The training objective for this Mentored Research Scientist Development Award is to acquire the necessary skills and experience to conduct longitudinal research to explore and identify factors in childhood that lead to and protect against long-term adverse effects in adulthood. A program of study including coursework, mentoring and the practical application of skills by conducting a research project has been designed to accomplish this objective. An association between childhood physical and sexual abuse and alcohol use and problem drinking has been described in adolescent and adult samples drawn from alcohol and drug treatment facilities, from psychiatric facilities, juvenile detention and adult penal institutions, and from the community. However, it is not clear from these studies whether childhood abuse has a direct causal association with subsequent alcohol use, or whether childhood abuse is a proxy for other factors known to be predictors of alcohol use and problems drinking. The research portion of this proposal is an exploration of the relations among childhood abuse, environmental factors, posttraumatic stress disorder and subsequent alcohol use and problem drinking. Preliminary analyses of the data from the Maternal Health and Child Development (MHPCD) Project show that 8% of the 14 year olds have been sexually abused. Among those who were sexually abuse, the rate of alcohol use is 55%, compared to 35% among the non-abused adolescents. The proposed research will characterize relations between a history of childhood abuse and alcohol use and problem drinking in a cohort of adolescents at ages 14 and 16. The MHPCD Project is a prospective study of the pregnancy outcome of 763 women. Women were interviewed prenatally, and with their offspring at delivery, 8, and 18 months, 3, 6, 10, and 14 years. The cohort is a general population sample of low-income women and their children. At each phase, demographic status, the psychological, social and household environment, and household substance use are measured. Children's cognitive, behavioral, academic, and physical status is assessed. At ages 10 and 14 substance use by the children is measured. At age 14 child abuse in the mother and the child is assessed. These measures will be repeated at age 16.
