Research Links Childhood Trauma to College Alcohol Misuse

National Collegiate Alcohol Awareness Week, taking place from October 19-25, 2023, highlights the challenges faced by college students regarding alcohol consumption. At the College of William & Mary, Associate Professor of Psychological Sciences Adrian Bravo is spearheading research that investigates the connection between childhood adversity and vulnerability to alcohol use disorders among students. His work, involving a diverse team of researchers and undergraduate students, sheds light on the cross-national trends influencing these issues.

Recent findings published in the journal Substance Use & Misuse, with Isabela Ortiz Caso, a William & Mary alumna, as lead author, indicate that adverse childhood experiences play a significant role in these patterns. Bravo emphasizes that such experiences extend beyond severe abuse, encompassing factors like family conflict, parental alcohol abuse, and feelings of neglect.

“Adverse childhood experiences aren’t restricted to the horrible extremes of physical and emotional abuse,” said Bravo. “Seeing parents or siblings constantly argue, growing up with a family member who struggles with an alcohol use disorder, or feeling unloved can deeply impact someone’s identity and understanding of the world around them.”

While the study does not establish direct causation, it reveals a clear correlation among childhood adversity, ruminative thinking, coping through drinking, and negative alcohol-related consequences.

Global Patterns in Alcohol Misuse

The research involved over 4,000 students from 12 universities across seven countries, including Argentina, England, the United States, and South Africa. Ortiz Caso highlights how most psychological studies focus on single populations, but their research demonstrated consistent patterns across diverse geographic locations. “We found the same pattern across seven countries, suggesting that the factors linked to problematic drinking transcend geography,” she noted.

This international collaboration, known as the Cross-Cultural Addictions Study Team (CAST), was founded by Bravo, a Cuban immigrant who has long been interested in the cultural and legal norms surrounding substance use globally. The team now consists of 18 researchers from various countries, collectively exploring how prior experiences and personality traits contribute to substance use and mental health challenges.

“The primary goal of CAST is to understand how prior experiences or individual personality differences place some individuals at higher risk for substance use and mental health problems,” Bravo explained. Their findings indicate that understanding psychological and behavioral factors is crucial, moving beyond simple measurements of alcohol consumption.

Through four CAST studies, Bravo identified three core risk factors for problematic drinking that consistently appear across nations.

“The first is impulsivity, which manifests as a sense of urgency,” he stated. “The second is poor mental health, where individuals may use substances to cope with negative emotions. The third factor is adverse childhood experiences, which range from physical abuse to neglect to a volatile home environment.”

Implications for Intervention Strategies

Ortiz Caso, now an intramural research fellow at the National Institutes of Health, emphasized the importance of understanding these relationships as a means to inform interventions for college students facing alcohol misuse. “When people drink to cope with negative emotions—sometimes shaped by early life experiences—it’s a very different motivation than social drinking,” she said.

The study’s insights are critical for shaping effective treatment strategies and policies aimed at reducing alcohol-related harm in university settings. Both Ortiz Caso and Bravo advocate for universities to support students grappling with alcohol use issues by providing education and accessible resources.

At William & Mary, resources such as Campus Recreation, the Counseling Center, Health Promotion, and the Student Health Center aim to foster wellbeing and mitigate risks associated with substance use. Additionally, the W&M School of Education offers the New Leaf clinic, which provides support for students dealing with high-risk substance use.

“When trying to help students, universities shouldn’t just tell them to drink less or drink safely,” Bravo noted. “They need to offer substance-free alternatives, such as meditation, exercise, and counseling—accessible resources to break the cycle of maladaptive coping.”

Overall, the findings from this research underscore the importance of addressing both individual and environmental factors in developing comprehensive strategies to combat alcohol misuse among college students.