Childhood Interpersonal Trauma and Substance Abuse

描述(由申请者提供)：许多研究报告了儿童期虐待和青壮年使用药物之间的显著联系。然而，童年虐待与青年期药物使用之间的具体机制仍然知之甚少。这项研究的总体目标是检验这种联系是否受到个人自我调节过程的调节。由于年轻人在青春期比过去有更大的自由免受社会控制和父母的监督，因此明确自我监管的作用对于我们理解儿童期虐待受害者在青年期不断增加的药物使用至关重要。如果自我调节可以被确定为一种机制，通过这种机制，童年遭受虐待会影响青壮年以后的物质使用，并且可以明确自我调节过程的关键方面，那么就可以开发新的干预方法。与以往只关注一两个维度的研究不同，本研究的独到之处包括：强调情绪自我调节，这在成瘾研究中被忽视；全面的自我调节四维概念(即良好的情绪自我调节、不良的情绪自我调节、良好的行为自我调节和不良的行为自我调节)，以及包括时间、持续时间、严重程度和虐待类型在内的儿童虐待的综合测量。本研究以160名健康青年(18-25岁)为研究对象，其中一半为儿童期虐待史(N=80)，另一半为非儿童期虐待史(N=80)，研究目的如下：(1)研究儿童期虐待是否与不良情绪和/或行为自我调节过程有关；(2)调查不良情绪和/或行为自我调节过程是否与青年期物质使用有关；以及(3)研究儿童期虐待与青年期物质使用之间的关系是否由情绪和/或行为自我调节过程调节。为了更严格地评估四种类型的自我调节过程在理解童年虐待和青年期药物使用共病方面的作用，我们还测试了包括创伤后应激障碍(PTSD)和反社会行为在内的替代机制。目前的研究结果有助于解释四种类型的自我调节中哪一种更能预测青年时期的物质使用。 公共卫生相关性：这项研究旨在阐明儿童时期遭受虐待与青壮年药物使用之间的关系。假设将这种关系联系起来的主要因素是个人的自我调节能力。这项研究的结果将有助于确定干预目标，通过加强受虐待个人的自我调节过程来防止青少年使用药物。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Many studies have reported a significant association between childhood maltreatment and substance use in young adulthood. However, the specific mechanisms connecting childhood maltreatment with substance use in young adulthood remains poorly understood. The overall goal of this study is to examine whether the association is mediated by individual self-regulation processes. Since young people have much greater freedom from social control and parental monitoring during young adulthood than they ever did in the past, clarity about the role of self-regulation is central to our understanding of escalated substance use in young adulthood among victims of childhood maltreatment. If self-regulation can be identified as a mechanism through which exposure to childhood maltreatment influences substance use later in young adulthood, and key aspects of self-regulation processes can be specified, new intervention approaches can be developed. Unique novel features of this study include an emphasis on emotional self-regulation which has been overlooked in addiction research, a comprehensive four-dimensional conception of self-regulation (i.e., good emotional self-regulation, poor emotional self-regulation, good behavioral self-regulation, and poor behavioral self-regulation) in contrast to other research that focuses on only one or two dimensions, and comprehensive measures of childhood maltreatment including timing, duration, severity, and types of maltreatment. Using a community sample of 160 medically healthy young adults (ages 18-25), half with exposure to childhood maltreatment (N=80), and half without exposure to childhood maltreatment (N=80), this study has the following aims: (1) To examine if the presence of childhood maltreatment is associated with poor emotional and/or behavioral self-regulation processes; 2) To investigate if poor emotional and/or behavioral self-regulation processes are associated with substance use in young adulthood; and 3) To examine if the association between childhood maltreatment and substance use in young adulthood are mediated by emotional and/or behavioral self-regulation processes. For more rigorous evaluation of the role of four types of self-regulation processes in understanding childhood maltreatment and substance use comorbidity in young adulthood, we also test alternative mechanisms including posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and antisocial behavior. The findings of the current study help to explain which of four types of self-regulation are more predictive of substance use in young adulthood. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: This research is designed to elucidate the relationship between exposure to childhood maltreatment and substance use in young adulthood. The primary factor postulated to link this relationship is individual self- regulation capacities. The results of this research will help determine intervention targets to prevent substance use in young adulthood by enhancing maltreated individuals' self-regulation processes.