WALSALL, ENGLAND - DECEMBER 06: Syringes and paraphernalia used by drug users litter an alley way in ... [+]
According to a recent Addiction study, people who were subjected to emotional abuse or neglect during their childhood might be almost three times more likely to be admitted to the hospital for alcohol and substance use disorders by the time they are 40 years old, compared to those who had a normal childhood.
In a press release, lead author Claudia Bull from the Queensland Centre for Mental Health Research, said: “Most of the previous research into childhood adversity and alcohol and substance use disorders has focused on physical and sexual abuse. We particularly wanted to know whether emotional abuse and neglect are as strongly associated with subsequent alcohol and substance use disorders. As we suspected, the odds of hospital admission for alcohol and substance use disorders are comparable across all subtypes of abuse and neglect in childhood.”
Bull and colleagues analyzed data from more than 6000 children born in Brisbane, Australia, from 1981 to 1983. Out of that, 10% or 609 study participants had at least one childhood maltreatment notification until they were 15 years old which was reported or substantiated by child protective service agencies. When the researchers compared them to the rest of the group, they found that those 609 individuals were 2.86 times more likely to end up hospitalized for an alcohol use disorder and 3.34 times more likely to need inpatient treatment for a substance use disorder. Among those who had more than two agency-reported maltreatment notifications, the likelihood was more than three times higher for alcohol use and substance use disorders.
The researchers divided childhood maltreatment into four categories: physical abuse, emotional abuse, sexual abuse, and neglect. The study found that the risk of being hospitalized due to alcohol use disorder was highest (3.48 times more likely) among individuals who survived sexual abuse before 16 years of age. On the other hand, emotional abuse before 16 years of age was associated with a 3.10 times higher likelihood of hospital admission for a substance use disorder.
According to the 2020 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 40.3 million Americans who were 12 years or older had a substance use disorder in the last year. That means, one in seven Americans aged 12 or older have reported experiencing a substance use disorder, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The CDC estimates that 1 in 6 adults in the U.S. binge drink either weekly or occasionally.
A 2020 study published in Addictive Behaviors also reported that child maltreatment is associated with higher levels of substance use-related negative consequences and that maltreated adolescents use more alcohol and substances compared to peers who grew up in healthy environments.
The World Health Organization defines child maltreatment as “all forms of physical and/or emotional ill-treatment, sexual abuse, neglect or negligent treatment or commercial or other exploitation, resulting in actual or potential harm to the child’s health, survival, development or dignity in the context of the relationship of responsibility, trust or power.”
