2015 APHA Annual Meeting & Expo

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Recorded Annual Meeting Presentations (RAMP) are now available for purchase.
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Online Program

320838
Effect of child maltreatment on the development of alcohol and substance use


Tuesday, November 3, 2015

McLean D. Pollock, PhD, MSW, LCSW, Department of Maternal and Child Health, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC
Sandra L. Martin, PhD, Department of Maternal and Child Health, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC
Sherri Green, PhD, LCSW, Gillings School of Global Public Health, Department of Maternal and Child Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC
Chirayath Suchindran, PhD, Gillings School of Global Public Health, Department of Biostatistics, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC
Carolyn T. Halpern, PhD, Department of Maternal and Child Health, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC
Substance use (including alcohol and drug use) typically begins during adolescence and extends into adulthood. Previous research has found associations between child maltreatment and increases in the risk of substance use, yet these studies have methodological limitations that do not answer important questions concerning patterns of use during the influential periods of adolescence and early adulthood.

This study addresses these gaps in the research through use of a nationally representative sample followed from adolescence into young adulthood that includes measures of alcohol, marijuana, and other substance use and self-reported measures of maltreatment and involvement of child welfare services (CWS). We investigated the effect of individual types of maltreatment, polyvictimization, CWS investigation, and removal from the home by CWS on patterns of alcohol and drug use from early adolescence into young adulthood.

Results show that maltreatment victims had higher initial levels of alcohol use and higher odds of using drugs at higher levels than non-victims. We saw differences in initial levels of alcohol use for maltreatment victims with at least one CWS investigation, and female victims removed from the home had higher levels of alcohol and drug use than victims not removed.

This study is among the first to examine the impact of child maltreatment and CWS involvement on patterns of alcohol and drug use from adolescence into young adulthood, using a nationally representative sample. Findings support the development of substance use prevention efforts that incorporate information on the impact of maltreatment and related trauma.

Learning Areas:

Social and behavioral sciences

Learning Objectives:
Compare patterns of alcohol, marijuana and other substance use from early adolescence into young adulthood between victims and non-victims of childhood maltreatment.

Keyword(s): Child Abuse, Drug Abuse

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I have helped conduct multiple grants and studies in the area of child maltreatment, family violence and substance abuse. Among my scientific interests has been the evaluation of the impact of maltreatment and family violence on physical and mental health in adolescence and adulthood.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

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