title: Alcohol use in families: a 15-year prospective follow-up study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To study the prevalence of adolescents' problematic alcohol use and its parental predictors: drinking habits and socio-demographic factors.
  
  
  METHODS
  Questionnaires were sent regularly to the same Finnish families (n = 1132) from the onset of pregnancy (in 1986-87) to the child's age of 15 years (in 2001-02) (n = 1028). There was a total of three follow-up points.
  
  
  RESULTS
  At 15 years of age, 83% of girls and 79% of boys had used alcohol; 18% of boys and 14% of girls had been drunk more than once a month. The child's permanent separation from at least one biological parent was the strongest socio-demographic predictor of adolescents drinking. Fathers' present heavy drinking and parental early drinking were the best predictors of their children's problematic alcohol use at the age of 15.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Knowledge of fathers' alcohol use and its time of onset may be used to determine children who are at added risk of problematic alcohol use later in life. Special guidance, support and treatment can be targeted to these families.
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health, University of Turku, Turku, Finland. sami.seljamo@utu.fi
authors.forename: Sami
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Seljamo
authors.forename: Minna
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Aromaa
authors.forename: Leena
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Koivusilta
authors.forename: Päivi
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Rautava
authors.forename: Andre
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sourander
authors.forename: Hans
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Helenius
authors.forename: Matti
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sillanpää
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior; D000328:Adult; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000453:epidemiology*; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000453:epidemiology*; D002648:Child; D005190:Family; D005260:Female; D005387:Finland / Q000453:epidemiology; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011247:Pregnancy; D015995:Prevalence; D011446:Prospective Studies