Homeless African American Women's Intepretations of Child Abuse as an Antecedent of Chemical Dependence

Abstract

Knowledge about the etiology of chemical dependence is incomplete. This study examined how homeless African American women who have been professionally assessed and who self‐report to be dependent on alcohol and other drugs make sense of their becoming chemically dependent. The data were analyzed using phenomenological analysis procedures. The results show that interviewees perceived childhood physical, sexual, and psychological abuse and neglect to be among the biopsychosocial antecedents to their becoming chemically dependent. Results have implications for theoretical understanding of the origins of chemical dependence within the context of childhood development of women represented in this study.