A second issue is that apparent effects attributed to childhood maltreatment may actually have been due to other adverse childhood experiences not involving direct maltreatment of the child. These include parental divorce, incarceration, suicide or death, domestic violence, or involvement with the child welfare system. All are potentially traumatic and may give rise, on their own, to later psychopathology. These experiences may be associated with being maltreated and developing later alcohol dependence, making them potential confounders of the relationship between childhood maltreatment and alcohol dependence (Thompson et al. 2008; Gilbert et al. 2009b). To understand the direct role of maltreatment, other types of adverse childhood experiences should also be controlled.
