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Direct, indirect childhood trauma increases risk for addiction

Experiencing direct and indirect forms of violence during childhood significantly increased risk for drug and alcohol dependence later in life.

“We were surprised that chronic parental domestic violence exposure remained significantly associated with both drug and alcohol dependence, even when we adjusted for childhood maltreatment, depression and most of the known risk factors for substance dependency,” Esme Fuller-Thomson, PhD, of the University of Toronto, said in a press release. “In fact, the odds of alcohol dependency among those who witnessed their parents’ chronic domestic violence were about 50% higher than those without that exposure, and these odds were similar in magnitude to that of childhood sexual abuse.”

Esme Fuller-Thomson

To determine associations between adverse childhood experiences and substance use, researchers conducted secondary analysis of the 2012 Canadian Community Health Survey-Mental Health for 21,554 Canadians. Adverse childhood experiences included sexual abuse, physical abuse and exposure to parental domestic violence.

Overall, 2.9% of the cohort had ever experienced drug dependence and 3.2% had ever experienced alcohol dependence.

All three adverse childhood experiences were associated with significantly higher risk for alcohol and drug dependence (P < .001 for all).

Jessica L. Roane

Full adjusted analysis indicated odds ratios among individuals with drug dependence ranged from 2.52 for sexual abuse to 1.34 for exposure to domestic violence. Odds ratios among individuals with alcohol dependence ranged from 2.13 for physical abuse to 1.49 for exposure to domestic violence.

“Our findings underline the importance of preventing childhood abuse and domestic violence. In addition, social workers and other health professionals must continue to support survivors of these childhood adversities across the lifespan, with particular attention to substance abuse and dependence issues,” study researcher Jessica L. Roane, MSW, RSW, of Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre and the University of Toronto, said in the release. – by Amanda Oldt

Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.