Individual traits and family contexts predict sons' externalizing behaviorand preliminary relative risk ratios for conduct disorder and substance use disorder outcomes

An ontogenetic framework for elucidating the etiology of substance use diso rders (SUD) requires identifying how individual traits and family contexts combine to increase risk for SUD outcomes. In this study, we examine indivi dual traits in family context to identify processes that account for the re lationship between fathers' SUD + status and sons' externalizing behaviors. Results obtained from SUD + (n = 89) and SUD - (n = 139) families show tha t fathers' abusive propensities toward their sons mediated the relationship between fathers' SUD + status and sons' externalizing behavior scale (EBS) scores 2 years later. Moreover, individual traits, family contextual varia bles and deviant peer affiliations accounted for 58% of the variance on son s' EBS scores. Also, high risk cluster (HRC) and low risk cluster (LRC) mem berships were derived from cluster analyses of the continuous risk factor s cores that predicted sons' EBS scores. Preliminary relative risk ratios sho w that sons classified into the HRC at age 10-12 were at greater risk for D SM-III-R conduct disorder and SUD outcomes at age 16 than sons assigned to the LRC, SUD + or SUD - groups. Implications for selected family-based prev ention initiatives are presented. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. Al l rights reserved.