High rates of substance use,
especially cannabis and stimulant use, have been associated with homelessness,
exposure to trauma, and involvement with the criminal justice system. This
study explored differences in substance use (cannabis vs. stimulants) and
associations with trauma and incarceration among
a homeless population.
Data were derived from the BC Health of the Homeless
Study (BCHOHS), carried out in three cities in British Columbia, Canada.
Measures included sociodemographic information, the Maudsley Addiction Profile
(MAP), the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ), and the Mini International
Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI) Plus.
Stimulant users were more likely to be
female (43%), using multiple substances (3.2), and engaging in survival sex
(14%). Cannabis users had higher rates of lifetime psychotic disorders (32%).
Among the incarcerated, cannabis users had been subjected to greater emotional
neglect (p < .05) and one in two cannabis users had a history of lifetime
depressive disorders (p < .05). Childhood physical abuse and Caucasian
ethnicity were also associated with greater crack cocaine use.
One explanation
for the results is that a history of childhood abuse may lead to a
developmental cascade of depressive symptoms and other psychopathology, increasing
the chances of cannabis dependence and the development of psychosis.
Purchase full article at: http://goo.gl/gbKBoN
By:
- 1Melbourne Health, Sunshine, Victoria, Australia saddichha@gmail.com.
- 2Centre for Health Evaluation and Outcome Sciences, University of British Columbia, Canada.
- 3Department of Psychiatry, University of British Columbia, Canada.
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