Childhood adversity, poly-substance use, and disordered eating in adolescent Latinas: Mediated and indirect paths in a community sample

Although many studies have identified associations between childhood maltreatment and later substance use and disordered eating, few have examined causal or explanatory pathways, and whether victim characteristics predict the development of one versus the other of these outcomes remains uninvestigated. Furthermore, relatively little childhood maltreatment research has examined Latino samples. To address these gaps, this study examined among Latina adolescents the effects of sexual abuse, physical/emotional abuse, neglect, disconnection from family, and parental alcohol problems on poly-substance use and disordered eating, and whether five individual characteristics explain or differentiate these outcomes. Data from a community sample of 361 Latina adolescents were analyzed using structural equation modeling. Physical/emotional abuse predicted poly-substance use and weight concerns, and these associations were mediated by impaired current attachment. Disconnection from family predicted bulimic behaviors, and this association was mediated by dysphoria. One indirect path also emerged: Disconnection from family predicted low social conformity, and low social conformity predicted poly-substance use. Childhood sexual abuse did not uniquely predict any adverse outcome or individual characteristic examined. Dysphoria and impaired current attachment appear to play important roles in the development of substance use and disordered eating in Latina adolescents when physical/emotional abuse or disconnection from family predicts these outcomes. Dysphoria and low social conformity may differentiate the development of bulimic behaviors and poly-substance use, respectively, when family disconnection predicts these outcomes. Bien que plusieurs études aient identifié des liens entre les mauvais traitements en enfance et, ultimement, l’usage de narcotiques et des désordres d’alimentation, peu ont examiné les « pistes » qui pourraient expliquer ces difficultés et en élucider les causes. Non plus, existe-il suffisamment de recherches sur les caractéristiques des victimes en tant que facteurs pouvant prédire le développement de l’un ou l’autre de ces problèmes. Pour combler cette lacune, cette étude s’est penchée sur des adolescentes latino-américaines afin de préciser quels seraient les effets d’une agression sexuelle, de mauvais traitements physiques ou psychologiques, de la négligence, du manque de contact avec sa famille et des problèmes d’alcoolisme de leurs parents sur l’