This study investigates familial alcoholism effects and the comparative probability of risk for alcohol dependence in adult children of alcoholics (ACAs) with a control group of non-ACAs. A cohort of 12,686 young adults from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY) is examined over a five-year period and conventional and lineal intergenerational models of alcoholism transmission are assessed. The results of multivariate logistic regression analyses indicate that the risk is relatively greater for male ACAs; sons of alcoholics drink significantly more heavily, experience problems earlier, and develop alcohol dependence more extensively than female ACAs or non-ACAs of either gender. The extent of dependence found in subjects with a lineal history of alcoholism on the father's side of the family, as well as heavy drinking, cigarette smoking and drinking onset in adolescence should be considered as critical predisposing factors of high risk for dependence at later ages. These observations corroborate clinical studies and support a growing body of biopsychosocial research literature.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
BrownS., Adult Children of Alcoholics; the History of a Social Movement and Its Impact on Clinical Theory and Practice, in Recent Developments in Alcoholism, Vol. 9, GalanterM. (ed.), Plenum Press, New York, pp. 267–285, 1991.
2.
SchoenbornC., Exposure to Alcoholism in the Family: United States, 1988, Advance Data from Vital and Health Statistics, 205, National Center for Health Statistics, Hyattsville, Maryland, 1991.
3.
CottonN., The Familial Incidence of Alcoholism, Journal of Studies on Alcohol, 40, pp. 89–116, 1979.
4.
WindleM.SearlesJ. (eds.), Children of Alcoholics: Critical Perspectives, Guilford Press, New York, 1990.
5.
DinwiddieS.ReichJ., Epidemiological Perspectives on Children of Alcoholics, in Recent Developments in Alcoholism, Vol. 9, GalanterM. (ed.), Plenum Press, New York, pp. 287–299, 1991.
6.
BrownS., Treating Adult Children of Alcoholics: A Developmental Perspective, John Wiley, New York, 1988.
7.
JacobI.SeilhamerR., Alcoholism and the Family, in Society, Culture and Drinking Patterns Reexamined, PittmanD.WhiteH. (eds.), Rutgers Center of Alcohol Studies, New Brunswick, New Jersey, pp. 613–630, 1991.
8.
WilsnackS.BeckmanL., Alcohol Problems in Women: Antecedents, Consequences, and Intervention, Guilford Press, New York, 1984.
9.
HellerK.SherK.BensonC., Problems Associated with Risk Overprediction in Studies of Offspring of Alcoholics: Implications for Prevention, General Psychological Review, 2, pp. 183–200, 1982.
10.
RudyD., The Adult Children of Alcoholics Movement: A Social Constructionist Perspective, in Society, Culture and Drinking Patterns Reexamined, PittmanD.WhiteH. (eds.), Rutgers Center of Alcohol Studies, New Brunswick, New Jersey, pp. 716–732, 1991.
11.
DrakeR.VaillantG., Predicting Alcoholism and Personality Disorder in a 33 Year Longitudinal Study of Children of Alcoholics, British Journal of Addictions, 83, pp. 799–807, 1988.
12.
SherK., Children of Alcoholics: A Critical Appraisal of Theory and Research, University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1991.
13.
HarfordT.ParkerD.GrantB., Family History, Alcohol Use and Dependence Symptoms among Young Adults in the United States, Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 16:6, pp. 1042–1046, 1992.
14.
WindleM., On the Validity of a Family History of Problem Drinking Index with a National Sample of Young Adults, Journal of Studies on Alcohol, 57, pp. 378–386, 1996.
15.
GoodwinD., The Etiology of Alcoholism, in Society, Culture and Drinking Patterns Reexamined, PittmanD.WhiteH. (eds.), Rutgers Center of Alcohol Studies, New Brunswick, New Jersey, pp. 598–608, 1991.
16.
SearlesJ., Behavior Genetic Research and Risk for Alcoholism among Children of Alcoholics, in Children of Alcoholics; Critical Perspectives, WindleM.SearlesJ. (eds.), Guilford Press, New York, pp. 99–128, 1990.
17.
LightJ.IrvineK.KjerulfL., Estimating Genetic and Environmental Effects of Alcohol Use and Dependence from a National Survey: A “Quasi-Adoption”, Study Journal of Studies on Alcohol, 57, pp. 507–520, 1996.
18.
SherK., Children of Alcoholics and the Intergenerational Transmission of Alcoholism: A Biopsychosocial Perspective, in Addictive Behavior across the Life Span; Prevention, Treatment, and Policy Issues, BaerJ.MarlattG.McMahonR. J. (eds.), Sage Publications, Newbury Park, California, pp. 3–33, 1993.
19.
WernerE., Resilient Offspring of Alcoholics: A Longitudinal Study from Birth to Age 18, Journal of Studies on Alcohol, 47, pp. 34–40, 1986.
20.
SerrinsD.EdmunsonE.LaftinM., Implication for the Alcohol/Drug Education Specialist Working with Children of Alcoholics—A Review of the Literature from 1988 to 1992, Journal of Drug Education, 25, pp. 171–190, 1995.
21.
GordisE., Children of Alcoholics: Are They Different? DHHS Publication No. 9, in Alcohol Alert, PH 208, NIAAA, Rockville, Maryland, p. 3, 1990.
22.
NLS Handbook, The National Longitudinal Surveys of Labor Market Experience, Center for Human Resource Research, Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, 1995.
23.
ParkerD. A.HarfordT., The Epidemiology of Alcohol Consumption and Dependence across Occupations in the United States, Alcohol Health and Research World, 16, pp. 97–105, 1992.
24.
MenardS., Longitudinal Research, Sage Publications, Newbury Park, California, 1991.
25.
TurnerW.CutterH.WorobecT.O'FarrellT.BayogR.TsuangM., Family History Models of Alcoholism: Age of Onset, Consequences and Dependence, Journal of Studies on Alcohol, 54, pp. 164–171, 1993.
26.
SchuckitM., A Longitudinal Study of Children of Alcoholics, in Recent Developments in Alcoholism, Vol. 9, GalanterM. (ed.), Plenum, New York, pp. 5–19, 1991.
27.
RoomR., Measuring Alcohol Consumption in the U.S.: Methods and Rationales, in Alcohol in America: Drinking Practices and Problems, ClarkW.HiltonM. (eds.), State University of New York Press, Albany, pp. 26–50, 1991.
28.
JennisonK.JohnsonK., Drinking Induced Blackouts among Young Adults: Results from a National Survey, International Journal of Addictions, 29:1, pp. 23–51, 1994.
29.
APA, Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Third Edition, Revised, American Psychiatric Association, Washington, D.C., 1987.
30.
ReichT.CloningerC.Van EerdeweghP.RiceJ.MullaneyJ., Secular Trends in the Familial Transmission of Alcoholism, Alcoholism, 12, pp. 458–464, 1988.
31.
HasinD.GlickH., Severity of DSM-III-R Alcohol Dependence: United States, 1988, British Journal of Addictions, 87, pp. 1725–1730, 1992.
32.
StinsonF.DeBakeyS.SteffinsR., Prevalence of DSM-III-R Alcohol Abuse and/or Dependence among Selected Occupations, United States, 1988, Alcohol Health and Research World, 16, pp. 165–172, 1992.
33.
CaetanoR., The Association between Severity of DSM-III-R Alcohol Dependence and Medical and Social Consequences, Addiction, 88, pp. 631–642, 1993.
34.
HosmerD.LemeshowS., Applied Logistic Regression, John Wiley, New York, 1989.
35.
BaborT., Overview: Demography, Epidemiology and Pyschopharmacology—Making Sense of the Connections, Addiction, 89, pp. 1391–1396, 1994.
36.
SchuckitM.SweeneyS., Substance Use and Mental Health Problems of Alcoholics and Controls, Journal of Studies on Alcohol, 48, pp. 528–533, 1987.
37.
SchuckitM., A Long-Term Study of Sons of Alcoholics, Alcohol Health & Research World, 19, pp. 172–175, 1995.
38.
PenickE.PowellB.BinghamS.LiskowB.MillerN.ReadM., A Comparative Study of Familial Alcoholism, Journal of Studies on Alcohol, 48:1, pp. 136–146, 1987.
39.
McCordJ., Identifying Developmental Paradigms Leading to Alcoholism, Journal of Studies on Alcohol, 49, pp. 357–362, 1988.
40.
ParkerD.HarfordT., Alcohol-Related Problems of Children of Heavy Drinking Parents, Journal of Studies on Alcohol, 48, pp. 265–268, 1987.
41.
HarfordT.HaackM.SpieglerD., Epidemiologic Bulletin No. 18: Positive Family History for Alcoholism, Alcohol Health and Research World, 12, pp. 138–143, 1987/1988.
42.
HillM.NordJ.BlowF., Young-Adult Children of Alcoholic Parents: Protective Efforts of Positive Family Functioning, British Journal of Addiction, 87, pp. 1677–1690, 1992.
43.
JennisonK.JohnsonK., Drinking Problems in Adult Children of Alcoholics: Evidence from a National Survey, proceedings of the 88th Annual Meeting of the American Sociological Association, Miami, Florida, 1993.
44.
GrantB.HarfordT.GrigsonM., Stability of Alcohol Consumption among Youth: A National Longitudinal Study, Journal of Alcohol Studies, 49, pp. 253–260, 1988.
45.
HeatherN.RobertsonI., Problem Drinking, Oxford University Press, New York, 1989.
46.
JohnsonJ.SherK.RolfJ., Models of Vulnerability to Psychopathology in Children of Alcoholics: An Overview, Alcohol Health & Research World, 15, pp. 33–42, 1991.
47.
SchuckitM.SweeneyS., A Study of Young Men with Alcoholic Close Relatives, American Journal of Psychiatry, 139, pp. 791–794, 1982.
48.
SchuckitM., Subjective Responses to Alcohol in Sons of Alcoholics and Control Subjects, Archives of General Psychiatry, 41, pp. 879–884, 1984.
49.
PollockV., Meta-Analysis of Subjective Sensitivity to Alcohol in Sons of Alcoholics, American Journal of Psychiatry, 149, pp. 1534–1538, 1992.
50.
JohnsonK.JennisonK., The Drinking-Smoking Syndrome and Social Context, The International Journal of the Addictions, 27, pp. 749–791, 1992.
51.
GulliverS.RohsenowD.ColbyS., Interrelationship of Smoking and Alcohol Dependence, Journal of Studies on Alcohol, 56, pp. 202–206, 1995.
52.
BreslauN.PetersonE.SchultzL.AndreskiP.ChilcoatH., Are Smokers with Alcohol Disorders Less Likely to Quit?American Journal of Public Health, 86, pp. 985–990, 1996.
53.
SchuckitM.SweeneyS., The Misclassification of Family History Status in Studies of Children of Alcoholics, Journal of Studies of Alcohol, 56, pp. 47–50, 1995.
54.
SlutskeW.HeathA.MaddenP., Reliability and Reporting Biases for Perceived Parental History of Alcohol-Related Problems: Agreement between Twins and Differences between Discordant Pairs, Journal of Studies on Alcohol, 57, pp. 387–395, 1996.
55.
HaveyJ.DoddD., Classifying COAs with Three Variations of the CAST: Classification Rates, Stability, and Gender Differences, Addictive Behaviors, 20, pp. 501–507, 1995.
56.
CohenA.CallahanJ., The Diagnosis and Treatment of Drug and Alcohol Abuse, Haworth Press, New York, 1986.
57.
GombergE., Women and Alcohol: Psychosocial Aspects, in Society, Culture and Drinking Patterns Reexamined, PittmanJ.WhitesH. (eds.), Rutgers Center of Alcohol Studies, New Brunswick, New Jersey, pp. 263–284, 1991.
58.
RussellM., Prevalence of Alcoholism among Children of Alcoholics, in Children of Alcoholics: Critical Perspectives, WindleM.SearlesJ. (eds.), Guilford Press, New York, pp. 9–38, 1990.
59.
FillmoreK.GoldingJ.LeinoE., Cross-National Comparisons of Drinking Behavior as Determined from the Collaborative Alcohol-Related Longitudinal Project, Alcohol Health & Research World, 17:3, pp. 198–204, 1993.
