The effect of childhood trauma on alcohol and non-alcohol substance use in a Turkish sample of university students: The mediating role of dissociative experiences

Objective: The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between childhood trauma and alcohol and non-alcohol substance use among university students. A secondary objective was to determine whether dissociative experiences have a mediating role in a possible relationship between childhood trauma and substance use. Method: The study sample comprised 300 university students studying in the Istanbul and Nevşehir provinces of Turkey. Once informed consent was obtained, a sociodemographic information form, the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ), the Dissociative Experiences Scale (DES), the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT), and the Drug Use Disorders Identification Test (DUDIT) were administered to all of the participants. Results: The rate of hazardous alcohol consumption was 45.2% for male students and 35.4% for female students, and 8.4% of men and 9% of women were found to use other hazardous substances. Correlation analysis revealed that the CTQ total score and all of the subdimension scores were correlated with the DES, AUDIT, and DUDIT scores. The results of regression analysis indicated that the effect of physical abuse on the AUDIT score was partially mediated by the DES score, while the effect of physical abuse on the AUDIT score was fully mediated by the DES score. Conclusion: The findings suggest that dissociative symptoms associated with childhood trauma should be handled carefully. Students with dissociative symptoms should be evaluated in order to better understand the use and risk of misuse of alcohol and other substances among university students.