Crack cocaine. Exercise addiction/dependence. Gambling, pathological. Internet. Nicotine. These addictions are among the more than 300 entries in this volume, which provides coverage of the symptoms, possible causes, treatment, rate of occurrence, social and ethnic influences, and emergency treatment of addictions, among other topics. Eighteen helpful appendixes provide information on state mental health agencies, rates of substance abuse by high-schoolers, demographics of people who have received treatment for substance abuse, and more. Numerous tables and graphs help communicate complex statistical data.
The inclusion of important organizational contact information directly within the individual entries is a useful feature. For example, at the end of the entry for Credit card overspending, the reader will find the mailing address and URL for Debtor's Anonymous. Similarly, within the entry Depression may be found the addresses, phone numbers, and URLs for six related organizations, including the National Foundation for Depressive Illness and the National Institute of Mental Health. In other works, such information may only be found in an appendix. Here, it is found in both locations, and the redundancy is appreciated.
The index is well constructed, and boldfaced numbers quickly direct the reader to any topic's primary entries. See and see also references are present in the body and the index. A few useful cross-references are missing. For example, someone interested in investigating an addiction to plastic surgery would have to know to turn instead to Cosmetic surgery without the directional nudge of a see reference anywhere in the book.
Nonetheless, the encyclopedia is a very user-friendly, trustworthy resource and is recommended for a wide range of readers, certainly young adult through general audiences. It is appropriate for many types of libraries, including public, high school, and undergraduate.