# CHILDHOOD SEXUAL ABUSE AND PROBLEM DRINKING IN WOMEN: NEUROBEHAVIORAL MECHANISMS

> **NIH NIH R01** · WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY · 2020 · $552,381

## Abstract

Abstract (Project Summary)
The overall goal of the proposed project is to elucidate neurobehavioral mechanisms underlying the
relationships between a history of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) and alcohol and other substance use
outcomes in women. Women with CSA history have earlier onset of alcohol misuse and higher rates of alcohol
use disorders, even after controlling for family background factors influencing both CSA exposure and problem
drinking, such as family history of alcoholism. Converging evidence suggests that CSA and its consequences
for brain development may constitute a distinct etiological pathway to alcoholism in women. However, neural,
cognitive, affective, and behavioral processes and mechanisms underlying the link between CSA and alcohol
abuse are not well understood. Existing research on neurobehavioral consequences of CSA have typically
relied on small samples and insufficiently matched control groups limiting control for family-level confounding
factors and causal inferences. The proposed study seeks to address these gaps in knowledge and
methodological challenges by utilizing a unique resource consisting of several large, well-characterized,
longitudinal samples and implementing a model-driven set of experimental paradigms to test the hypothesis
that problem drinking in CSA+ women is mediated by biased affective processing and dysfunction in cognitive
control, leading to dysregulated affect and, consequently, coping motives for drinking. The proposed studies
are strongly grounded in the current theories of addiction and supported by preliminary findings from our
laboratory. Young adult women with a history of early CSA (n=80) and propensity score-matched controls
(n=120, including 40 CSA- co-twins from CSA-discordant MZ twin pairs) will participate in a laboratory session
involving face-to-face interviews, behavioral and cognitive testing, and the recording of quantitative EEG and
ERPs in several behavioral paradigms. The following Specific Aims will be pursued: 1) to elucidate behavioral
and psychophysiological mechanisms underlying the relationship between CSA, alcohol, and other substance
use outcomes in women, 2) to examine alcohol cue reactivity (ACR) in CSA+ and CSA- women and its
relationship with drinking motives and problem drinking, and 3) to determine whether observed differences
associated with CSA represent consequences of abuse rather than pre-existing vulnerabilities by using the
cotwin control design. In summary, the proposed project is aimed at bridging important gaps in knowledge and
will be one of the first well-powered and well-controlled inquiries into the neurobehavioral pathways and
mechanisms underlying an important etiological pathway to alcoholism in women. Several aspects of the
proposed research are particularly novel: the use of propensity score matching and discordant twin analyses to
control for potential confounding variables, focus on a specific etiological pathway to alcoholism in women; and
...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9867606
- **Project number:** 5R01AA025646-03
- **Recipient organization:** WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Andrey P. Anokhin
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $552,381
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2018-02-10 → 2023-01-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9867606

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9867606, CHILDHOOD SEXUAL ABUSE AND PROBLEM DRINKING IN WOMEN: NEUROBEHAVIORAL MECHANISMS (5R01AA025646-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9867606. Licensed CC0.

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