Childhood trauma, posttraumatic stress disorder, and alcohol dependence
Open accessAbstract
Early-childhood trauma is strongly associated with developing mental health problems, including alcohol dependence, later in life. People with early-life trauma may use alcohol to help cope with trauma-related symptoms. This article reviews the prevalence of early-childhood trauma and its robust association with the development of alcohol use disorders and posttraumatic stress disorder. It also examines the potential biological mechanisms by which early adverse experiences can result in long-lasting changes in neurobiology underlying this vulnerability, as well as pharmacological and behavioral interventions. Recent investigations highlight the importance of assessing trauma among patients with alcohol use disorders and the positive benefits associated with the application of integrative psychosocial interventions that target both trauma-related symptoms and alcohol dependence.
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Abused youth may feel different from peers and therefore gravitate to fringe social groups where substance use is more accepted.
“Youth who have been abused may “feel different” from peers, leading them to prefer fringe social circles, in which SU may be more accepted [20].”
From Interventions for prevention and treatment of substance use in youth with traumatic childhood experiences: a systematic review and synthesis of the literature (2024) · cites this paper as [20]
The Prevalence section says it is possible that children who have been abused feel “different” and withdraw toward fringe groups where alcohol use is more accepted. The citing sentence preserves that tentative explanation but broadens “alcohol use” to substance use generally, which the passage does not establish. (LLM, conf=0.84)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredTF-CBT may be used less often in youth with co-occurring SUDs because clinicians worry that exposure-based therapy could destabilize them.
“TF-CBT may be underutilized among youth with co-occurring SUDs, due to clinical hesitations that exposure-based therapies may destabilize patients with co-occurring SUDs [20, 29].”
From Interventions for prevention and treatment of substance use in youth with traumatic childhood experiences: a systematic review and synthesis of the literature (2024) · cites this paper as [20]
The Psychosocial Interventions section (page not provided) says clinicians previously delayed trauma interventions for patients with substance use disorders because they feared treatment before sustained abstinence would increase relapse risk. It does not establish that TF-CBT is underutilized among youth, and it describes relapse risk rather than patient destabilization more broadly. (LLM, conf=0.84)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredEarly life stress may alter mesocorticolimbic dopamine development and increase later addiction vulnerability.
“early life stress may affect development of the mesocorticolimbic dopamine system, leading to increased vulnerability to addiction later in life [20].”
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References 48 · Cited by 164
Research works printed but not linked: 37
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- Authors
- Brady, K.
- Venue
- Alcohol Research: Current Reviews
- Published
- 2012
- Volume
- 34
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 408
- ISSN
- 2168-3492 (ISSN-L)
- 2169-4796
- PMC
- PMC3860395
- OpenAlex
- W1770093059
- Cited by
- 164
- References
- 48
- Citations by year
- 2026: 11 · 2025: 16 · 2024: 14 · 2023: 22 · 2022: 16 · 2021: 15 · 2020: 16 · 2019: 9 · 2018: 10 · 2017: 11 · 2016: 7 · 2015: 7 · 2014: 8
- FWCI
- 5.46
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- diamond
- doi.org
- Licence
- public-domain
- Locations
- Alcohol research (publishedVersion, public-domain)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, public-domain)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, public-domain)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- PubMed
- Funders
- National Institute on Drug Abuse (K24DA000435, K23DA021228)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child Abuse and Trauma
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Research
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Epidemiology › Substance Abuse Treatment and Outcomes
- Keywords
- early childhood trauma, post-traumatic stress disorder, alcoholism, adverse childhood experiences, neurobiology of trauma, trauma-informed assessment, psychosocial interventions, pharmacological interventions, coping with trauma
- MeSH terms
- Adaptation, Psychological, Alcohol Deterrents, Alcoholism, Antidepressive Agents, Brain, Humans, Hypothalamo-Hypophyseal System, Pituitary-Adrenal System, Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Sertraline, Adult Survivors of Child Abuse
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