Predicting the Contribution of Age at First Substance Use and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder to Later Addiction Severity in a Clinical Sample from Sub-Saharan Africa: Implications for Prevention and Treatment

This study sought to examine the extent which age at first substance use contributes later addiction severity and how PTSD affects their relationships. The enrolled 315 patients from tertiary services in Rwanda. participants’ mean was 18.64 years (SD = 6.1) old. Age had a significant effect (β − 0.130, p .013) on severity. showed association with 0.363; < .001). variance explained by increased R2 adjusted .013 14.7; 14.7, this statistically F(8637) 28.054, .001. demonstrates that early coupled significantly predict more suggests prevention clinical practice aimed improving care outcomes should consider addessing potential consequences of associations between issues among persons seeking treatment services.