Children of alcoholics. Predictors for psychopathology and addiction.
Children of alcoholics have a higher risk of psychopathology and alcoholism. Therefore, in 1993 the Amsterdam Institute for Addiction Research initiated a study on vulnerability markers and risk factors in children of alcoholics, aimed at identifying predictors for the development of psychopathology and addiction in children of alcoholics. This article provides a summary of the background, rationales and aims of the study. With more specific and sensitive biological vulnerability markers that indicate risk status, more effective preventive interventions might become available. The biochemical part of the study aims at answering the question whether adenylate cyclase is a vulnerability marker for alcoholism. The psychophysiological part is directed at event-related potentials during task performance to clarify the nature of the brain and cognitive functions that may underlie or relate to vulnerability to alcoholism. The third part, the psychological component, aims at possible psychological mechanisms of enhanced risk of addition in children of alcoholics as well as the relationship with childhood psychopathology.
Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, University of Amsterdam/Amsterdam Institute for Addiction Research, The Netherlands.
W B
WB
Gunning
S E
SE
Pattiselanno
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O
van der Stelt
R W
RW
Wiers
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000209:etiology*; D002648:Child; D016241:Child of Impaired Parents; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000209:etiology*; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D012307:Risk Factors