Prevalence of childhood trauma measured by the short form of the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire in people with substance use disorder: A meta-analysis

Abstract

Background: Substance use disorder is known to be associated with childhood trauma, yet prevalence estimates have varied markedly due to methodological differences. The meta-analysis presented here aimed to estimate prevalence rates of childhood trauma for people with substance use disorder using the short form of the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ-SF).

Methods: Four major public databases (PubMed, Embase, The Cochrane Library and PsycINFO) were searched for eligible studies until April 2nd, 2018.

Results: Ten studies were included with a total sample size of 1,310 across six countries. The prevalence estimates of each subtype of childhood trauma across all substance use disorder samples were: emotional abuse (38%, 95% CI: 28%-48%); physical abuse (36%, 95% CI: 27%-45%); sexual abuse (31%, 95% CI: 23%-41%); emotional neglect (31%, 95% CI: 18%-45%) and physical neglect (32%, 95% CI: 25%-40%). Subgroup analysis by continent demonstrated that the highest prevalence rates of emotional abuse were found in North America and South America (45%). Compared with other continents, the prevalence rates of North America were the highest for physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional neglect and physical neglect (39%-44%).

Conclusions: Childhood trauma is prevalent among substance use disorder samples compared to the general population. Different continents have different levels of prevalence of childhood trauma, which may be due in part to socioeconomic, cultural and definitional variations.

Keywords: Childhood Trauma Questionnaire; Childhood abuse; Childhood maltreatment; Childhood neglect; Childhood trauma; Meta- analysis; Substance use disorder.