Cited by 668Child Abuse and TraumaSubstance Abuse Treatment and OutcomesStress Responses and Cortisol

The role of early life stress as a predictor for alcohol and drug dependence

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Enoch, Mary-Anne·2011·Psychopharmacology

Abstract

Rationale Genetic and environmental influences on the development of alcohol and drug dependence are equally important. Exposure to early life stress, that is unfortunately common in the general population, has been shown to predict a wide range of psychopathology, including addiction.Objective This review will look at the characteristics of early life stress that may be specific predictors for adolescent and adult alcohol and drug dependence and will focus on studies in humans, non-human primates and rodents.Results Experiencing maltreatment and cumulative stressful life events prior to puberty and particularly in the first few years of life is associated with early onset of problem drinking in adolescence and alcohol and drug dependence in early adulthood. Early life stress can result in permanent neurohormonal and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis changes, morphological changes in the brain, and gene expression changes in the mesolimbic dopamine reward pathway, all of which are implicated in the development of addiction. However, a large proportion of children who have experienced even severe early life stress do not develop psychopathology indicating that mediating factors such as gene-environment interactions and family and peer relationships are important for resilience.Conclusions There appears to be a direct pathway from chronic stress exposure in pre-pubertal children via adolescent problem drinking to alcohol and drug dependence in early adulthood. However, this route can be moderated by genetic and environmental factors. The role that gene-environment interactions play in the risk-resilience balance is being increasingly recognized.

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Crossref · 10.1007/s00213-010-1916-6

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  • Enoch (2011) states that experiencing maltreatment and cumulative stress prior to puberty and particularly in the first few years of early life is associated with early onset of problem drinking in early adulthood.

    “experiencing maltreatment and cumulative stress prior to puberty and particularly in the first few years of early life is associated with early onset of problem drinking in early adulthood”

    From A COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE ON THE IMPACT OF EXPOSURE TO INTIMATE PARTNER VIOLENCE FOR CHILDREN AND YOUTH (2014) · cites this paper as Enoch, 2011

    The section “The Association between Early Life Stress and Early Onset Problem Drinking” links childhood maltreatment and stressors to early drinking and adolescent binge drinking. The Conclusion describes pre-pubertal stress leading through adolescent problem drinking to alcohol or drug dependence in early adulthood. The paper does not specifically link stress in the first few years of life to problem drinking beginning in early adulthood; its discussion of maltreatment before age five concerns broader adult psychopathology. (LLM, conf=0.87)

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  • Early-onset adolescent exposure to alcohol, tobacco, and drugs predicts later AUD, substance use disorder, and related problems.

    “Early-onset adolescent exposure to alcohol, tobacco, and drugs of abuse also predicts later AUD and substance use disorder and alcohol-and drug-related problems (Grant et al., 2001;Englund et al., 2008;Enoch, 2011).”

    From Drug Addiction: Hyperkatifeia/Negative Reinforcement as a Framework for Medications Development (2021) · cites this paper as Enoch, 2011

    The section on early life stress and early-onset problem drinking (page unavailable) says that alcohol use before age 15 predicts adult alcohol dependence, and that adolescent binge drinking predicts adult alcohol dependence and illicit drug use. It does not establish that early adolescent exposure to tobacco or drugs predicts later substance use disorder or drug-related problems. (LLM, conf=0.88)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
  • Enoch (2011) states that environmental stressors can swamp genetic influences.

    “environmental stressors can swamp genetic influences”
  • Childhood trauma is a major risk factor for AUD and predicts earlier onset of heavy drinking.

    “Exposure to childhood trauma is a major risk factor for the development and maintenance of AUD (De Bellis, 2002) and predicts an earlier onset of heavy drinking (Waldrop et al., 2007;Enoch, 2011).”
  • Adverse childhood experiences affect drug dependence.

    “The effects of adverse childhood experiences (ACE; e.g. physical, psychological, or environmental threats to stable and functional development) on drug dependence (Benjet et al., 2013; Enoch, 2011; Mersky et al., 2013) and HPA axis function are also salient (Carpenter et al., 2011; Heim et al., 2002; MacMillan et al., 2009).”

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Authors
Enoch, M.-A.
Affiliations
National Institutes of Health (US)
Corresponding author
Enoch, Mary-Anne
Venue
Psychopharmacology
Published
2010-07-02
Volume
214
Issue
1
Pages
17-31
ISSN
  • 0033-3158 (ISSN-L)
  • 1432-2072
OpenAlex
W2073997424
Cited by
668
References
195
Citations by year
2026: 19 · 2025: 39 · 2024: 31 · 2023: 46 · 2022: 51 · 2021: 55 · 2020: 76 · 2019: 52 · 2018: 56 · 2017: 39 · 2016: 48 · 2015: 42 · 2014: 47 · 2013: 26 · 2012: 24
FWCI
3.10
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Psychopharmacology (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
Funders
  • National Institutes of Health
  • National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (ZIAAA000306)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child Abuse and Trauma
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Epidemiology › Substance Abuse Treatment and Outcomes
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Behavioral Neuroscience › Stress Responses and Cortisol
Keywords
early life stress, alcoholism, drug addiction, child abuse, hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, gene-environment interaction, resilience, neuroplasticity, addiction risk
MeSH terms
Adolescent, Adult, Age Factors, Alcoholism, Animals, Child, Forecasting, Humans, Life Change Events, Primates, Rodentia, Stress, Psychological, Substance-Related Disorders, Resilience, Psychological

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