The devastating psychological, physical, and spiritual damage wrought by the misuse of drugs is indisputable. However, there is a recurring debate over the causes of substance abuse that typically divides along two common assumptions: people either abuse drugs and alcohol out of sheer pleasure-seeking drives that run amok, or to escape or assuage aversive states of co-morbid anxiety or depression. Substance Abuse and Emotion goes beyond this dichotomy in its exploration of recent, significant field observations, theory construction and rigorous testing, and laboratory research to advance working models for a new research paradigm on substance abuse and co-morbidity.