ArticlePsychology of addictive behaviors : journal of the Society of Psychologists in Addictive Behaviors2016
A population-based study of help seeking and self-medication among trauma-exposed individuals.
Article in Psychology of addictive behaviors : journal of the Society of Psychologists in Addictive Behaviors, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 16 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
16 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 35 citations in OpenAlex.
- A Systematic Review of the Self-Medication Hypothesis in the Context of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Comorbid Problematic Alcohol Use.Journal of traumatic stress · 2020Pooled it
- Daily state distress tolerance and alcohol use motivation among individuals with posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms who endorse hazardous alcohol use.Psychology of addictive behaviors : journal of the Society of Psychologists in Addictive Behaviors · 2026Article
- Association between workload and support utilisation - a longitudinal study on emergency medical service personnel.BMC emergency medicine · 2026Article
- Access and barriers to treatment and counseling for postpartum women with and without symptoms of (CB-)PTSD within the cross-sectional study INVITE.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2026Article
- Mental health distress and associated factors among online CBT service users during the Iron Swords War.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
- Impact of the increased asylum seeker population on a UK mental health crisis service.BJPsych international · 2025Article
- Intra- and interpersonal emotion regulation are altered in individuals with childhood maltreatment: cross-sectional associations and effects on daily life mood.Borderline personality disorder and emotion dysregulation · 2025Article
- ATICC: a mixed-methods study on addiction, trauma, and immigration among vulnerable young adults in the grand est youth network.BMC psychology · 2025Article
- Association of physical and sexual assault with mortality in two British birth cohorts.BMJ public health · 2024Article
- The impact of PTSD on risk of cardiometabolic diseases: a national patient cohort study in Norway.BMC psychiatry · 2023Article
- Graded response item response theory in scaling suicidal thoughts and behaviors among trauma-exposed women with substance use disorders.Psychology of addictive behaviors : journal of the Society of Psychologists in Addictive Behaviors · 2022Article
- Self-Medication with Antibiotics for Protection against COVID-19: The Role of Psychological Distress, Knowledge of, and Experiences with Antibiotics.Antibiotics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2021Article
- Associations of subjective and objective stress responses with interpersonal trauma, PTSD, stress-induced drinking, and drinking to cope in young adults.Psychology of addictive behaviors : journal of the Society of Psychologists in Addictive Behaviors · 2021Article
- Self-reported PTSD is associated with increased use of MDMA in adolescents with substance use disorders.European journal of psychotraumatology · 2021Article
- Trauma-related drinking to cope: A novel approach to the self-medication model.Psychology of addictive behaviors : journal of the Society of Psychologists in Addictive Behaviors · 2020Article
- PTSD and Problem Drinking in Relation to Seeking Mental Health and Substance Use Treatment Among Sexual Assault Survivors.Traumatology · 2018Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
Epidemiologic studies of trauma highlight the imbalance between prevalence of psychiatric diagnoses and help seeking. We investigated prevalence and correlates of help seeking and self-medication in Norwegian adults with trauma history with a focus on common posttrauma outcomes of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and substance use disorders (alcohol or drug). Participants reporting at least 1 PTSD symptom (n = 307) were asked if they consulted with a doctor/another professional (help seeking) or used drugs/alcohol (self-medication) for trauma-related problems. PTSD, alcohol abuse or dependence (AUD), and drug use or dependence (DUD) were assessed via structured diagnostic interviews. Help seeking and self-medication were endorsed by 37.4% and 10.4% of the sample, respectively. As compared to the full sample, help seeking was endorsed at a greater rate in individuals with PTSD (χ2 = 8.59, p = .005) and at a lower rate in those with AUD (χ2 = 7.34, p < .004). Self-medication was more likely to be endorsed by individuals with PTSD than without PTSD (χ2 = 25.68, p < .001). In regression analyses, PTSD was associated with increased likelihood of self-medication (odds ratio [OR] = 4.56) and help seeking (OR = 2.29), while AUD was associated with decreased likelihood of help-seeking (OR = .29). When self-medication was included as a predictor, PTSD was no longer associated with help seeking, although AUD remained inversely associated. PTSD and AUDs have a nuanced relationship with formal help seeking as well as the use of substances to cope. Trauma-exposed individuals are likely engaging in adaptive and maladaptive coping strategies, the latter of which may be compounding distress. (PsycINFO Database Record
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