Two traumatic events in a child's life doubles their chances of problematic drug use — study

The Growing Up in Ireland study looked at adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), such as death of a family member (other than parents), death of a close friend, conflict between parents and separation or divorce between parents.

Young adults who experienced two traumatic events as children are twice as likely to be problematic drug users compared to peers who did not have such experiences as kids, a major Irish study shows.

The research, conducted by experts in the Health Research Board, said the odds treble if the person suffered three ‘adverse’ events when a child.