Childhood maltreatment, motives to drink and alcohol-related problems in young adulthood

Abstract

BackgroundYoung adults with a history of child maltreatment (CM) are often vulnerable to alcohol-related problems. Drinking motives have been widely studied to explain alcohol-related problems in young adulthood. ObjectivesThe aims of the current study were to examine the link between CM and alcohol-related problems and to test whether CM is indirectly related to alcohol-related problems via different types of drinking motives. Participants and settingTwo hundred eight participants were recruited in a mid-Atlantic urban area (M age = 19.7, 78.4 % female) via advertisements placed throughout the community. MethodsParticipants completed self-report measures of CM (Childhood Trauma Questionnaire), types of drinking motives (the Drinking Motives Questionnaire Revised Short Form), and alcohol-related problems (Rutgers Alcohol Problem Index). Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to test whether CM was associated with alcohol use, both directly and indirectly, through drinking motives. ResultsWe found that both coping (β = 0.53,p < 0.001) and enhancement drinking motives (β = 0.15, p = 0.031) were associated with alcohol-related problems. Additionally, CM was related to alcohol-related problems indirectly via coping motive (β = 0.11, p = 0.028). ConclusionYoung adults with a history of CM may use alcohol to cope with trauma-related negative emotionality. Targeting emotional distress in CM-exposed individuals may be helpful in preventing and treating alcohol-related problems in this vulnerable population.