Research demonstrates that substance-abusing individuals report
substantially higher rates of childhood sexual and physical abuse than
the general population. This study sought to test a method of
identifying substance-abusing clients with histories of childhood
sexual and/or physical abuse and to explore the differences between
those reporting childhood abuse and those not. Files of substance
abusing clients from two distinct time periods were examined for
reports of childhood abuse. At Time 1 (n = 399) clients were not
systematically asked about experiences of childhood abuse, and at Time
2 (n = 305) clients were routinely asked about this issue. Results
indicate that significantly more male and female clients disclosed
childhood abuse at Time 2. Additionally, male clients reporting
childhood abuse appeared more distressed than those not reporting
abuse; female clients reporting childhood abuse did not appear more
distressed than their counterparts.