Improving our understanding of the relationship between emotional abuse and substance use disorders: the mediating roles of negative urgency and posttraumatic stress disorder

Title

Improving our understanding of the relationship between emotional abuse and substance use disorders: the mediating roles of negative urgency and posttraumatic stress disorder

Creator

Junglen Angela; Hruska Bryce; Jensen Tammy; Boros Alec; Delahanty Douglas L

Publisher

Substance Use & Misuse

Date

2019
1905-07

Description

Background: Emotional abuse is associated with an increased risk for substance use disorders (SUDs) as well as with negative urgency and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) following a subsequent trauma. Both negative urgency and PTSD are key contributors to the relationship between emotional abuse and SUDs when examined separately. A comprehensive model including both factors can inform models of PTSD-SUD comorbidity. Furthermore, the comparison of these mechanistic roles in emotional versus other types of abuse can shed light on the specificity of these effects. Objectives: The present study tested whether negative urgency and PTSD symptom severity serially mediated the relationship between emotional abuse and substance use across two separate samples. Method: Participants were recruited from a detoxification center and completed a battery of surveys examining abuse history, PTSD symptom severity, and impulsivity measures including negative urgency and substance use history during the last 3 months. The samples consisted of predominantly (59% and 62%) males with an average age of 35 (age range: 18-65). The majority of participants (90% and 93%) were Caucasian. Results: Study 1 (N = 368) and Study 2 (N = 274) both found that negative urgency and PTSD symptom severity serially mediated the relationship between emotional abuse and substance use. When comparing indirect effects, both contributed equally. Conclusion: These findings suggest that negative urgency and PTSD symptom severity together account more for the link between emotional abuse and SUDs than either alone and argue for the inclusion of negative urgency in models of PTSD-SUD comorbidity.

Subject

detoxification; emotional abuse; negative urgency; PTSD; Substance use

Rights

Article information provided for research and reference use only. All rights are retained by the journal listed under publisher and/or the creator(s).

Pages

1569-1579

Issue

9

Volume

54

Citation

Junglen Angela; Hruska Bryce; Jensen Tammy; Boros Alec; Delahanty Douglas L, “Improving our understanding of the relationship between emotional abuse and substance use disorders: the mediating roles of negative urgency and posttraumatic stress disorder,” NEOMED Bibliography Database, accessed March 29, 2024, https://neomed.omeka.net/items/show/6361.