A new study led by FIU researchers at the Center for Children and Families found that traumatic childhood experiences like domestic violence, abuse and parental incarceration impact brain functioning and increase the risk of substance use during adolescence.
The study was led by social work professor Nicole Fava, from the Robert Stempel College of Public Health and Social Work, and psychology professor Elisa Trucco, from the College of Arts, Sciences & Education, in collaboration with researchers at the University of Michigan. They assessed 465 children that experienced adversity beginning at ages 3-5 and followed them through early adolescence. Researchers were interested in understanding why children exposed to adversity in early childhood are more likely to misuse substances later in life.
They found that the negative childhood experiences may disrupt functioning of brain regions associated with impulse control. The children's difficulties in regulating their impulses leads to increased deviant behaviors, such as stealing and aggression, in early adolescence, which in turn increases alcohol, cigarette, and drug use in late adolescence.
[For more on this story by Rosanna Castro, Florida International University, go to https://medicalxpress.com/news...brain-substance.html]
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