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

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.