Does Physical Abuse in Early Childhood Predict Substance Use in Adolescence and Early Adulthood?

• NCJ Number: 230479
• Journal: Child Maltreatment Volume: 15 Issue: 2 Dated: May 2010 Pages: 190-194
• Author(s): Jennifer E. Lansford; Kenneth A. Dodge; Gregory S. Pettit; John E. Bates
• Date Published: May 2010
• Length: 5 pages
• Grant Number(s): MH42498; MH56961; MH57024; MH57095; HD30572; DA016903
• Sponsoring Agency: National Institute on Drug Abuse; National Institute of Mental Health; National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Research (Applied/Empirical)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This study examined whether associations between early physical abuse and substance use in adolescence and early adulthood can be accounted for by precocious initiation of substance use in early adolescence.

Abstract

Prospective longitudinal data from 585 families were used to examine parents' reports of child physical abuse in the first 5 years of life as a predictor of substance use at ages 12, 16, and 24. Path analyses revealed that physical abuse in the first 5 years of life predicted subsequent substance use for females but not males. We found a direct effect of early physical abuse on girls' substance use at age 12 and indirect effects on substance use at age 16 and age 24 through substance use at age 12. For boys, age 12 substance use predicted age 16 substance use, and age 16 substance use predicted age 24 substance use, but physical abuse in the first 5 years of life was unrelated to subsequent substance use. These findings suggest that for females, a mechanism of influence of early physical abuse on substance use into early adulthood appears to be through precocious initiation of substance use in early adolescence. Table, figure, and references (Published Abstract)