FAMILY HISTORY OF ALCOHOLISM AND CHILDHOOD ADVERSITY - JOINT EFFECTS ON ALCOHOL-CONSUMPTION AND DEPENDENCE

Empirical studies provide substantial evidence that having a family hi story of alcoholism increases the risk of developing alcohol dependenc e; however, some of this effect may be caused by nonspecific childhood socioeconomic adversity common in families with an alcohol-dependent parent. In this study, we examine joint effects of family history and childhood adversity within a sample of 509 men and 217 women over age 40. The measures analyzed were included in routine screening assessmen ts for participants in various studies at the University of Michigan A lcohol Research Center. About 60% of the men and 45% of the women were alcohol-dependent. About 30% reported an alcoholic parent. Degree of family history affected drinking behavior for both men and women. Ther e were also environmental effects on the same measures for both men an d women. Childhood socioeconomic adversity was reported more frequentl y by participants with an alcoholic parent, but adversity effects were also shown for those with a negative family history. The risk of alco hol dependence was additively increased by a positive family history a nd childhood socioeconomic adversity. The environmental effects identi fied in this study are promising evidence for nonspecific factors that moderate family history risk for development of alcohol problems.