PSYCHOPATHOLOGY IN CHILDREN OF ALCOHOLICS

Objective: To assess psychopathology in 125 and 158 children who are o ffspring of alcoholic and control parents. Method: Parents and childre n were interviewed by means of structured interviews. Parents were int erviewed about themselves and about their children. Teacher reports we re obtained. A total of 158 young people ages 6 to 18 years were in th e study, although some of the analyses use only 125. Results: Children of alcoholic parents showed higher rates of oppositional and conduct disorders but not attention deficit disorder. Children of alcoholic pa rents did not have significantly higher rates of depression, but they may be at risk for anxiety. These children also showed increased incid ence of alcohol and other substance use but not abuse or dependence as defined by DSM-III. Few differences were detected with respect to sel f-esteem and achievement tests among the groups. There were no differe nces in the rates of psychopathology between offspring of alcoholic ve rsus antisocial parents. Conclusion: These data indicate that children of alcoholics exhibit high rates of psychopathology and may be at ris k specifically for oppositional and conduct disorders but not for depr ession. There are few differences between alcoholics and controls with respect to self-esteem and achievement tests.