Originally Posted by
LifeChanges 
If someone has been sexually and physically abused, by more than one person, does that increase your chance of having addictive behaviors?
Absolutely.. I like to compare it to how our veterans that have come back from wars and have done or seen horrific things are also much more likely to be an addict/alcoholic.
But I think it is very important to not use the traumatic experience(s) as excuse to keep drinking or using drugs. No matter how bad the situation or event that happened is it is possible fight through it and live a normal happy life with counseling, medication etc... Elizabeth Smart is a good example of this.
Alcohol/Drugs will cause a temporary escape but in the long term it will make everything much worse. It is a terrible idea to self-medicate this way.