Association between longitudinal patterns of child maltreatment experiences and adolescent substance use

Although there is a well-established link between child maltreatment and adolescent substance use, it remains unclear if and how longitudinal patterns of maltreatment experiences are associated with substance use in adolescence.

The purpose of the study was to examine how distinct patterns of longitudinal maltreatment experiences are associated with adolescent substance use.

The participants were 899 adolescents from the Longitudinal Studies of Child Abuse and Neglect (LONGSCAN).

We conducted repeated measures latent class analysis (RMLCA) to identify patterns of physical abuse, sexual abuse, and neglect from birth to age 17 and their relations to tobacco, alcohol, and marijuana use at age 18.

RMLCA identified three physical abuse classes (Stable low physical abuse; School age peak physical abuse; Physical abuse primarily in infancy/toddlerhood), two sexual abuse classes (Stable no/low sexual abuse; School age peak sexual abuse), and three neglect classes (High neglect in childhood; Neglect primarily in infancy/toddlerhood; Neglect primarily at school age). Adolescents in the school age peak physical abuse class showed greater alcohol, cigarette, and marijuana use, compared to other physical abuse classes. Similarly, adolescents in the school age peak sexual abuse class showed greater substance use than those in the stable no/low sexual abuse class. Lastly, adolescents in the neglect primarily in infancy/toddlerhood class showed significantly less substance use than those in the other two neglect classes.

Findings highlight the importance of early intervention and ongoing maltreatment prevention.