Substance Abuse and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and substance use disorders (SUDs) frequently co-occur. Among individuals seeking treatment for SUDs, approximately 36% to 50% meet criteria for lifetime PTSD. The self-medication and susceptibility hypotheses are two of the hypotheses that have been proposed to help explain the etiological relationship between PTSD and SUDs. It is also possible that common factors, such as genetic, neurobiological, or environmental factors, contribute to the high rate of PTSD-SUD co-occurrence. Preliminary results from integrated psychotherapy approaches for the treatment of patients with both disorders show promise. This article reviews these and other advances in the study of comorbid PTSD and SUDs, and suggests areas for future work.