Researchers from NYU School of Medicine and The Center for Drug Use and HIV / HCV Research used a nationally representative sample of more than 12,000 persons to explore associations between nine childhood traumas and adult drug use. Additionally: the association between sexual abuse during childhood and injection drug use was more than seven times as strong for males as females.

“Screening for and addressing childhood trauma may be an important strategy to prevent initiation of drug use,” said lead researcher Kelly Quinn, assistant professor at NYU School of Medicine’s Department of Population Health. “And for drug users, trauma-informed interventions throughout the life course are important for treatment and mitigation of relapse.”

Additionally, data found that neglect, emotional abuse, parental incarceration and parental binge drinking were associated with 25-55 percent increased odds of prescription pain reliever misuse.