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"We found that both direct (physical and sexual abuse) and indirect (witnessing parental domestic violence) forms of childhood victimization are associated with substance abuse" said lead author, Professor Esme Fuller-Thomson, Sandra Rotman Endowed Chair at the University of Toronto's Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work and Institute for Life Course & Aging "We were surprised that chronic parental domestic violence exposure remained significantly associated with both drug and alcohol dependence, even when we adjusted for childhood maltreatment, depression and most of the known risk factors for substance dependency" said lead author, Professor Esme Fuller-Thomson, Sandra Rotman Endowed Chair at the University of Toronto's Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work and Institute for Life Course & Aging. "In fact, the odds of alcohol dependency among those who witnessed their parents' chronic domestic violence were about 50% higher than th...

Acting rapidly and without thinking are typical signs of child impulsivity. According to the researchers, this trait, traditionally viewed as negative, could turn into an advantage when combined with a caring family environment. "A Swedish metaphor illustrates this differential susceptibility to the environment," explains Charlie Rioux. "Many children exposed to challenging environments do quite well. They are said to be resilient, and are referred to as "dandelion children," since they are well adjusted even when exposed to harsh conditions. Children more susceptible to their environment, like impulsive ones, are referred to as "orchid children." For if the orchid fades in harsh conditions, it also thrives when given proper care and attention. We observed that when they are raised in a supportive environment, "orchid children" not only do well in adolescence, but can even outperform their less susceptible peers in many respects." The...

LINKAGE is innovative in its use of electronic health records and online patient portals to engage patients in health education and prevention and facilitate communication with their medical providers. "Patients with alcohol and other drug use disorders have high rates of medical and psychiatric conditions requiring complex treatment, but often rely on emergency services and seldom use preventive services, even when they have health insurance," said lead author Constance M. Weisner, DrPH, chief of Behavioral Health and Aging at the Kaiser Permanente Northern California Division of Research, and a professor at the UCSF Department of Psychiatry. "We know that patients who are more engaged with their health care tend to manage their condition better and our study found that alcohol and drug treatment patients are no different." The study, conducted at the Kaiser Permanente San Francisco outpatient addiction treatment clinic, enrolled 503 participants and assigned...