The Association Between Early Exposure to Violence in Emerging Adulthood and Substance Use in Early-Adulthood Among Inner-City Individuals

Abstract

This study investigated whether being exposed to violence early in life is a risk factor for substance use later in life. Tenets of the stress-coping model and the self-medication hypothesis guided the analyses. Participants included 850 individuals from an economically challenged, urban community in Flint, MI (83% Black/African American; 50% male). Exposure to violence was measured 4 times in sequential years during emerging adulthood (ages 20–23) and substance use 4 times during early adulthood (ages 29–32). Multilevel growth models investigated the relationship between early exposure to violence and later rates of substance use. Youth who had above-average exposure to violence during emerging adulthood had increasing substance use during early adulthood compared to those with a below-average score, after controlling for prior use. These findings may inform practitioners to screen for substance use among individuals exposed to violence and intervene earlier before substance use becomes problematic.