Cumulative Violence Exposure and Alcohol Use Among College Students: Adverse Childhood Experiences and Dating Violence

Abstract

Multiple types of childhood adversities are risk factors for dating violence among college-age youth and in turn, dating violence is associated with alcohol use. This work quantitatively examines associations of childhood adversity and dating violence with alcohol use among college students using a cumulative stress approach. Multi-campus surveys were collected from March to December 2016 in four universities across the United States and Canada ( n = 3,710). Latent class analysis identified patterns of childhood adversity and dating violence. Regression analyses investigated the associations of latent class patterns with past year number of drinks, alcohol use frequency, and problematic drinking. Latent class analysis produced seven classes: “low violence exposure” (18.5%), “predominantly peer violence” (28.9%), “peer violence and psychological child abuse” (10.8%), “peer and parental domestic violence” (9.9%), “peer and psychological dating violence” (17%), “peer and dating violence” (6.6%), and “childhood adversity and psychological dating violence” (8.3%). Compared to the “low violence exposure” group, “peer and psychological dating violence” ( B = .114, p < .05), “peer and dating violence” ( B = .143, p < .05), and “childhood adversity and psychological dating violence” ( B = .183, p < .001) groups were significantly associated with problematic drinking. Results highlight how childhood adversity and dating violence contribute to problematic alcohol use, suggesting interventions that address both childhood adversity and dating violence may be most effective at reducing alcohol misuse among college students.