Abstract
The present studies point to high, i.e., approx. 70%, presence of at least one traumatic event over the life of people addicted to alcohol. The study involved 240 people - 120 people were addicted to alcohol (clinical group), including 60 women and 60 men, and 120 people were not addicted to alcohol (control group), including 60 women and 60 men. All people from the study group were asked to complete: The TAA-SR traumatic events assessment questionnaire, the structured interview checking the presence of experienced trauma and the severity of post-traumatic symptoms (PTSD) according to DSM-IV, and the personal survey. People addicted to alcohol experienced more traumas than non-addicted ones. The number of traumas of addicted women was significantly lower compared to addicted men. People addicted to alcohol reported the first experience of trauma much faster than non-addicted ones. The vast majority of people from the clinical group (addicted individuals) declared that the addiction symptoms occurred after experiencing the first trauma. The present studies point to high, i.e., approx. 70%, presence of at least one traumatic event over the life of people addicted to alcohol.
Highlights
A multidimensional approach to searching for the factors of the development of addiction, as well as effective treatment of alcohol addiction has been a challenge for science for years
81 people from the clinical group experienced at least one traumatic event listed in the Traumatic Events Assessment Questionnaire (TAA-SR) questionnaire and the structured interview, which was 67.5% of 120 people addicted to alcohol
The experience of at least one traumatic event was reported by 37 people, which was 30.83% of the studied sample
Summary
A multidimensional approach to searching for the factors of the development of addiction, as well as effective treatment of alcohol addiction has been a challenge for science for years. This literature on this issue provides equivocal results. More and more studies show that the experience of traumatic events may be an important cause of the development of addiction and, failure in therapy [4,5,6]. Alcohol allows to suppress the emotions associated with experienced trauma (e.g., fear and powerlessness often experienced by the victims of traumatic events) [7, 8]
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