Coping motives as a mediator of the relationship between child maltreatment and substance use problems in south African adolescents.

Background: Evidence suggests that adults with a history of child maltreatment (CM) engage in substance misuse driven by 'coping motives': maladaptive beliefs that substances help them cope with negative emotions. However, the specificity of this risk pathway is under-researched in younger and non-Western cohorts.

Objective: The present study aimed to determine whether coping motives play a distinct role compared to other motives for substance use in mediating the relationship between CM and problematic alcohol and marijuana use in a sample of South African adolescents.

Childhood maltreatment and internalizing/externalizing disorders in trauma-exposed adolescents: Does posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) severity have a mediating role?

Childhood maltreatment is associated with wide-ranging psychopathology at all stages of life. In the current study, we investigated whether posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) severity mediated the association between childhood maltreatment and internalizing and externalizing disorders among 262 South African trauma-exposed adolescents (aged 12-18 years). Childhood maltreatment and PTSD symptom severity were assessed using the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire and the Child PTSD Checklist, respectively.