The impact of maternal drinking during and after pregnancy on the drinking of adolescent offspring.
OBJECTIVE
The impact of prenatal maternal drinking on alcohol consumption in adolescent offspring was examined among boys and girls separately.


METHODS
A prospective longitudinal sample of 185 mother-firstborn child dyads was used to examine the impact of maternal self-reported alcohol consumption during pregnancy on adolescent self-reported lifetime and current drinking, controlling for potential confounding factors.


RESULTS
In this representative general population sample, maternal drinking during pregnancy, particularly continuous moderate to heavy consumption, had a significant positive effect on adolescent daughters' current drinking, but a slight negative effect on sons' lifetime drinking. The sex-specific prenatal effect on current drinking persisted with controls for prenatal maternal cigarette smoking, current maternal drinking, child-rearing practices (i.e., maternal-child closeness, monitoring and a rule against drinking) and the adolescent's problem behaviors in childhood. Prenatal maternal smoking was also associated with elevated rates of adolescent drinking, particularly current drinking. Of the child-rearing variables, only a rule against drinking decreased adolescent drinking.


CONCLUSIONS
Selected prenatal factors may constitute risks for alcohol consumption among adolescent daughters. The results are discussed in light of animal models that document increased vulnerability among female offspring to the deleterious effects of gestational alcohol exposure. Implications for understanding the risk factors associated with adolescent alcohol use are discussed.
Griesler
P C
PC
Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University, New York, New York 10032, USA.
Kandel
D B
DB
D000293:Adolescent; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000523:psychology*; D002648:Child; D002653:Child Behavior Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology; D016241:Child of Impaired Parents / Q000523:psychology*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D063647:Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D009034:Mother-Child Relations; D009035:Mothers / Q000523:psychology*; D016487:Parenting / Q000523:psychology; D011247:Pregnancy; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D012737:Sex Factors; D012907:Smoking / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000523:psychology; D012931:Social Environment