title: Partner effects and bidirectional parent-child effects in family alcohol use.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The current study investigated partner effects and bidirectional parent-child effects in family alcohol use.
  
  
  METHODS
  A full family, longitudinal design was used to test the hypotheses. Participants were 428 families, including mothers, fathers, and 2 children. Associations were measured over two waves with a 2-year interval, by means of structural equation modeling.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Whereas alcohol use of the younger children was affected by alcohol use of both parents, alcohol use of the older children was only affected by alcohol use of mother. Moreover, although the effects were small, alcohol use of older children affected later alcohol use of both parents.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Associations between alcohol use of parents and children seem to be bidirectional. Future studies are needed to find out whether these findings are incidental or structural. If the effects are structural, potential underlying reciprocal processes within the family play a role in the development of adolescent alcohol use.
authors.affiliation: Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University Nijmegen, Nijmegen, The Netherlands. r.otten@pwo.ru.nl
authors.forename: Roy
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Otten
authors.forename: Carmen S
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: van der Zwaluw
authors.forename: Haske
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: van der Vorst
authors.forename: Rutger C M E
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Engels
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology*; D002648:Child; D016241:Child of Impaired Parents / Q000523:psychology*; D005190:Family / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D018454:Spouses / Q000523:psychology*