Handbook of Antisocial Behavior

Handbook of Antisocial Behavior

Each year tens of thousands of families are torn apart, hundreds of thousands of lives are ruined, and millions of dollars' worth of property is destroyed as a result of antisocial behavior. So endemic are violence and aggression to our society that it isn't hard to imagine future historians categorizing the late twentieth century not as the "Space Age" or the "Information Age," but as the "Antisocial Age"--the time when society went to war against itself. As with any plague that threatens civilization, the first and best line of defense against antisocial behavior is the knowledge that comes from dedicated scientific research into its causes and cures.

Does violence on the screen cause violence in the street?
* Do hormones cause violence?
* Can we prevent violence?
* Is antisocial behavior a mental illness?
* How can we identify and measure antisocial behavior?
* How are women and men similar and different with respect to antisocial behavior?
* How can we better understand spouse and child abuse?


In the latter part of this century, an increasingly vigorous and sophisticated scientific study of antisocial behavior has emerged. This new science has offered partial answers to some very important questions which will lead to better understanding and prevention of antisocial behavior. These and other questions are addressed in the Handbook of Antisocial Behavior. In 50 chapters, more than 100 leading scientists, clinicians, and scholars review the research in their area of expertise to provide extraordinarily extensive and deep coverage of the field in a single volume.

These experts share their findings, insights, and theories concerning most types of antisocial behaviors and antisocial behavioral disorders, including aggressiveness, noncompliance, conduct problems, delinquency, sexual offenses, criminality, media violence, child abuse, spouse abuse, impulsivity, and antisocial personality disorder.

The Handbook of Antisocial Behavior is an indispensable resource for mental health practitioners, as well as anyone involved in research into violence and aggression, including psychologists, psychiatrists, neuroscientists, public health professionals, epidemiologists, sociologists, and criminologists.

A comprehensive review of the latest research and clinical trends

More than 100 of the world's leading researchers and clinicians from the fields of psychology, psychiatry, the neurosciences, sociology, epidemiology, and criminology share their insights into the causes of and cures for one of contemporary society's most perplexing and pernicious classes of behavioral disorders. Covering virtually all forms of antisocial behavior and antisocial behavioral disorders, the Handbook of Antisocial Behavior comprises the most extensive review currently available of:
* The development and origins of antisocial behavior
* The demographics of all forms of antisocial behavior
* The latest assessment and diagnostic techniques
* Breakthroughs in prevention and intervention
* Special populations and special issues, from domestic violence to cross-cultural and gender issues

About the editors

DAVID M. STOFF, PhD, is Chief of the Per-petrators of Violence Research Program, Violence and Traumatic Stress Branch, Division of Epidemiology and Services Research, at the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). After receiving his doctorate in psychology from Yeshiva University in 1972, Dr. Stoff became a Special Research Fellow of the NIMH, which allowed him to complete his postdoctoral training in psychopharmacology at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. He later became an assistant professor in the Department of Psychiatry of the University of Chicago and an associate professor in the Department of Psychiatry of the Medical College of Pennsylvania. He was awarded a research grant and a Research Scientist Development Award from the NIMH to study the role of serotonin in childhood aggression and conduct disorder.

JAMES BREILING, PhD, received his doctorate from the University of Iowa in 1970. His interest in behavior modification led him to work on NIMH-funded research interventions with high-risk young adolescents at the Institute for Behavior Research, and then in 1975, to join the Institute's funding program for research on aggressive children, delinquents, and the violent mentally ill, where his interests expanded to include the emerging areas of sex offending and spouse assault. His contributions to the development of therapeutic foster care were recognized in 1993 by the first significant achievement award of the Foster Family-Based Treatment Association, and his contributions to the development of the field of sex offender assessment and treatment were recognized by the Association for Treatment of Sexual Abuse with their 1996 Significant Achievement Award.

JACK D. MASER, PhD, received his doctorate in psychology from Temple University in 1969. He taught and conducted research at Tulane University until 1975, at which time he moved to the NIMH. For much of his career at the NIMH, Dr. Maser has published on anxiety and personality disorders, including antisocial personality disorder and mood disorders. He is the recipient of many honors and awards, including the 1995 Distinguished Friend of Behavior Award of the Association for the Advancement of Behavior Therapy, the ADAMHA Administrator's Award for Meritorious Achievement (for 1979 and 1989), and the 1987 NIMH Award for Significant Achievement.