NCJ Number
188945
Journal
Substance Use and Misuse Volume: 36 Issue: 5 Dated: 2001 Pages: 609-638
Date Published
2001
Length
30 pages
Annotation
Information from interviews conducted in 1991 with 20 adult children of alcoholics (ACOAs) and 20 adult children of social drinking parents (non-ACOAs) formed the basis of an analysis of direct and indirect associations between family history for alcoholism and alcohol misuse in young adults.
Abstract
The participants described family functioning while growing up, as well as indicators of their own alcohol consumption. Parental factors described included unpredictability, uninvolvement, rejection, and abusive punishment. Indicators of participants’ alcohol consumption included the age at which they began drinking, high school drinking frequency, average quantity drunk during high school, and average lifetime quantity. Results revealed that family history for alcoholism had a direct association with two aspects of drinking. ACOA’s reported more lifetime drinks and tended to report drinking more frequently during high school, as compared to non-ACOAs. ACOA’s also reported more parental unpredictability, which in turn was associated with the same drinking indicators. Finally, family history for alcoholism had an indirect association with drinking, because unpredictability mediated this relationship. The analysis concluded that the importance of predictability in parenting cannot be overemphasized in primary prevention efforts and that children with more unpredictable parents may be an appropriate target group for secondary prevention. The analysis also concluded that parents who are unpredictable in responding to their children could be identified and educated on the importance of consistency with regarding family rituals, rules, and discipline. Tables, figure, and 75 references (Author abstract modified)