Research: Study shows arousal extremes may predict addictive behaviors in college students
For decades, researchers and clinicians have recognized a strong link between childhood trauma and later addictive behaviors. Yet a key question remains: what explains that connection?
New research from Amanda Giordano in the Department of Counseling and Human Development Services found that arousal dysregulation—or disrupted functioning of the autonomic nervous system—may predict substance use and behavioral addictions in college students.
“We wanted to explore the extent to which childhood trauma affects college students’ engagement in potentially addictive behaviors, but mediated through hyperarousal or hypoarousal,” said associate professor Giordano. “We believe that trauma and addiction have a complex relationship that we want to try to understand better. People who’ve experienced early trauma may oscillate in between hyperarousal and hypoarousal at different times and then turn to different addictive behaviors in an attempt to regulate their internal states.”