Adult Alcohol Use Problems: Types of Childhood Maltreatment as Risk Factors, and the Mediating Effect of Age of Initial Alcohol Use

Excessive alcohol consumption is among the leading causes of death in the U.S. Childhood maltreatment, early initiation of alcohol use, and depressive symptoms are all associated with problematic alcohol use in adulthood. This study utilized structural equation modeling to examine the relations among these variables in longitudinal data from a sample of 362 participants. This study examined the contributions of different types of childhood maltreatment on adult alcohol use problems; examined the indirect effects of age of initial alcohol use and depressive symptoms on the relation between childhood maltreatment and alcohol use problems; and examined sex differences in these relations. Results suggest that sexual and physical abuse were significant predictors of alcohol use problems over and above other types of maltreatment, and that age of initial alcohol use had a significant indirect effect on the relation between sexual abuse and alcohol problems, but only for females. No other significant indirect effects were found. Results are discussed in terms of implications for research, theory, and practice.