An Unexpectedly Weak Link: A Meta-Analytic Review of the Association of Child Maltreatment and Adolescent Substance Use

Developmental theory, clinical experience, and past research provide ample reason to expect an association between child maltreatment and substance use in adolescence. The present study meta-analyzed effect sizes (k = 196) from 22 studies (total N = 192,154 participants) using self-report or case record measures of maltreatment. We conducted moderator analyses involving measures of child maltreatment type, substance type, and gender. A small, positive association between child maltreatment and adolescent substance use was found (r = .08). However, this effect was not robust to corrections for bias. The frequent small study bias findings within our meta-analysis suggest that the field is presently unable to make strong conclusions about the existence and magnitude of the association, as well as about potential moderators. We suggest that greater precision in measurement and increased sample sizes across published papers are needed in order to begin to make stronger inferences on the association between child maltreatment and adolescent substance use.