Examination of the relationship between childhood traumas in university students and their coping attitudes, depression and use of alcohol

The purpose of this research is to examine the relationship between childhood traumas in university students and their coping attitudes, depression and use of alcohol. The sample of the research consisted of 299 students between the ages of 18 and 28 studying in different departments of Halic University and Istanbul University located in Istanbul province. Socio-demographic Information Form was applied in order to obtain socio-demographic information of the university students. Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ) was used in order to determine physical, sexual and emotional abuse and neglect, the Coping Attitudes Scale (CAS) was used in order to measure the coping attitudes in the face of stressful situations, and Beck Depression Scale (BDS) was used in order to determine depression levels, and the Michigan Alcohol Screening Test (MAST) was applied in order to determine the level of alcohol use of the university students. According to the results of the research, it was seen that the scores attained from Childhood Traumas Scale and Coping Attitudes Scale in terms of gender variable did not indicate a significant difference. However, the scores attained from Beck Depression Scale and Michigan Alcohol Screening Test indicated significant differences based on gender variable. It was also observed that childhood traumas significantly predicted the coping attitudes, depression and alcoholism.