Hudson, A., Wekerle, C., Goldstein, A.L., Ellenbogen, S., Waechter, R., Thompson, K. & Stewart, S.H. (2017). Gender Differences in Emotion-Mediated Pathways from Childhood Sexual Abuse to Problem Drinking in Adolescents in the Child Welfare System. Journal of Child & Adolescent Trauma 10, 19–28. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40653-016-0125-9
Childhood sexual abuse is known to raise the risk of later substance abuse, but less is known about why. Among youth receiving child welfare services, this study found that anger partly explained the link between sexual abuse and problem drinking in boys. In girls, the link was fully explained by anxiety and anger. Negative emotions appear to connect sexual abuse to alcohol problems in both genders, but through somewhat different pathways.