MEDIATING THE ROLE OF FAMILY FUNCTIONING, CHILDHOOD TRAUMA AND ADDICTIVE BEHAVIORS

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to examine the mediating role of family functioning with regards to the relation between childhood trauma and addictive behaviors. It employed correlational research design and non-probability purposive sampling technique. This sample was composed of 200 adults aged between 18 and 55 years. The assessment tools used were standardized measures that included Demographics Information Form (DIF), Family Functioning Style Scale (Deal et al.,1988), Childhood Trauma Questionnaire-Short Form (Bernstein & Fink, 1998), and Addictive Behavior Questionnaire (Christo et al., 2003). An analysis of data was performed through reliability analysis, Pearson product-moment correlation, multiple regression analysis, and mediation analysis. The results showed that there is a strong positive correlation between childhood trauma and family functioning and addictive behaviors. It was shown that childhood trauma is highly linked to addictive behaviors in adulthood. Additionally, family functioning significantly contributed to addictive behaviors and it met the criteria of mediation between childhood trauma and addictive behaviors. These findings bring out the relevance of looking at the family in dealing with early traumatic experiences as to the cause of addiction. The study suggests that the therapeutic and preventive interventions aimed at addressing the enhancement of family functioning should be conducted, which can also minimize the long-term impacts of childhood trauma and increase the likelihood of avoiding addictive behaviors

Keywords:

Family Functioning, Childhood Trauma, Addictive Behaviors