SSW Faculty Grant to Focus on Childhood Maltreatment and Substance Abuse

According to a small number of previous studies, abused youth are two to four times more likely to binge drink, become dependent on drugs and develop addictive behaviors as young adults. Despite the alarming statistics, few groups in the country are focusing on these issues.

Alongside the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), Professor Sunny Shin is working to bring more attention to this area.

Shin’s new two-year NIDA RO3 grant, “Childhood Interpersonal Trauma and Substance Abuse,” will explore what makes abused children more likely to use and become dependent on drugs. According to the NIDA, the grant will “stimulate research that will lead to an improved understanding of the relapsing nature of drug addiction.”

“The goal of this project is to test the hypothesis that challenges in childhood may make individuals more vulnerable to substance use in young adulthood,” Shin said. “The results of this research will help determine what childhood factors might be useful targets to prevent substance use among young people.”

Previous researchers have focused on drug abuse and addiction. They have found, for example, there is a vast difference in when men and women exhibit severe patterns of abuse. Shin’s upcoming research is unique because it will examine the link between childhood abuse and drug addiction.

Childhood maltreatment and drug abuse have been research interests of Shin’s since he joined the School in 2002. The NIDA grant will allow Shin to build on his previous work, which focused on substance abuse and dependence. With the grant, Shin hopes to find a way to prevent high-risk youth from becoming dependent on drugs. “The grant helps us collect real-time data,” said Shin.

Research assistants will work with Shin developing questionnaires, running pilot tests, posting ads and conducting preliminary phone screenings. The project coordinator will manage scheduling the interviews and screening potential subjects. The team will select 400 18 to 25 year-olds from the Greater Boston Area and invite them to Shin’s lab for interviews. Shin and his project coordinator will carry out the face-to-face interviews.

“We will examine health behaviors, childhood influences and life events,” Shin said.
“After completing the research, I have a full plan for disseminating the findings, including writing a manuscript for journal articles and an abstract to send to the professional media.”

Shin is currently in the process of hiring research assistants to work with him on the project. He will choose four assistants, including one project coordinator. All of the research assistants will be School of Social work students.