Substance Abuse and Trauma

Shannon Simmons; Liza Suárez

doi:10.1016/j.chc.2016.05.006

Substance Abuse and Trauma

Child Adolesc Psychiatr Clin N Am. 2016 Oct;25(4):723-34. doi: 10.1016/j.chc.2016.05.006. Epub 2016 Aug 2.

Authors

Shannon Simmons¹, Liza Suárez²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle Children's Hospital, 4800 Sand Point Way Northeast, Seattle, WA 98105, USA. Electronic address: Shannon.simmons@seattlechildrens.org.
² Department of Psychiatry, Institute for Juvenile Research, University of Illinois at Chicago, 1747 West Roosevelt Road #192, Chicago, IL 60612, USA.

PMID: 27613348
DOI: 10.1016/j.chc.2016.05.006

Abstract

There is a strong, bidirectional link between substance abuse and traumatic experiences. Teens with cooccurring substance use disorders (SUDs) and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) have significant functional and psychosocial impairment. Common neurobiological foundations point to the reinforcing cycle of trauma symptoms, substance withdrawal, and substance use. Treatment of teens with these issues should include a systemic and integrated approach to both the SUD and the PTSD.

Keywords: Chemical dependency; Integrated treatment; PTSD; Substance abuse; Trauma.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Adolescent
Humans
Life Change Events*
Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / complications*
Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / psychology
Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / therapy
Substance-Related Disorders / complications*
Substance-Related Disorders / psychology
Substance-Related Disorders / therapy