These limitations are counterbalanced by several study strengths. As described above, the clustering of adverse childhood experiences, and adult psychopathology, makes disentangling the specific effects of any individual risk factor to any particular SUD is extremely challenging. In the current study, we used a large US representative sample, and an analytic model that enabled the examining of variables simultaneously, to explore the relations between childhood IPV and SUD in different racial/ethnic and gender groups. The NESARC-III is the largest and most recent psychiatric epidemiological survey of the US general population conducted to date, with data available on childhood trauma and a range of SUDs, and adequate representative qualities to examine associations of childhood IPV exposures, AUD, CUD, and TUD among participants of diverse racial/ethnic backgrounds, incorporating co-occurring risk factors and relevant socio-demographic characteristics.
