childhood trauma and substance use tendencies: the mediating effects of ptsd, impulsivity, and emotion dysregulation

Objective: although the relationship between childhood trauma and the presence of substance use tendencies (sut) has been proven worldwide, little iranian-based evidence exists. nonetheless, this study is the first to empirically test such a correlation in a sample population of iranian university students with post-traumatic stress disorder (ptsd) symptoms, emotion dysregulation, and impulsivity serving as mediators of this relationship.methods: a group of 766 iranian university students (33.4% male and 66.6 % female; mean age=24.89) was asked to complete the validated questionnaires, which featured the childhood trauma questionnaire-short form (ctq-sf), difficulties in emotion regulation scale (ders), addiction potential scale (aps), short upps-p impulsive behavior scale (supps-p), and posttraumatic stress disorder checklist for dsm-5 (pcl-5). analyses were performed using structural equation modeling (sem).results: childhood trauma was strongly related to greater impulsivity, emotional dysregulation, ptsd symptoms, and sut. these psychological factors significantly mediate childhood trauma in sut. conclusion: these results underscore the necessity of developing specific interventions that would focus on impulsivity, emotional dysregulation, and ptsd symptoms, to decrease the risk of sut among iranian university students with a history of childhood trauma.