In a recent webinar hosted by the Health Research Board (HRB), I had the opportunity to present research on the links between childhood adversity and substance use in young adulthood.

We analysed data from the ’98 cohort Growing Up in Ireland (GUI) national longitudinal study of children and young people, which began in 2006.

Our work focused on understanding how various forms of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), such as substance use in the immediate family, and conflict between parents, influence drug and alcohol consumption in early adulthood.

Our analysis, conducted in collaboration with Trinity College’s Population Health Medicine division, was conducted due to a lack of Irish longitudinal analysis on the association between ACEs and substance use among young people; and how factors such as parental and peer relationships, and school engagement can influence this.

We concentrated on the cohort of 4,729 young people that had completed all four waves of GUI and had therefore reached young adulthood and found a significant correlation between childhood adversity and increased risk of substance use in early adulthood.

We also found people who experienced multiple forms of adversity were more likely to engage in substance use. Our analysis showed 1 in 7 of children in the cohort we studied experienced three or more ACEs.

Breakdown of ACEs among the cohort

  • 77% experienced the death of a family member
  • 6% experienced the death of a parent
  • 22% were families in which divorce or separation occurred
  • 15% reported mental health disorder in their immediate family
  • 13% reported drug use or alcoholism in their immediate family
  • 2% reported a stay in a foster home or residential care
  • 2% reported having a parent in prison
  • 31% reported conflict between parents
  • 21% reported death of a close friend

Substance use

  • 94% drink alcohol
  • 55% binge drink monthly, 18% weekly
  • 5% meet the criteria for alcohol dependence
  • 25% used cannabis in the last year
  • 29% used other illicit drugs, mainly cocaine
  • 15% met the criteria for problematic drug use

The one in seven who experienced three or more ACEs were:

  • 2.2 times more likely to use cannabis
  • 2.6 times more likely to use other illicit drugs
  • 2.9 times more likely to have problem drug use
  • 3.3 times more likely to have alcohol dependence.

The HRB webinar, which attracted 100 attendees, discussed the implications of these findings for public health and social services.

The panel featured sociologist Professor Ross McMillan of the University of Limerick and Richie Stafford, Assistant Principal at the Drugs Policy, Refugee & Inclusion Health Unit at the Department of Health.

Influencing factors

Prof McMillan said the use of longitudinal data was an important development in understanding the effect of ACEs on childhood development, providing a more focused perspective compared to research that had been “spread all over the place” up to now.

He referred to how ACEs can have other adverse outcomes such as decreased trust in others, a low sense of personal agency and short-term thinking about life planning.

Richie Stafford noted the findings showed that normalising substance use in the household had a powerful influence on whether children would grow up to use substances themselves, and that wider environmental factors such as accessibility to substances also influence this.

Responding to a question about prevention strategies, Mr Stafford distinguished between habitual drug users who need treatment, and adolescents who often respond to positive reinforcement, if it is introduced before strong habits form.

In conclusion

Overall, our webinar pointed to a need for an inter-disciplinary approach to understanding the causes of substance use identified in our analysis, and a whole-of-government approach integrating mental health services, family support, schools-based programmes, and community resources to better assist those at risk.

ENDS

Watch our webinar, Growing up in Ireland: Substance use and childhood adversity

This webinar was based on the following two of four studies we conducted using GUI data:

Associations and mediating factors between adverse childhood experiences and substance use behaviours in early adulthood: A population-based longitudinal study 

Longitudinal associations between childhood adversity and alcohol use behaviours in early adulthood: Examining the mediating roles of parental and peer relationships 

Another webinar later this year will examine factors associated with alcohol, tobacco, cocaine and cannabis use among early adolescents and young adults.

Acknowledgment

Growing Up in Ireland is funded by the Government of Ireland and managed as a partnership between the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (DCEDIY) and the Central Statistics Office (CSO). The CSO is responsible for the survey element of GUI.

Results in these reports are based on analyses of data from Research Microdata Files provided by the CSO. Neither the CSO nor DCEDIY take any responsibility for the views expressed or the outputs generated from these analyses.