ScienceDaily (Aug. 31, 2012) — Previous research has shown that personality traits such as impulsivity or compulsiveness are indicators of an increased risk of addiction. Now, new research from the University of Cambridge suggests that these impulsive and compulsive personality traits are also associated with a traumatic upbringing during childhood. The study was published August 31, in the journal American Journal

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This is what I have been saying for several years now, and Science is coming around to the same point of view.

I discuss this as well as the cure in my book "Up From Down" which is available free as an ebook at the present time at www.upfromdown.info

A must read for those who have family members suffering

Mark for later

May?

Doh!

Ya think?

And it just as often MAY not.

Is the bear Italian?

"You don't say!"

This is “news”? Honestly, who doesn’t know that a crappy childhood can lead to drug addiction? I don’t believe this is new information unless you’ve been living under a rock.

Can’t think of a bigger trauma than having two dads...

I’m sorry. I don’t buy the “traumatic upbringing” meme.

You can take siblings from the same family with the same trauma in their childhoods and not all react in the same way.

I think it has more to do with the sensitivity of the individual and how they percieve themselves. And of course..the “it’s all about me” syndrome.

Altered perception of risk, lack of coping skills.

In other news, water is wet.

Schools and teachers often set them up for addiction. In kindergarten and 1st grade, too many lazy teachers claim the kid has learning disabilities / disorders for acting up or sleeping in class. (THAT'S WHAT KIDS DO !!!!! THEY'RE KIDS !!!) The teacher sends them to the school district shrink who pronounces them borderline insane. Tells the parents the kid needs such-and-such drugs or they will never learn and amount to anything. Stupid parents don't question it...just assume the union genius' know what they're talking about.

POOF...problem solved. Teacher goes back to doing nothing but making strike threats....principal gets promoted to a high-paying do-nothing job downtown....district shrink writes a book on child behavior and, the poor kid who just wants to be a kid is turned into a drugged zombie and doesn't learn shit !!!! But, he's a future prospect for the pusher standing across the street from the school yard.

bleeech..... Your understanding of drug addiction is very limited. This kind of science can convince you that bad toilet training causes traumatic response that willmcause addiction to drugs or alcohol....nice try but not.

actually using drugs leads to drug addiction

While this seems intuitive, the effects on children of a violent and unpredictable home life can be stark. I had an inlaw who was a truly horrible man and his wife was no better. In his last years of a fortunately short life, I had to threaten his life to stop his abuse of his parents. His children were the biggest tragedy. The girl is a lesbian and fearful of all men. She works as a bookeeper but can barely communicate with strangers. The boy has followed his father’s example with drugs but is an extreme introvert numbing his days with heroin. Neither has seen their mother in years. We have been able to maintain contact but are unable to actually help, the damage was too severe.

Pretty interesting premise.And most likely on the mark.

I don't blame it all on the teachers. I blame the parents.

No doubt some kids have some kind of psychological problems. But it has become convenient to give kids drugs to control their behavior. My niece in law and her classmates, at one point, bragged about what designer drugs they were on. She has had to go cold turkey and control her own behavior with parental guidance.

It seems to be working...today at least.

bookmark

Trauma may be emotional, subtle and not doled out equally. One child may be designated the *goat* and the other sibs may be inculcated into this division by being relatively favored and being taught that all familial problems are the fault of the goat.

Once the goat is effectively isolated, of course, the other siblings may realize where the true fault lies, especially as the abuser(s) will usually move on to the next designated victim. However, individual sensitivity may be a result, not just a pre-existing condition or cause.

Obsessive-compulsive behavior,risk-taking, addiction, bi-polar disease can all take several different forms. There are high-achieving people who have survived these dysfunctional families while still having *hidden* outcomes. Some have other people, from family members to other role models to eventual spouses who can help even the more damaged people cope, if not completely overcome. Others learn to love and value themselves, anyway. Many simply gut it out and no one outside the family ever really knows what happened. The “it’s all about me” syndrome can actually originate as a coping mechanism.

BTW, addiction is not just drug-related. Gambling, eating disorders, over-spending or consistently choosing destructive friends/partners can all be addictive behaviors. Exercise, sports, and a drive to achieve can be addictions usually regarded as beneficial, while being evidence of similar childhood trauma. Many victims will turn to music, theater or art, often in a compulsive manner.

The article is simplistic. Everything exists as a spectrum or continuum and many pathologies can co-exist in the same person to different degrees. Like many genetic sortings, some percentage of people in the same family may be more immune or capable of resisting the effects of childhood trauma.

I have just described my own extended birth family. The damage can be survived, but it never completely disappears. With age, one can gain some insight, especially if the parent(s) live long enough that they reveal themselves to the world by continuing their behavior outside the family. I believe there are genetic predispositions to all of these behaviors on all sides. They can often be tracked generationally. Also, within each generation, some people will be born who carry the original defect in the form of some congenital condition, such as sociopathy or schizophrenia. Some of the worst outcomes may be due to two differently damaged people having children together and passing on combinations of problems.

It is complicated.

I won’t dismiss the effects of a poor upbringing, but might impulsive and compulsive people have had impulsive and compulsive parents as well—who likely would have raised children in a chaotic environment?