New study maps psychological pathway from childhood abuse to adolescent addiction

A study of high school students in China found that individuals who experienced childhood abuse were more likely to display addictive behaviors compared to their peers without such experiences. Part of this relationship was mediated by irritability and impulsivity. The research was published in the Journal of Affective Disorders.

Childhood abuse refers to harmful or threatening treatment of a child, which can be physical, emotional, or sexual, or can involve neglect. Physical abuse includes hitting, shaking, or otherwise causing physical harm. Emotional abuse involves behaviors that harm a child’s self-worth, such as constant criticism, rejection, or humiliation. Sexual abuse includes any sexual activity with a child, including inappropriate touching, exposure, or exploitation.

Neglect is the failure to meet a child’s basic needs, such as food, shelter, medical care, education, or emotional support. Abuse can seriously affect a child’s development, leading to long-term mental health issues like anxiety, depression, posttraumatic stress disorder, and difficulties in relationships. Brain development may also be impacted, especially in areas related to stress response and emotion regulation.

Study author Zhengyi Liu and his colleagues aimed to explore the links between childhood abuse experiences and addictive behaviors. They hypothesized that childhood abuse could make an individual more prone to addictive behaviors both directly and indirectly by increasing irritability and impulsivity. The study particularly focused on smoking, drinking, and internet addiction.

Study participants were 1,601 high school students from a vocational school in Zhejiang Province, China. Students were in grades 10 and 11. Of the participants, 757 were girls. Their ages ranged from 15 to 19 years.

Participants completed assessments of childhood abuse (the Childhood Abuse Questionnaire), impulsivity (the Dual-Mode of Self-Control Scale), irritability (the Brief Irritability Scale), substance use (the Global School-based Student Health Survey), and internet addiction (the Internet Addiction Disorder Diagnostic Scale for middle school students).

Results showed that girls tended to be slightly more impulsive and irritable than boys, but boys smoked and drank more. There were no significant gender differences in childhood abuse experiences or the severity of internet addiction symptoms.

As expected, participants reporting more severe childhood abuse experiences tended to score higher on measures of irritability and impulsivity. They were also more likely to display symptoms of internet addiction, to smoke more tobacco, and to drink more alcohol.

The researchers tested a statistical model proposing that childhood abuse increases impulsivity and irritability, which in turn increase the likelihood of engaging in addictive behaviors. The results supported this model, but also indicated that impulsivity and irritability do not fully explain the link between childhood abuse and addiction.

The study sheds light on how early adversity may shape vulnerability to addiction. However, it is important to note that all data were self-reported, and childhood abuse data were retrospective (i.e., based on participants’ memories). This leaves room for reporting bias and memory inaccuracies to have influenced the results.

The paper, “The association between childhood abuse and addictive behaviors in adolescents: Understanding the role of impulsivity and irritability,” was authored by Zhengyi Liu, Yunyi Xiao, Yingying Ye, Yifan Li, Zijian He, Nanshu Peng, and Xiao Zhou.