Childhood trauma has been linked to a multitude of negative consequences in both early life and adulthood, including alterations in brain structure and function (Bremner, 2003), variation in personality traits (McFarlane et al., 2005), increased risk for depression and anxiety (Heim and Nemeroff, 2001), and an earlier age of onset of alcohol use and abuse (Rothman et al., 2008). Many if not all of these outcomes are potentially interrelated, either through direct pathways or through common underlying mechanisms. For example, alcohol problems and dependence have been linked to higher levels of neuroticism (Ruiz et al., 2003), as have depression and anxiety disorders (Weinstock and Whisman, 2006), both of which are often comorbid with alcohol dependence. The common underlying mechanism for these outcomes is thought to be neurodevelopmental alterations that occur in response to the stress of traumatic experiences during childhood (Anda et al., 2006). Taken together, these findings suggest that childhood trauma and alcohol dependence may be linked via a negative affect pathway.
