Childhood Stress Weaves Paths to Adolescent Substance Use

Childhood stress accelerates substance use initiation in both male and female adolescents, with traumatic events heightening the risk for males, while environmental stressors and early puberty exacerbate the risk for females, according to the researchers’ findings (1^✔ ✔Trusted Source
Childhood stress linked with earlier substance use in male and female teens

Go to source). Early life stress is children’s experiences of abuse, neglect and conflict. “Starting substance use at an earlier age is associated with more severe substance use disorder in adulthood,” said lead researcher Alexandra Donovan, Ph.D., of Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science in Los Angeles, Calif. “Early life stress and early puberty have both been associated with early substance use, but it wasn’t clear whether these connections are the same across boys and girls.”

Investigating Puberty and Stress Effects on Adolescent Substance Use

Donovan and colleagues evaluated sex differences in the impact of puberty and stress on alcohol, nicotine and cannabis use by the age of 13. They analyzed data from 8,608 male and female participants in the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study, who were 9 or 10 years old when the study began. The study included data from the first three years of the ABCD study.

The researchers looked at the effects of early life stress and found it increased the likelihood of earlier use of alcohol, nicotine or cannabis use across both males and females.

Early life stress increased the likelihood of earlier substance use for males by 9-18% and for females by 13-20%. Environmental stress increased the likelihood of early use of nicotine and cannabis in females by 15-24%. Traumatic event stress increased the likelihood in males by 15-16%. Higher pubertal development scores increased the likelihood of earlier nicotine use for females while decreasing the likelihood for males.

“Our study supports the link between early life stress and teen substance use, extending our understanding of how this connection can differ across sex,” Donovan said. “These findings may be used to refine prevention programs in schools, encouraging a more individualized approach.”

Reference:

1. Childhood stress linked with earlier substance use in male and female teens - (https://www.endocrine.org/news-and-advocacy/news-room/2024/endo-2024-press-donovan)

Source-Eurekalert