NCJ Number
247198
Journal
Child Abuse and Neglect Volume: 38 Issue: 5 Dated: May 2014 Pages: 928-938
Date Published
May 2014
Length
11 pages
Annotation
This study tested the hypothesis that specific types of childhood abuse are associated with particular behavioral and emotional outcomes among substance users.
Abstract
The hypothesis was confirmed, as among 280 substance users, different types of childhood abuse were uniquely associated with specific negative effects. The sexual-abuse subscale of the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ) uniquely predicted exchanging sex for cocaine and heroin, number of arrests for prostitution, engaging in unprotected sex with a casual partner during the previous year, and experiencing low sexual arousal when sober. The physical abuse subscale of the CTQ uniquely predicted number of arrests for assault and weapons offenses. The emotional abuse subscale uniquely predicted the total score of the Difficulties with Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS), the score on the Affect Intensity and Dimensions of Affiliation Motivation (AIM), and the score on the Distress Tolerance Scale (DTS). Identifying the types of childhood maltreatment uniquely associated with problem behaviors and emotions co-occurring with substance abuse facilitate developing a more comprehensive, targeted, and effective treatment plan for individual substance abusers. Among the 280 study participants, 69.7 were male, and 88.4 percent were African-American. All participants were administered a standardized diagnostic assessment as part of the treatment center's intake process. Upon completing this assessment, participants were invited to participate in this research. Participants' experiences of childhood abuse were assessed with the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire-Short Form. 3 figures and 73 references