabilitate offenders. This revised and expanded second edition offers a thorough update of the research literature and introduces several new features, including: detailed international case studies setting the scene for each chapter, promoting real-world understanding of the topics under consideration; a fuller range of crime types covered, with new chapters on property offending and white-collar, corporate, and environmental crime; detailed individual chapters exploring prevention and rehabilitation, previously covered in a single chapter in the first edition; an array of helpful features including learning objectives, review and reflect checkpoints, annotated lists of further reading, and two new features: 'Research in Focus' and 'Criminal Psychology Through Film'. This textbook is essential reading for upper undergraduate students enrolled in courses on psychological criminology, criminal psychology, and the psychology of criminal behaviour. Designed with the reader in mind, student-friendly and innovative pedagogical features support the reader throughout.

This book provides a critical discussion of the way in which religion influences: criminal and antisocial behaviour, punishment and the law, intergroup conflict and peace-making, and the rehabilitation of offenders. The authors argue that in order to understand how religion is related to each of these domains it is essential to recognise the evolutionary origins of religion as well as how genetic and cultural evolutionary processes have shaped its essential characteristics. Durrant and Poppelwell posit that the capacity of religion to bind individuals into socially cohesive 'moral communities' can help us to understand its complex relationship with cooperation, crime, punishment, inter-group conflict and forgiveness. An original and innovative study, this book will be of special interest to criminologists and other social scientists interested in the role of religion in crime, punishment, intergroup conflict and law.

"This book takes an integrative approach to the understanding of drug use and its relationship to social-cultural factors. It is lucidly and powerfully argued and constitutes a significant achievement. The authors sensibly argue that in order to fully understand and explain drug use and abuse it is necessary to take into account different levels of analysis, reflecting distinct domains of human functioning; the biological, psychosocial, and cultural-historical?.Overall, this book represents an exceptional achievement and should be of interest to drug clinicians and researcher as well as social scientists and students."

--Professor Tony Ward, University of Melbourne

Substance use and abuse are two of the most frequent psychological problems clinicians encounter. Mainstream approaches focus on the biological and psychological factors supporting drug abuse. But to fully comprehend the issue, clinicians need to consider the social, historical, and cultural factors responsible for drug-related problems.

Substance Use and Abuse: Cultural and Historical Perspectives provides an inclusive explanation of the human desire to take drugs. Using a multidisciplinary framework, authors Russil Durrant and Jo Thakker explore the cultural and historical variables that contribute to drug use. Integrating biological, psychosocial, and cultural-historical perspectives, this innovative and accessible volume addresses the fundamental question of why drug use is such a ubiquitous feature of human society.

Addressing issues important to prevention, treatment, and public policy, the authors include

• A comprehensive, historical survey of drug use
• An exploration of the evolutionary basis of drug-taking behavior
• Historically and culturally based explanations of drug use and abuse
• Inclusive approaches that complement mainstream biopsychosocial perspectives

Designed for upper-division undergraduate and graduate students in psychology, counseling, sociology, social work, and health departments, Substance Use and Abuse: Cultural and Historical Perspectives will also be of significant interest to drug clinicians, researchers, and social scientists.