Alcohol-related problems of children of heavy-drinking parents.
Alcohol-related problems that are experienced by sons and daughters of heavy-drinking parents (either father or mother) are examined using data from a 1978 household sample of employed adults in metropolitan Detroit. Adult children with heavy-drinking parents were found to have a higher percentage of dependent problem drinking than those without heavy-drinking parents. Also, adult children with low status (blue-collar) occupations were found to have a higher percentage of dependent problem drinking than those with high status (white-collar) occupations. Although it was not possible to disentangle the genetic processes from the social processes in this study, the results support the hypothesis that having both heavy-drinking parents and low occupational status places sons and daughters at elevated risk for alcohol-related problems. Implications for future epidemiological studies are discussed.
Parker
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Division of Biometry and Epidemiology, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, Rockville, Maryland 20852.
Harford
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TC
D000428:Alcohol Drinking; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000235:genetics* / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009790:Occupations; D010290:Parents; D012307:Risk Factors; D012923:Social Class