3 - Child Maltreatment and Substance Use: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Adverse upbringing experiences have long lasting emotional and psychological effect on youth, which has been consistently linked to development of youth adjustment problems. For example, youth who are maltreated are more likely to engage in substance abuse behaviors during adolescence. However, research on the association between child maltreatment and youth substance use is showing inconsistent findings. Although some studies suggest a direct link, other studies suggest that this association is attenuated by the presence of other contextual risk and protective factors. Thus, the goal of this research project is to conduct a meta-analysis in order to (a) ascertain the strength of the association between child maltreatment and substance abuse (e.g., alcohol, cigarette, and marijuana abuse) during adolescence, (b) test the effect of moderators on this association. Methodologically, there are four phases to completing a meta-analysis: article retrieving, article selection, coding, and analysis. Currently, we are beginning the third stage of the meta-analysis. We hypothesize that there will be a significant relation between childhood maltreatment and substance abuse in adolescence, and that this will be moderated by several variables including characteristics of the maltreatment exposure, study characteristics, and demographic characteristics. It is important to better understand the ways that maltreatment can affect children’s risk-taking outcomes in order to improve mental health and prevent substance abuse among vulnerable youth