Early Life Poly-Victimization and Differential Development of Anxiety as Risk Factors for the Continuity of Substance Dependence in Adulthood

Abstract

Background: Abuse of psychoactive substances may lead to physical and/or physiological dependence on said substances. While a great deal of research has focused on risk factors predicting onset, there has been little research focused on risk factors influencing continued dependence on substances in adulthood following onset early in life. Purpose/Objectives: The present study examined poly-victimization and developmental patterns of anxiety as predictors of continued substance dependence problems. Methods: The Pathways to Desistance data were used in the present study. A subset of this sample was used in analyses comprising 261 juvenile offenders who reported lifetime drug and/or alcohol dependence at baseline. Firth logistic regression was used to estimate the impact that covariates had on the odds that individuals in this subsample had continued substance dependence in adulthood. Results: Results indicated that increased poly-victimization score pertaining to direct victimization at baseline was associated with increased odds of continued substance dependence problems in adulthood. Further, presentation of high and chronic anxiety symptomatology during adolescence was associated with increased risk for continued dependence. Conclusions/Importance: Drug dependent adolescents who demonstrate chronic anxiety and/or have experienced polyvictimization are at-risk for continuity of dependent in adulthood. Youth should be screened for these issues and targeted with treatment.

Keywords:

• Substance dependence
• development
• juvenile offenders
• polyvictimization
• anxiety

Notes

1 The specific individual items comprising each exposure to violence scale were as follows; Witnessed violence: see someone else get beaten up, see anyone chased and thought they could be hurt, see someone else being raped, see someone attacked with a weapon, see someone else shot at, see someone else get shot and hit, and see someone killed from violence; Direct victimization: chased where you thought you could be hurt, beaten up by another person, raped or sexually attacked, attacked with a weapon, shot at, and shot at and hit.

2 Internal consistency for each individual measure of anxiety at each observation point was found to be consistent. Cronbach’s alphas for this measure at each observation point were as follows: baseline: .78; 6-months: .75; 12- months: .75; 18-months: .73; 24 –months: .77; 30-months: .77; 36-months: .76; 48-months: .74; 60-months: .76; 72-months: .80; 84-months: .80.