Parental problem drinking and anxiety disorder symptoms in adult offspring- Examining the mediating role of anxiety sensitivity components

Preliminary studies have implicated childhood exposure to parental problem drinking as a possible factor in the development of anxiety sensitivity (AS ). The present retrospective study was designed to examine the role of expo sure to distressing parental problem drinking behaviors, over and above the role of parental alcoholism, in the development of various AS components ( psychological, physical, and social concerns) in the offspring. We also exa mined the possible mediating role of AS components in explaining relations between parental drinking problems and anxiety-related. symptoms in the adu lt offspring. A sample of 213 university students provided retrospective re ports of both distress related to parental drinking [Children of Alcoholics Screening Test (CAST)] and parental alcoholism [maternal and paternal form s of the Short Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test (SMAST)]. Participants al so reported on their own current AS levels [AS Index (ASI)], general anxiet y symptoms [State-Trait Anxiety Inventory-Trait subscale (STAI-T)], and lif etime history of uncued panic attacks [Panic Attack Questionnaire-Revised ( PAQ-R)]. Scores on the CAST predicted AS psychological and physical concern s (but not social concerns) over and above participant gender and parental alcoholism measured by the SMASTs. Moreover, AS psychological concerns prov ed a consistent modest mediator of the relations between parental problem d rinking on the CAST and both general anxiety and uncued panic outcomes in t he offspring. Thus, exposure to distressing parental problem drinking behav ior may be one factor that contributes to elevated AS psychological concern s in the child, which in turn may contribute to the development of anxiety disorder symptoms in the offspring. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All righ ts reserved.