In summary, this is the first study to our knowledge to examine associations between a broad range of traumatic events in childhood with specific types of drug use in a nationally representative sample of adolescents, adjusting for parental substance misuse. We examine PTEs experienced during childhood and their associations with drug use in adolescence, independent of any proximal traumatic stressors occurring simultaneously with drug use. We focus on trauma exposure prior to age 11, as this is the age when most US adolescents transition from elementary to middle school, with the related exposure to older students, more independence, and potentially greater opportunities for using illicit drugs.5,6,39-41 In secondary analyses, we also assessed if any associations persist among adolescents reporting parental substance misuse, or diagnosed with distress or behavior disorders. Data were drawn from the National Comorbidity Survey Replication–Adolescent Supplement (NCS-A). The primary aim of this study was to examine the association between multiple types of PTEs in childhood with use of various illicit drugs in adolescence. In addition, we also determined the role of parental substance misuse in these associations.
