Correlation between childhood traumatic stress and present drug abuse: results of a nationwide survey of drug addiction rehabilitation facilities in Japan

• Published in: Nihon Arukoru Yakubutsu Igakkai zasshi = Japanese journal of alcohol studies & drug dependence Vol. 44; no. 6; p. 623
• Main Authors: Umeno, Mitsuru, Morita, Nobuaki, Ikeda, Tomohiro, Koda, Minoru, Abe, Yukie, Endo, Keiko, Yabe, Yohko, Hirai, Hideyuki, Takahashi, Koji, Aikawa, Yuzo, Senoo, Eiichi, Nakatani, Yoji
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: Japanese
• Published: Japan 01.12.2009
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Child; Child Abuse - psychology; Child Abuse - statistics & numerical data; Cross-Sectional Studies; Female; Humans; Japan - epidemiology; Male; Middle Aged; Prevalence; Severity of Illness Index; Stress Disorders, Traumatic - epidemiology; Stress Disorders, Traumatic - etiology; Stress Disorders, Traumatic - psychology; Substance Abuse Treatment Centers - statistics & numerical data; Substance-Related Disorders - epidemiology; Substance-Related Disorders - etiology; Substance-Related Disorders - psychology; Surveys and Questionnaires; Japan
• ISSN: 1341-8963

Child abuse is known to correlate with drug abuse and interferes with recovery from substance-related disorders. To determine the prevalence and severity of child abuse among drug addicts, we conducted a nationwide cross-sectional survey of residents and outpatients at drug addiction rehabilitation centers (DARC) in Japan. A total of 445 participants gave informed consent and completed a self-reporting questionnaire. Sixty-eight percent of participants had experienced some kind of child abuse by the time they reached junior high school. The kinds of abuse experienced were physical (53.7%), psychological (60.4%), sexual (5.4%) abuse and neglect (24.5%). Comparison of female and male participants revealed that more female than male participants had experienced psychological (76.9% vs. 58.2%) and sexual (17.5% vs. 4.0%) abuse. Comparison of participants who had experienced some kind of child abuse ("Abused" group 68.3%) and those who had not experienced abuse ("Non-abused" group 24.3%) revealed that the "Abused" group was younger than the "Non-abused" group (35.7 SD9.0 vs. 39.7 SD10.8). Participants in the "Abused" group were found to have more severe psychological difficulties than those in the "Non-abused" group for the following: anxiety (73.0% vs. 61.1%), delusional atmosphere (48.0% vs. 28.7%), lack of energy (53.9% vs. 40.7%), ideas of persecution (48.7% vs. 29.6%), depression (62.2% vs. 43.5%) and suicidal ideation in the previous year (50.7% vs. 24.3%). The present results suggest that additional program that prepared to care the drug addicts who experienced child abuse and are experiencing suicidal ideation is needed. Furthermore, intervention for families with risk factors for child abuse should be developed in order to prevent the victim from suffering not only from post traumatic stress disorder but also from substance related disorders.