Childhood Trauma and Injection Drug Use Among High-Risk Youth

Kerr, Thomas; Stoltz, Jo-Anne; Marshall, Brandon D.L.; Lai, Calvin; Strathdee, Steffanie A.; Wood, Evan

doi:10.1016/j.jadohealth.2009.03.007

« Previous Next »Journal of Adolescent Health
Volume 45, Issue 3 , Pages 300-302, September 2009

Childhood Trauma and Injection Drug Use Among High-Risk Youth

Thomas Kerr, Ph.D.
- British Columbia Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, St. Paul's Hospital, Vancouver, BC, Canada
- Department of Medicine, University of British Columbia, St. Paul's Hospital, Vancouver, BC, Canada
- Address correspondence to: Thomas Kerr, Ph.D., BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, St. Paul's Hospital, 608-1081 Burrard Street, Vancouver, BC V6Z 1Y6, Canada.
Jo-Anne Stoltz, Ph.D.
- British Columbia Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, St. Paul's Hospital, Vancouver, BC, Canada
Brandon D.L. Marshall, M.Sc.
- British Columbia Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, St. Paul's Hospital, Vancouver, BC, Canada
- School of Population and Public Health, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
Calvin Lai, M.Math.
- British Columbia Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, St. Paul's Hospital, Vancouver, BC, Canada
Steffanie A. Strathdee, Ph.D.
- British Columbia Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, St. Paul's Hospital, Vancouver, BC, Canada
- Division of International Health and Cross-Cultural Medicine, University of California (San Diego), San Diego, California
Evan Wood, M.D., Ph.D.
- British Columbia Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, St. Paul's Hospital, Vancouver, BC, Canada
- Department of Medicine, University of British Columbia, St. Paul's Hospital, Vancouver, BC, Canada

Received 8 October 2008; accepted 17 February 2009. published online 29 May 2009.

Abstract

We examined the association between five types of childhood maltreatment and initiation of injection drug use among a cohort of high-risk youth in Vancouver, Canada. Among 560 participants, 230 (41.1%) had injected drugs previously. In multivariate logistic analyses, only physical abuse (adjusted odds ratio = 1.91, 95% confidence interval: 1.29–2.83) was associated with injection drug use. These findings highlight the impact of childhood physical abuse on subsequent initiation into injection drug use among high-risk youth.

Keywords: Youth, Injection drug use, Initiation, Trauma