Alexithymia mediates the association between childhood trauma and adolescent E-cigarette use

Benjelene D Sutherland; Nilofar Fallah-Sohy; Maciej Kopera; Andrzej Jakubczyk; Matthew T Sutherland; Elisa M Trucco

doi:10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2022.109500

Alexithymia mediates the association between childhood trauma and adolescent E-cigarette use

Drug Alcohol Depend. 2022 Jul 1:236:109500. doi: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2022.109500. Epub 2022 May 16.

Authors

Benjelene D Sutherland¹, Nilofar Fallah-Sohy², Maciej Kopera³, Andrzej Jakubczyk³, Matthew T Sutherland², Elisa M Trucco⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Psychology, Florida International University, USA; Center for Children and Families, Florida International University, USA; Research Center in Minority Institutions (RCMI), Florida International University, USA. Electronic address: bsutherl@fiu.edu.
² Department of Psychology, Florida International University, USA; Center for Children and Families, Florida International University, USA; Research Center in Minority Institutions (RCMI), Florida International University, USA.
³ Department of Psychiatry, Medical University of Warsaw, Poland.
⁴ Department of Psychology, Florida International University, USA; Center for Children and Families, Florida International University, USA; Research Center in Minority Institutions (RCMI), Florida International University, USA; Addiction Center, University of Michigan, USA; Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan, USA.

Abstract

Background: Adolescent electronic cigarette use (e-cigarette) is a public health concern and factors associated with vaping remain to be understood. Childhood emotional abuse/neglect is a risk factor for e-cigarettes. Yet, pathways by which trauma impacts use remain unclear. Alexithymia (i.e., difficulties identifying and describing feelings) is one possible link. Indeed, emotional abuse/neglect leads to difficulties identifying and verbalizing emotions. This impairment may lead to distress and promote e-cigarette use as a coping strategy.

Methods: Using parallel mediation, this study examined the degree to which alexithymia, assessed using the Toronto Alexithymia Scale, mediates the link between emotional abuse/neglect, assessed using the Child and Adolescent Trauma Screen, and e-cigarette use. The sample (n = 166) consisted of adolescents from a larger multi-wave study.

Results: Emotional abuse/neglect predicted difficulty describing feelings (effect = 0.23, p = 0.001), which in turn predicted e-cigarette use (effect = 0.30, p = 0.004). Moreover, difficulty describing feelings mediated the link between emotional abuse/neglect and e-cigarette use (sum of indirect 95% CI [1.68, 16.48]). Difficulty identifying feelings was not a significant mediator and the externally-oriented thinking subscale was excluded due to low reliability.

Conclusions: As e-cigarettes are often used in social contexts, teens who experience difficulty describing feelings may vape as a means of connecting emotionally with others. Moreover, nicotine, found in most e-cigarettes, releases dopamine and noradrenaline in the brain modulating action, learning, and memory processes; plausibly, improving verbalization of emotions. Programming which identifies nuances in alexithymia among adolescents with emotional abuse/neglect could mitigate e-cigarette use or delay initiation.

Keywords: Adolescence; Alexithymia; Childhood trauma; E-cigarette use; Emotional abuse; Emotional neglect.

Publication types

Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

MeSH terms

Adolescent
Adverse Childhood Experiences*
Affective Symptoms / psychology
Child
Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems*
Emotions
Humans
Reproducibility of Results
Vaping*

Abstract

Publication types

MeSH terms

Grants and funding