REVIEW article
Front. Psychiatry
Sec. Adolescent and Young Adult Psychiatry
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2025.1612494
SCOPING REVIEW OF BIOLOGICAL AND PSYCHOSOCIAL PATHWAYS THAT LEAD FROM CHILDHOOD ADVERSITY TO EARLY-ONSET SUBSTANCE USE Author names and affiliations
Provisionally accepted
Maite Ramírez1
Asier Ugedo1
Lourdes Fañanás2
Guillermo Cano3
Pilar A Saiz4
Iñaki Zorrilla5
Ana González Pinto5*- 1Galdakao University Hospital, Galdakao, Spain
- 2University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
- 3Valencian International University, Castelló de la Plana, Valencia, Spain
- 4University of Oviedo, Oviedo, Asturias, Spain
- 5Hospital Santiago Apostol, Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain
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Background and objectives: Substance use in children and adolescents exposed to childhood adversity is a recognized risk factor for adverse outcomes in mental and physical health. However, few studies focus on the specific mechanisms that lead to it, assuming they are similar to those in adults. The purpose of this review is to explore the existing literature regarding etiological pathways between environmental adversities in childhood and early-onset substance use.Methods: A scoping review was conducted following PRISMA-ScR criteria, as the evidence is complex, heterogeneous, and relatively underexplored. Two independent reviewers searched Medline, Embase, PsycInfo, Web of Science, and grey literature individually for review studies on biological and psychosocial pathways that lead from childhood adversity to early onset substance. Only outcomes that applied to children and adolescents under 18 years were recorded.Results: Pathways that lead from childhood adversity to early-onset substance use appear to be multifactorial and non-linear. Stress induces changes in vulnerable neural circuits, affecting emotion regulation, decision-making, and intrapersonal and interpersonal functioning. These changes and additional drug-induced effects on the developing brain provoke a cascade of events that increase the risk of heavy and uncontrollable use.Conclusion: Developmental stage-specific factors may influence substance use in adolescents exposed to childhood adversity. Identifying mediators in this high-risk population is crucial to implementing efficacious preventive strategies.
Keywords: Scoping review, adolescents, Early-onset, substance use, childhood, adversity, maltreatment
Received: 15 Apr 2025; Accepted: 28 May 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Ramírez, Ugedo, Fañanás, Cano, Saiz, Zorrilla and González Pinto. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Ana González Pinto, Hospital Santiago Apostol, Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.