Comparing frequency of different types of childhood abuse and neglect between drug-dependent and control groups

Introduction: This study was designed to compare the frequency of various types of childhood abuse and neglect between drug dependent and normal individuals. Materials and Methods: This case control study was conducted in one of the districts of Kerman Province (Bardsir) in 2010. Two hundred-twelve drug dependent individuals and 216 normal people as the control group were selected consecutively. The data gathering tool included baseline characteristics, childhood trauma questionnaire and General Health Questionaire-12 (GHQ- 12) which were completed anonymously. Logistic regression was used to examine the association between childhood maltreatment and opiate dependency in adolescence. MANOVA was used to compare CTQ subscale scores between the two groups. Results: The frequency of all types of abuse and neglect in the study group was higher than the control group as 70.3% of people in the study group and 33.8% of people in the control group reported at least a kind of abuse or neglect (P<0.001). The average score for Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ) (± SE) was respectively 47.2 ± 1.0 and 35.8±0.6 in the study and control groups (P<0.001). After adjusting for baseline characteristics and GHQ-12 score a statistical relationship was found between emotional abuse (OR=5.06), physical neglect (OR=1.96), sexual abuse (OR=1.89) and drug dependence. Conclusion: The occurrence of all types of childhood abuse and neglect in the study group was higher in comparison to the control group. After adjusting confounding variables, a clear relationship was still found between history of childhood emotional abuse, physical negligence, sexual abuse and later drug dependence.