PSYCHOLOGICAL MECHANISMS OF ENHANCED RISK OF ADDICTION IN CHILDREN OFALCOHOLICS - A DUAL PATHWAY

The background and rationale of a recently started project of the Amst erdam Institute for Addiction Research are outlined. This project is a imed at the psychological mechanisms underlying an enhanced risk of(la ter) addiction in children of alcoholics and the relationship with chi ldhood psychopathology. A dual pathway mechanism is proposed, in which the type of alcoholism of the parent plays a major role. The child of a multigenerational primary alcoholic parent may suffer from an inher ited mild dysfunction of the prefrontal cortex, expressed in neuropsyc hological and personality characteristics similar to those of the alco holic parent. These are impulsive, aggressive and reward-seeking behav iour, response perseveration and, in some children, related psychopath ology such as conduct disorders. For a child of a secondary alcoholic parent, another mechanism is proposed. In these children, stress and s ocial learning may lead to negative affectivity and repressive coping style, with emotional problems at a later age, and the risk of falling into the ''circle of secondary alcoholism''. In both pathways, alcoho l-related expectancies are suggested to constitute a ''final common pa thway'' between different risk factors and later alcohol abuse. Specif ic expectancies might be related to different pathways and to gender d ifferences in later drinking patterns.