title: Childhood exposure to a parental suicide attempt and risk for substance use disorders.
abstract: Childhood exposure to parental suicidal behavior has been linked to a variety of adverse behavioral and health outcomes. However, relatively little is known about the degree to which such exposure may place individuals at risk for a substance use disorder (SUD). Employing data from the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions, we compared the prevalence of SUDs among those who experienced childhood exposure to parental suicide attempts. Childhood exposure to parental suicide attempts was not associated with increased risk for the development of alcohol, cannabis, or cocaine use disorders. However, individuals who were exposed to a parental suicide attempt as children were significantly more likely to have met criteria for stimulant (AOR=1.40, 95% CI=1.18-1.67), sedative (AOR=1.24, 95% CI=1.04-1.47), tranquilizer (AOR=1.78, 95% CI=1.45-2.20), and opioid (AOR=1.41, 95% CI=1.19-1.67) use disorders in their lifetime. No significant gender differences were identified with respect to the magnitude of the relationship between exposure to parental suicide attempts and SUD risk among men and women. Findings suggest that, controlling for an array of sociodemographic, parental, mental health, and childhood adversity confounds, childhood exposure to parental suicide attempts is a vulnerability factor for low prevalence illicit drugs (i.e. stimulants, sedatives, tranquilizers, opioids), but not for more commonly used substances.
authors.affiliation: Simmons School of Social Work, Boston, MA, United States; Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, United States; Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States. Electronic address: obrik@simmons.edu.
authors.forename: Kimberly H
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: McManama O'Brien
authors.affiliation: School of Social Work, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, United States.
authors.forename: Christopher P
authors.initials: CP
authors.lastname: Salas-Wright
authors.affiliation: School of Social Work, College for Public Health and Social Justice, Saint Louis University, St. Louis, MO, United States.
authors.forename: Michael G
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Vaughn
authors.affiliation: Simmons School of Social Work, Boston, MA, United States.
authors.forename: Mary
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: LeCloux
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D032721:Adult Children / Q000523:psychology*; D000368:Aged; D002648:Child; D002649:Child Abuse / Q000523:psychology; D016241:Child of Impaired Parents / Q000523:psychology*; D000069581:Exposure to Violence / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology; D012307:Risk Factors; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000209:etiology*; D013406:Suicide, Attempted; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Childhood adversity; Parental suicide attempt; Substance use disorder
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