Familial transmission of alcohol use: IV. A seventeen-year follow-up on the relationships between parent and adult offspring alcohol use; Tecumseh, Michigan.
The sample for this study comprised 190 three member sets of father, mother, and adult son or daughter who were first interviewed in 1960 as part of Cardiovascular Examination I of the Tecumseh Community Health Study. At that time, alcohol data were collected from self-reports for both parents and offspring. In 1977 alcohol data were again collected for the adult offspring only, from self-reports. In 1960 offspring's drinking was significantly related to both fathers' and mothers' drinking and remained so in 1977 despite shifts over time in the proportions of offspring across five alcohol use categories. The majority of offspring did not fall into their parents' category, but the mode by and large reflected the parent category. The majority of offspring of non-drinkers did drink, but at low and not high volume; the majority of offspring of high volume drinkers drank at lower levels than their parents, and were not likely to be life-long abstainers, although they may have become past drinkers. Two non-drinking parents reinforced non-drinking in their adult offspring and two drinking parents reinforced the early onset and persistence of high volume drinking. Among offspring who changed their drinking level between 1960 and 1977, those who had drunk less than their parents were the most likely to have increased their drinking, and those who had drunk more than their parents were the most likely to have decreased their drinking. Patterns observed in this study may be viewed as intrafamilial sources of drinking stability transmitted across generations in a single community.
Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor 48103.
L
L
Gleiberman
E
E
Harburg
W
W
Di Franceisco
A
A
Schork
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D005190:Family / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008824:Michigan; D008875:Middle Aged; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013695:Temperance