Dr. Justin Yates, assistant professor of psychological science, was preparing to teach a special topics class on substance use disorders. He wanted the class’s content to be wide in scope and to encompass the multitude of factors that contribute to addiction. While searching for a course textbook, he found that many written on the topic don’t incorporate the myriad factors that research shows plays a part. 

“I started looking at potential books and there really was no book that covered all these different domains of substance use disorder. So I said, you know, I’m going to write my own book,” said Yates.

He went on to write “Determinants of Addiction” to bridge that gap. The process of researching and writing for the book took about two years, so he taught the course without the guidance of the comprehensive resource. 

He wanted to write the book to contribute an up-to-date rundown of the factors that play into addiction to his field, but he also wanted to write about addiction with tone and language that’s more approachable to the general public. He viewed it as a chance to illuminate the intricate causes and effects of addiction and to help destigmatize it.

“I wanted to write in such a way that anyone can pick it up and read through the chapters and have a general idea of what I’m talking about. In fact, each chapter I wrote, I sent it to my parents. My parents do not have a college education. They are not trained in addiction research. So I said if I could send it to them, and they can kind of grasp what I’m talking about, that’s good,” said Yates. 

This was a point of contention between him and his publisher, who wanted the book to be geared toward graduate students and professionals, he said. The two parties compromised on the book’s audience. It includes advanced topics and comprehension exercises designed for learning, but it also includes sociocultural topics that Yates says are more “big picture” and suited for the layman. In all, the book discusses addiction from neurobiological, behavioral, cognitive and sociocultural angles, using the most recent studies and literature to inform the writing.

He wrote the book between 2020-2022 after submitting a contract to the publisher, Elsevier, to write it. While he earns royalties from the book, he said his true motive for writing it was the pleasure he gets from researching and writing about the topic of substance abuse. 

“I honestly would have done it for free. Like I said, I like to write to just get information out,” said Yates.