Reducing risk for substance use problems among youth with trauma histories

Thank you to Division 37 member, Shaquanna Brown, PhD, for cultivating these resources.

• National survey data suggests that by 12th grade, over 60% of youth in the United States have tried alcohol and approximately 2 in 5 have tried illicit drugs. There are short and long-term consequences of youth substance use/abuse, including altered brain development.

• Childhood adversity is a prevalent public health concern. Research suggests that more than half of youth report at least one adverse childhood experience.

• Childhood adversity is a significant risk factor for youth substance use and abuse. Youth reporting adverse childhood experiences are at increased risk for early initiation of substance use (by age 14), daily substance use, and the development of substance use disorders.

• Research has identified several factors, including anger and anxiety symptoms, that contribute to substance use engagement among youth with adverse childhood experiences. 
  

Benedini, K. M., & Fagan, A. A. (2020). From child maltreatment to adolescent substance use: Different pathways for males and females? Feminist Criminology, 15(2), 147-173.
https://doi.org/10.1177/15570851188104opens in new window

Brown, S. (Principal Investigator). Childhood adversity and substance use: Integrating laboratory and ecological approaches to understand the role of affect. Mentored Clinical Scientist Development Award (K08) from the National Institute on Drug Abuse. 2022-2027. https://reporter.nih.gov/search/ay5cA4lpfEWtxrgf8NE3ww/project-details/10506840opens in new window

Hudson, A., Wekerle, C., Goldstein, A. L., Ellenbogen, S., Waechter, R., Thompson, K., & Stewart, S. H. (2017). Gender differences in emotion-mediated pathways from childhood sexual abuse to problem drinking in adolescents in the child welfare system. Journal of Child & Adolescent Trauma, 10, 19-28. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40653-016-0125-9opens in new window

Silveira, S., Shah, R., Nooner, K. B., Nagel, B. J., Tapert, S. F., De Bellis, M. D., & Mishra, J. (2020). Impact of childhood trauma on executive function in adolescence—mediating functional brain networks and prediction of high-risk drinking. Biological Psychiatry: Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging, 5(5), 499-509. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bpsc.2020.01.011opens in new window