AN ADOPTION STUDY OF DRUG-ABUSE DEPENDENCY IN FEMALES

In a sample of 102 women who had been adopted at birth, drug abuse/dep endency was found by log-linear analyses to have a major pathway of ge netic etiology that started with a biologic parent with antisocial per sonality and led to an adoptee with conduct disorder and then through aggressivity to drug abuse/dependency, as well as from conduct disorde r directly to drug abuse. This result was similar to findings from a m ale sample collected from the same agencies and at the same time, wher ein antisocial biologic parents produced aggressive and conduct-disord ered offspring, who in turn became drug abusers/dependents as adults. Results are compatible with family studies demonstrating that female d rug abusers stem from deviant families and themselves demonstrate soci ally deviant behavior early in life. The present study shows that one element of familial factors is genetic, and that, in addition, the fam ily environment directly affects behavior (aggressivity) that leads to drug abuse/dependency. Copyright (C) 1996 by W.B. Saunders Company