Substance use disorders (SUDs) are highly prevalent (1–3) and associated with substantial social and economic costs. Exposure to traumatic events may increase risk for SUDs. For example, although studies with bombing victims do not all support a directional link between trauma exposure (TE) and onset of SUDs (4–6), most other adult population-based studies indicate that exposure to traumatic events [i.e., involving serious bodily injury, threat of death, or witnessing violent death or injury (7)] is associated with increased risk for SUDs (8–12). However, although motivations for use of different substances can differ (13), with few exceptions (8,12), adult population-based studies typically have examined associations between trauma exposure (TE) and any SUD, rather than examining the impact of TE on specific SUDs (9–11). Treatment-seeking samples and other special populations (e.g., adolescents) also suggest positive associations between TE and SUDs (14,15), but more information is needed on whether these findings are consistent across substances.
