Childhood maltreatment as a predictor of substance use/misuse among youth: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Coral Rakovski; Mikayla Lalli; Jessica Gu; Madison Hobson; Bianca Wollenhaupt-Aguiar; Luciano Minuzzi; Flavio Kapczinski; Taiane de Azevedo Cardoso; Benicio N Frey

doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2024.105873

Childhood maltreatment as a predictor of substance use/misuse among youth: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2024 Nov:166:105873. doi: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2024.105873. Epub 2024 Sep 5.

Authors

Coral Rakovski¹, Mikayla Lalli², Jessica Gu³, Madison Hobson⁴, Bianca Wollenhaupt-Aguiar⁵, Luciano Minuzzi⁶, Flavio Kapczinski⁷, Taiane de Azevedo Cardoso⁸, Benicio N Frey⁹

Affiliations

¹ Neuroscience Graduate Program, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada.
² Department of Kinesiology, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada.
³ Faculty of Health Sciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada.
⁴ Honours Integrated Science Program, School of Interdisciplinary Science, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada.
⁵ Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada; Mood Disorders Treatment and Research Centre and Women's Health Concerns Clinic, St. Joseph's Healthcare, Hamilton, ON, Canada.
⁶ Neuroscience Graduate Program, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada; Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada; Mood Disorders Treatment and Research Centre and Women's Health Concerns Clinic, St. Joseph's Healthcare, Hamilton, ON, Canada.
⁷ Neuroscience Graduate Program, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada; Department of Psychiatry, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil.
⁸ The Institute for Mental and Physical Health and Clinical Translation, School of Medicine, Deakin University, Geelong, Australia.
⁹ Neuroscience Graduate Program, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada; Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada; Mood Disorders Treatment and Research Centre and Women's Health Concerns Clinic, St. Joseph's Healthcare, Hamilton, ON, Canada. Electronic address: [email protected].

PMID: 39243876
DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2024.105873

Abstract

This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to comprehensively describe whether experiencing a variety of childhood maltreatment types predicts a variety of substance use/misuse types among youth, beyond the narrow scope covered in previous systematic reviews on similar topics. A literature search was conducted in June, 2022 using PubMed, PsycInfo, and Embase. 58 studies (total participant n=170,749) were included. These studies were primarily organized by substance type outcomes including alcohol (n=43), cannabis (n=25), unspecified substances (n=25), and other specific substances (n=10). Results were further stratified by maltreatment type. For specific maltreatment and substance type combinations, the majority of studies indicated that childhood maltreatment was a significant predictor of substance use/misuse in youth. Of the 10 meta-analyses we conducted, significant associations were found for the majority (9/10) of maltreatment and substance type combinations. For instance, unspecified childhood maltreatment increased the probability of youth alcohol use by about four times, which was the highest relative risk found. In conclusion, this study shows that childhood maltreatment is a predictor of youth substance use/misuse.

Keywords: Childhood maltreatment; Meta-analysis; Substance use; Systematic review; Youth.

Publication types

Systematic Review
Meta-Analysis
Review

MeSH terms

Adolescent
Adverse Childhood Experiences* / statistics & numerical data
Child
Child Abuse* / statistics & numerical data
Humans
Substance-Related Disorders* / epidemiology
Young Adult