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A Longitudinal Examination of the Relationships between Childhood Maltreatment and Patterns of Adolescent Substance Use among High‐Risk Adolescents
Author(s) -
Hyucksun Shin Sunny
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
the american journal on addictions
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.997
H-Index - 76
eISSN - 1521-0391
pISSN - 1055-0496
DOI - 10.1111/j.1521-0391.2012.00255.x
Subject(s) - polysubstance dependence , cannabis , psychology , longitudinal study , substance use , poison control , injury prevention , early childhood , clinical psychology , suicide prevention , latent class model , substance abuse , developmental psychology , psychiatry , medicine , environmental health , statistics , mathematics , pathology
Background:Childhood maltreatment has been linked to adolescent substance use in cross‐sectional studies but the studies were unable to test the associations between childhood maltreatment and changes in substance use patterns during adolescence. The present study investigated the linkages between exposure to childhood maltreatment and developmental trends of alcohol, cannabis, cocaine, opioid, and hallucinogen use among high‐risk adolescents.Methods:We used a sample of 937 adolescents (mean age: 15.9 years; range: 13‐18), who were selected from five publicly‐funded service systems, to examine the extent to which childhood maltreatment may influence changes in patterns of adolescent substance use over time.Results:The present study identified a 3‐class model of adolescent substance use. Mover‐stayer latent transition analyses (LTA) indicated that progression toward heavy polysubstance use increased with experience of childhood maltreatment. Findings also suggested that older male adolescents (ages 15‐18) who are involved with public service systems are at high risk for developing and maintaining multiple‐substance use in adolescence.Conclusions: Experience of childhood maltreatment is associated with problematic patterns of adolescent substance use and may shape the longitudinal course of substance use during adolescence. (Am J Addict 2012;21:453–461)