Sounds like pop psychology. There are tons of extremely addictive substances.
Try one and you will get addicted after a while, even if your whole childhood was hugs and roses and ponies.
Maybe, but why would it be due to childhood trauma alone?
I can imagine someone with a happy childhood and a big 20-something or 30-something trauma (loss, divorce, various other issues) falling for drugs/alcohol addiction for the first time just the same.
Veterans who had many Adverse Childhood Experiences (A high ACE score), such as coming from a broken home, or faced neglect and isolation growing up, were much more likely to become addicted to the opioids they were given to treat pain.
Veterans at that stage are also usually young, so if they came from a broken home, or had isolation growing up, they'd still return to something like that.
What about veterans that have build a succesful family and working life in between (aside from having had childhood trauma)?
Do you have any evidence as basis for your theory?