Relationship between Multiple Forms of Maltreatment by a Parent or Guardian and Adolescent Alcohol Use.

This study examined the effect of the co-occurrence of multiple categories of maltreatment on adolescent alcohol use. Data were from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health which used a nationally representative sample of adolescents (n = 14,078). Among those reporting any maltreatment, over one-third had experienced more than one type of maltreatment. Logistic regression models found that all types or combinations of types of maltreatment except physical-abuse-only were strongly associated with adolescent alcohol use, controlling for age, gender, race, and parental alcoholism. These results add to accumulating evidence that child maltreatment has a deleterious impact on adolescent alcohol use.