McCaul M E, Turkkan J S, Svikis D S, Bigelow G E, Cromwell C C
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland.
Alcohol Clin Exp Res. 1990 Jun;14(3):467-71. doi: 10.1111/j.1530-0277.1990.tb00505.x.
Family history of alcoholism increases the risk for development of alcoholism in male offspring. The present questionnaire study examined self-reported alcohol and drug use in 744 college males as a function of DSM-IIIR alcohol dependence diagnoses in first- and/or second-degree biological relatives. Substance use was most prevalent and most frequent in students with both first- and second-degree alcohol-dependent family members, was intermediate in students with only first-degree affected relatives, and was least in students with no affected relatives. Students with both first- and second-degree alcohol-dependent relatives reported: more alcohol, marijuana, sedative, and cocaine ingestion; a younger age at first alcohol intoxication and first marijuana use; experience with less commonly used drugs; and more personal substance-related problems as well as more family mental health care. These data have significant prevention implications for targeting at-risk youth.
