Substance abuse counselors have known for years based on their
experience with their patients that there is a link between
childhood traumas and drug or alcohol addiction. A recent
collaboration between physicians from the University of Texas
and Tennessee’s Meharry Medical College focused on the
connection between childhood trauma and the development of
depressive disorders or substance abuse. The study involved
teens—a small group, to be sure, tracking only 19 youngsters
with known childhood traumas against a control group of 13 teens
with no known traumas. Their progress was documented every six
months for up to five years to assess the need for drug
addiction treatment or psychotherapy for depression. Imaging
studies of the brain were performed on each of the children at
the outset of the study, with repeat examinations conducted as
follow-up. While only one of the teens in the control group
experienced substance abuse problems and one suffered from
depression, four among the traumatized group required dr