Interplay of Childhood Trauma, Mental Health, and Substance Use: A Demographic Analysis

Childhood trauma is a significant public health problem and has been repeatedly associated with negative psychological outcomes and an elevated risk for substance use. The present study investigated the associations between childhood trauma, mental health and substance use and differences in mental health and substance use by educational attainment and socioeconomic status (SES). A cross-sectional research design was used with a convenience sample of 100 participants, aged 18–35 years, from selected de-addiction and rehabilitation centers across Delhi. Data were collected using the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ), Mental Health Continuum Short Form (MHC-SF), Drug Abuse Screening Test (DAST-10) and Kuppuswamy Socioeconomic Scale. Pearson product-moment correlation and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) were conducted using SPSS version 27. The results revealed that childhood trauma was negatively and significantly associated with mental health and positively and significantly associated with substance use. Substance use was significantly and negatively associated with mental health. The mental health and substance use also differed significantly by educational attainment and SES groups. The results emphasize the necessity of using trauma-informed prevention and intervention strategies that consider both mental health and substance use, while also considering demographic differences.