This comprehensive text is a compilation of theoretical, empirical, and clinical knowledge concerning key topics associated with substance use among women. The early chapters provide an overview of the issues with attention to the nature and extent of substance use among women. The text features a new empirically-based assessment model, developed by the authors, as well as a variety of modern theories and treatment interventions.

Kandall, the chief of neonatology at Beth Israel Medical Center in New York and professor of pediatrics at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, traces public attitudes and legal and government policy toward licit and illicit drug addiction, particularly women's addictions, from the mid-19th century to the present.

"Thoughtfully examines the myriad factors that enhance vulnerability to substance-abuse problems across the life span and the unique challenges of life-stage transitions in women." -- New England Journal of Medicine