Citation

Schuck AM, Widom CS. J. Stud. Alcohol 2003; 64(2): 247-256.

Affiliation

Department of Criminology, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida, USA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2003, Rutgers Center of Alcohol Studies)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

12713199

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: This study examined whether academic and intellectual functioning, high self-efficacy and social support protect women who were abused and neglected in childhood from developing alcohol problems in later life. METHOD: Substantiated cases of child abuse and neglect from 1967 to 1971 were matched on gender, age, race and approximate social class with nonabused/nonneglected children and were followed prospectively into young adulthood. Subjects were administered a 2-hour face-to-face interview, including the NIMH Diagnostic Interview Schedule (DIS-III-R), to assess alcohol symptoms. Analyses were restricted to women in the sample (N = 522). RESULTS: For women abused and neglected in childhood and for control women, graduating from high school significantly decreased the number of DSM-III-R alcohol symptoms. For abused and neglected women, high self-efficacy was also associated with significantly lower levels of alcohol symptoms. Interaction coefficients were not significant. CONCLUSIONS: Interventions to improve educational achievement and to increase feelings of self-efficacy (possibly through empowerment programs) may be effective in reducing alcohol problems in women abused and neglected as children.

Language: en