title: Childhood stress exposure among preadolescents with and without family histories of substance use disorders.
abstract: Having a family history of substance use disorders (FH+) increases risk for developing a substance use disorder. This risk may be at least partially mediated by increased exposure to childhood stressors among FH+ individuals. However, measures typically used to assess exposure to stressors are narrow in scope and vary across studies. The nature of stressors that disproportionately affect FH+ children and how these stressors relate to later substance use in this population are not well understood. The purpose of this study was to assess exposure to a broad range of stressors among FH+ and FH- children to better characterize how exposure to childhood stressors relates to increased risk for substance misuse among FH+ individuals. A total of 386 children (305 FH+, 81 FH-; ages 10-12) were assessed using the Stressful Life Events Schedule before the onset of regular substance use. Both the number and severity of stressors were compared. Preliminary follow-up analyses were done for 53 adolescents who subsequently reported initiation of substance use. FH+ children reported more frequent and severe stressors than did FH- children, specifically in the areas of housing, family, school, crime, peers, and finances. Additionally, risk for substance use initiation during early adolescence was influenced directly by having a family history of substance use disorders and also indirectly through increased exposure to stressors among FH+ individuals. In conclusion, FH+ children experience greater stress across multiple domains, which contributes to their risk for substance misuse and related problems during adolescence and young adulthood. (PsycINFO Database Record
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry.
authors.forename: Nora E
authors.initials: NE
authors.lastname: Charles
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry.
authors.forename: Stacy R
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Ryan
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry.
authors.forename: Ashley
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Acheson
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry.
authors.forename: Charles W
authors.initials: CW
authors.lastname: Mathias
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics.
authors.forename: Yuanyuan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Liang
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry.
authors.forename: Donald M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Dougherty
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D015897:Comorbidity; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D059647:Gene-Environment Interaction; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease / Q000235:genetics* / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D008016:Life Change Events; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000235:genetics / Q000523:psychology; D012307:Risk Factors; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000235:genetics* / Q000523:psychology*; D013781:Texas