CHILDHOOD TRAUMA AND POSTTRAUMATIC-STRESS-DISORDER IN SUBSTANCE-ABUSEINPATIENTS

This pilot study examined: the prevalence of childhood trauma in a sam ple of male Veteran substance abuse inpatients, and the relationship o f childhood trauma to substance abuse in this sample, controlling for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Forty-six subjects were intervie wed using the Traumatic Antecedents Questionnaire, Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-III-R (SCID)-P Psychoactive Substance rise Disorder s module, the Addiction Severity Index, and the SCID-NP-V PTSD module. Seventy-seven percent of subjects had been exposed to severe childhoo d trauma. Fifty-eight percent had lifetime PTSD, The total number of l ifetime substance dependence disorders was strongly positively associa ted with total childhood trauma exposure. This relationship remained s ignificant after controlling for demographics, family history of alcoh ol problems, combat exposure, and lifetime PTSD, including combat-rela ted PTSD. A substantial number of these subjects reported exposure to childhood trauma, which in turn was related to multiple substance depe ndence. This has important implications for the natural history and pr evention of multiple substance dependence disorders.