In a recent publication, we reported that childhood trauma exposure was associated with increased risk for co-morbid psychiatric disorders and suicide attempts in treatment-seeking alcoholic inpatients (Huang et al., 2012). The current study expands on this and other research by investigating the associations between childhood trauma exposure and quantifiable outcomes specifically related to alcohol dependence. These include potential risk factors for alcohol dependence, such as an early onset of alcohol use and personality traits, concomitant features of alcohol dependence such as high levels of withdrawal anxiety, and finally, the severity of alcohol dependence. We first compare the prevalence and severity of childhood trauma exposure between alcohol dependent and non-acohol-dependent individuals. We then investigate potential mediating pathways between childhood trauma exposure and alcohol-related outcomes in both dependent and non-dependent individuals using mediation analysis.
