Gender differences in the development of substance-related problems: The impact of family history of alcoholism, family history of violence and childhood conduct problems

Objective: This study examined gender differences regarding the relative in fluence of family history of alcoholism (FHA) and family history of violenc e (FHV) on reported childhood conduct problems (CCP) and adult problems wit h alcohol, drugs and violence. Method: The participants were 110 men and 10 3 women with alcohol-related problems recruited within 30 days of enrolling in treatment for substance abuse or dependence. Participants completed sel f-report measures of pretreatment violence, MV, CCP, substance use and cons equences, and demographics; a semi-structured interview was used to assess FHA. Results: Structural equation modeling (SEM) analyses revealed gender d ifferences with regard to the influence of FHA and FHV as important factors in the development of childhood and adult behavioral problems. For women, the influence of FHA on subsequent childhood conduct problems and adult pro blems with alcohol was accounted for by FHV. For men, FHA was not directly associated with CCP or adult problems with alcohol and violence, but was as sociated with adult drug problems. For both men and women, FHV was associat ed with CCP. and CCP were associated with adult problems with drugs and vio lence. Conclusions: Overall, the analyses illustrate the relative importanc e of FHV as a risk factor in the developmental course leading to problems w ith drugs and violence among individuals with alcohol-related problems enro lled in treatment for substance abuse or dependence. Further, there was evi dence that women may be impacted more than men by family background variabl es (both FHA and FHV) in terms of the development of adult problems with al cohol, drugs and violence.