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The occurrence of alcoholism is clustered within families, but the detrimental effect of a positive family history may vary with the degree of family impairment involved. In this study, we assessed the effects of family history and family environment on alcohol misuse. From ongoing studies we recruited parents who had a child aged 18-30, 20 with a DSM-III-R alcohol dependence diagnosis, 20 without. The child then completed a multidimensional assessment. The young-adult participants included 20 men and 20 women (mean age=24.8). Differences by family history were restricted to substance abuse behaviors. While a high level of alcohol problems occurred in both groups, those with an alcohol-dependent parent were more likely to be heavy drinkers and showed more symptoms of alcohol dependence. Overall psychological adjustment did not differ between the groups, however. Alcohol misuse measures did correlate moderately with symptoms of poor emotional health. The most important correlates of alcohol misuse measures in this study were exposure to parental alcoholism, abusive punishment, and psychological symptoms, with some separation of effects in the two subgroups. Psychological symptoms had a stronger relationship with misuse in subjects with social-drinking parents, while abuse was more associated in the group with an alcohol-dependent parent. These results confirm the importance of environmental interactions with familial risk. A biological vulnerability from an alcohol-dependent parent was not sufficient or necessary for the participants in this study to develop alcohol dependence as a young adult, although there was an increased risk. There appear to be strong protective effects of positive family relationships on the potential negative effects of a family history of alcoholism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cognitive, academic, and behavioral problems have been reported w occur among school-aged children of alcoholics. Many of these reports have obtained data from very mixed samples of high risk subjects. The present study focused instead on a homogeneous non-disadvantaged sample of 50 male and female children of recovering alcoholics and compared them to 48 male and female children of non-alcoholics using a test battery assessing cognitive functioning. Included were measures of intelligence and academic performance as well as parental ratings and self ratings of perceived cognitive competence. Statistically significant differences between these two groups on Verbal, Performance, and Full Scale IQ were not found. Similarly, there were no significant differences in academic performance. However, there were significant differences in mother's perceptions and self-perceptions of cognitive competence. The pattern of results suggest evidence that cognitive functioning problems in non-disadvantaged children of alcoholics are subtle and perhaps less influential with regard to academic problems than maternal performance expectations and self perceptions of cognitive competence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents evidence documenting risks for affective problems and disorders among minor children of alcoholics. Subjects studied were 98 youths from alcoholic-headed and control families participating in a risk for alcoholism research project (Johnson & Roll, see next paper in this issue). Depressive affect questionnaires were completed by the mothers of the youths as well as the youths themselves. ANOVA's and ANCOVA's (co-varying for age) indicated significant group differences on both maternal and youth ratings with more affective problems shown for the offspring of alcoholics. Outliers with extreme depressive affect scores occurred most frequently for the youths in the high risk for alcoholism group. Findings are discussed with regard to risk group membership, gender, source of information, and the data's implications for further analyses as well as for the design of future studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The home environments of 32 children of alcoholic parents and 22 children with neither parent alcoholic are compared. The home environments of the children of alcoholics show diminished global functioning. In particular they are characterized by marital conflict, parent-child conflict, poor adaptive functioning on the part of the parents and in some cases by physical abuse. Out of the 32 children with alcoholic parents, a majority of the children received 1 or more DSM-III diagnoses. A comparison of the home environments of the children of alcoholics with and without psychiatric diagnoses shows that the homes oft he 'disturbed' children are characterized by a greater exposure to the effects of parental drinking, more parent-child conflict and less parent-child interaction than the homes of children who received no diagnoses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors aim to identify family environment factors that significantly decrease the risk to offspring of alcoholics to become alcoholics or to evidence other kinds of problems in childhood. This paper reports the results of a study regarding the impact of family ritual formation on the behavioral, cognitive, and emotional functioning of school-aged children of alcoholics, in comparison with children from a matched sample of families with non-alcoholic parents. Taking a family process perspective, the study demonstrates that those children growing up in alcoholic families which deliberately plan and execute family rituals, valued relationships, and preferred roles are less likely to evidence behavior or emotional problems. It is argued that families with serious problems, such as parental alcoholism, which can still impose control over those parts of family life that are central to the family's identity, communicate important messages to their children regarding their ability to take control of present and future life events. These messages, in turn, can play an important role in the extent to which the offspring are protected from developing problems in childhood, as well as alcoholism in adolescence and adulthood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are 28.6 million children of alcoholics in the United States; one out of every eight Americans. Many of them suffer negative physical, mental and emotional consequences as a result of parental alcoholism. Research investigations of their health status, cognitive abilities and adaptive behaviors confirm these problems although notable impediments to research efforts presently exist. Among the fruitful areas for future study are investigations which explore levels of vulnerability and risk factors for children of alcoholics in combination with genetic and psychosocial factors. Other recommendations for study as well as the major activities of the Children of Alcoholics Foundation to promote and disseminate research findings and new data are described. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors examine adolescent adjustments and the antecedents of DSM-III alcoholism and DSM-III personality disorder in a 33-year longitudinal study of inner-city, non-delinquent sons of alcoholic men (COA's). In early adolescence, the 174 COA's (38% of the sample) had more alcoholic relatives (in addition to fathers), more non-Mediterranean ethnicity, more environmental stresses, and poorer adjustments than their non-COA peers. Poor adolescent adjustment among COA's was associated with having a poor relationship with one's mother. By midlife, 28% of the COA's had developed alcohol dependence, and 25% were diagnosed with at least one personality disorder. Personality disorder but not alcoholism had strong continuities with adolescent adjustment problems. Alcohol dependence was predicted by total number of alcoholic relatives, non-Mediterranean ethnicity, low SES, and school behavior problems. Personality disorder was predicted by total environmental weaknesses, poor maternal relationships, low IQ, and feelings of inadequacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recognition of parental alcoholism as a risk factor for alcoholism is extremely important. Few other illnesses or social conditions have such a clear-cut marker. Its presence clearly forms the basis for public information programs, but development of more detailed, sophisticated prevention efforts is not now warranted because the scientific base is not strong enough. Preventive interventions proposed and adopted by the grass-roots children-of-alcoholics movement need to be tested under controlled conditions before committing public funds and health resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An interview study of 8-9-year-old New Zealand children and their mothers revealed considerable consistency in reports of the children's experience with alcohol. The majority had tried alcohol and a quarter had at least a sip or drink in a typical month. The context of use was a parental one for the majority of children. Two-thirds of their fathers and 40% of their mothers had at least one drink in a typical week and there was a small positive relationship between parents' use and the frequency of the child's alcohol use. The children's attitudes towards alcohol were assessed using the Jahoda Judgement of Photographs Task and despite their personal use of alcohol the majority of children demonstrated negative attitudes to alcohol. This was particularly marked among the half of the children who were aware of an alcohol-related problem in their immediate social environment. Among the other half of the children, unaware of any alcohol-related problems, there was a tendency for the children of parents who drank more to have more positive attitudes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although many workers have speculated about the nature of parental drinking models upon the development of attitudes towards, and knowledge of, alcoholic drink amongst children, there has until recently been no systematic study of these precise issues. In the present study, parents' own selfreported alcohol consumption was compared with children's knowledge of specific drinks and normative usage patterns. Whilst developmental trends were discerned in the results, most of the children made correct discriminations overall, very few scoring zero or negative (reversed) discrimination scores. Exhaustive examination of the data failed to reveal any consistent pattern of relationships between children's knowledge and the drinking model provided by their own parents. Precisely the same result was obtained from a similar study carried out by Penrose [5] in the U.S.A.. One can therefore have some confidence in the negative finding, which has important implications for health education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]