Childhood Adversity and Substance Use Disorder in Greenland Show Gender Differences
Among Greenlandic adults in substance use treatment, women who experienced physical abuse or had parents with cannabis problems were significantly more likely to report high cannabis use.
Quick Facts
What This Study Found
Among women in treatment, parental cannabis abuse and physical abuse during childhood were significantly associated with high cannabis use. Among men, no significant link between specific adverse childhood experiences and substance type was found.
Key Numbers
N=1,037. 74.6% of women and 62.7% of men reported growing up with a parent with alcohol problems. Women showed higher prevalence and greater variety of ACE than men. No cumulative dose-response effect of total ACE count on substance type was found.
How They Did This
Register-based analysis of 1,037 adults receiving substance use disorder treatment in Greenland from June 2020 to December 2022, examining associations between adverse childhood experiences (ACE) and substance use patterns.
Why This Research Matters
Most ACE and substance use research comes from large Western countries. This study adds perspective from Greenland, where historical trauma and substance use challenges have distinct patterns. The gender-specific findings suggest treatment approaches may need to differ for men and women.
The Bigger Picture
The finding that parental cannabis use specifically predicted offspring cannabis use (among women) points to intergenerational transmission patterns that may involve both genetic and environmental pathways. The absence of a cumulative ACE effect challenges the simple 'more ACEs, worse outcomes' narrative.
What This Study Doesn't Tell Us
Register-based data from treatment-seeking individuals may not represent the broader population. Self-reported ACE data is subject to recall bias. The relatively small sample size limits statistical power for subgroup analyses. Greenlandic context may limit generalizability.
Questions This Raises
- ?Why the gender difference in ACE-substance associations exists
- ?Whether culturally adapted treatment addressing specific ACE types could improve outcomes in Greenland
Trust & Context
- Key Stat:
- Evidence Grade:
- Register-based data provides reliable treatment records, but cross-sectional design and treatment-seeking sample limit causal and population-level conclusions.
- Study Age:
- Published 2025, using 2020-2022 treatment data from Greenland.
- Original Title:
- Prevalence of adverse childhood experiences among individuals in treatment for substance use disorder: are ACE associated differently across type of abuse and quantity of consumption?
- Published In:
- International journal of circumpolar health, 84(1), 2439122 (2025)
- Database ID:
- RTHC-07565
Evidence Hierarchy
Watches what happens naturally without intervening.
What do these levels mean? →Frequently Asked Questions
Why study this in Greenland specifically?
Greenland has high rates of both adverse childhood experiences and substance use disorders, partly linked to historical colonial trauma. Understanding these patterns can inform locally relevant treatment approaches.
Does having more adverse childhood experiences always lead to worse substance problems?
Not in this study. The researchers did not find a cumulative effect where more ACEs meant more severe substance use, suggesting the type of adversity may matter more than the total count.
Read More on RethinkTHC
Cite This Study
https://rethinkthc.com/research/RTHC-07565APA
Sandgård Poulsen, Helena; Georgi, Rikke Dyrberg; Niclasen, Birgit. (2025). Prevalence of adverse childhood experiences among individuals in treatment for substance use disorder: are ACE associated differently across type of abuse and quantity of consumption?. International journal of circumpolar health, 84(1), 2439122. https://doi.org/10.1080/22423982.2024.2439122
MLA
Sandgård Poulsen, Helena, et al. "Prevalence of adverse childhood experiences among individuals in treatment for substance use disorder: are ACE associated differently across type of abuse and quantity of consumption?." International journal of circumpolar health, 2025. https://doi.org/10.1080/22423982.2024.2439122
RethinkTHC
RethinkTHC Research Database. "Prevalence of adverse childhood experiences among individual..." RTHC-07565. Retrieved from https://rethinkthc.com/research/sandgard-2025-prevalence-of-adverse-childhood
Access the Original Study
Study data sourced from PubMed, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health.
This study breakdown was produced by the RethinkTHC research team. We analyze and report published research findings without making health recommendations. All interpretations are based solely on the published abstract and study data.