Exposure to Childhood Abuse and Later Substance Use: Indirect Effects of Emotion Dysregulation and Exposure to Trauma

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: Amar Mandavia, Emory University; Gabriella G. N. Robinson, Emory University; Bekh Bradley-Davino, Emory University; Kerry Ressler, Emory University; Abigail Powers, Emory University
• Language: English
• Date: 2016-10-01
• Publisher: Wiley
• Publication Version: Final Published Version
• Copyright Statement: © 2016 International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies
• Final Published Version (URL): http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/jts.22131
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: Journal of Traumatic Stress
• ISSN: 0894-9867
• Volume: 29
• Issue: 5
• Start Page: 422
• End Page: 429
• Grant/Funding Information: This work was primarily supported by the National Institute of Mental Health (MH071537; MH100122) and the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (HD071982).; Support also included Emory and Grady Memorial Hospital General Clinical Research Center, NIH National Centers for Research Resources (M01 RR00039).
• Keywords: POSTTRAUMATIC-STRESS-DISORDER; SEXUAL-ABUSE; Psychology; Science & Technology; GENDER-DIFFERENCES; SELF-MEDICATION; WOMEN; ALCOHOL-USE; Psychology, Clinical; ASSOCIATIONS; Psychiatry; IMPACT; Life Sciences & Biomedicine; Social Sciences; SAMPLE; ADULT MENTAL-HEALTH
• Research Categories: Psychology, Behavioral; Psychology, Clinical

Abstract

Little is known about how emotion dysregulation (ED) and trauma exposure differentially affect the relationship between abuse in childhood and adult substance use. We examined associations between child abuse, trauma exposure, ED, and current substance use in an already existing dataset. Participants (N = 2,014 adults, 90% African American) had been recruited from an urban hospital for a parent study. Analyses showed that drug and alcohol use was significantly positively correlated with child abuse (emotional, physical, and sexual), later trauma exposure, and ED (all ps <.001). Linear regression showed that exposure to abuse when older than a child was significantly associated with drug and alcohol use independent of child abuse and demographic variables (R2Δ =.08, p <.001; R2Δ =.04, p <.001). ED was significantly associated with drug and alcohol use independently of child abuse, nonabuse trauma, and demographic variables (R2Δ =.02, p <.001; R2Δ =.04, p <.001). Multiple mediation analyses showed that ED and later trauma exposure accounted for variance in the association between emotional abuse and substance use (p <.001). A better understanding of vulnerabilities to additional traumatization and emotion-regulation deficits in individuals who have been exposed to child abuse and in addition have comorbid substance use problems may inform treatments that lead to improved outcomes.