The influence of paternal and maternal drinking patterns within two-partner families on the initiation and development of adolescent drinking

Perceived parental alcohol problems and drinking patterns among adolescents in Sweden

Introduction

Much research into the links between parental problematic alcohol use and adolescent substance use has focused on clinically diagnosed parental alcohol disorders. Few prior studies have utilised validated measures of adolescents' perception of parental alcohol problems and considered the severity of these problems. This study examined the associations between the severity of perceived parental alcohol problems and adolescents' drinking patterns in a Swedish national sample.

Methods

We used survey information from grade 9 and 11 students (15-18 years) from 2021 (n = 9,227). Perceived parental alcohol problems were measured by the short version of The Children of Alcoholics Screening Test (CAST-6). The outcomes were: alcohol consumption during the past 12 months, frequent heavy episodic drinking (HED), and early alcohol debut (before age 14). Sociodemographic characteristics were adjusted for.

Results

Binary logistic regressions showed that the severity of perceived parental alcohol problems was associated with alcohol consumption during the past 12 months (low severity OR 1.53, p < 0.001; moderate severity OR 1.85, p < 0.001; high severity OR 2.52, p < 0.001), HED (low severity OR 1.16, n.s.; moderate severity OR 1.31, n.s.; high severity OR 1.64, p < 0.01), and early alcohol debut (low severity OR 1.57, p < 0.001; moderate severity OR 1.65, p < 0.001; high severity OR 2.20, p < 0.001).

Conclusions

Adolescents with perceived parental alcohol problems are more likely to have risky drinking patterns themselves, and the likelihood becomes higher with increased severity. Effective interventions for children whose parents have drinking problems are important, and should also take the severity of the parents' drinking problem into account.

Adolescent Hazardous Drinking and Socioeconomic Status in France: Insights Into the Alcohol Harm Paradox

PURPOSE

The "alcohol harm paradox" has been evidenced among adults, but it is still largely unexplored among adolescents. We examined in a sample of French adolescents the relation between family socioeconomic status (SES), family living arrangement and parental substance use on 1 hand, and heavy episodic drinking (HED), lifetime alcohol-induced emergency room visits (A-ERV), and number of alcoholic drinks and solitary drinking during the last episode on the other hand.

METHODS

A cross-sectional nationwide survey in March 2017 involved 13,314 French adolescents aged 17-18.5 years. They completed a pen and paper questionnaire about their own and their parents' alcohol and tobacco consumption. We used risk ratios (RRs) from modified Poisson regressions to assess the relationships.

RESULTS

Adolescents from the lowest SES had reduced likelihood of reporting 1-2 or 3-5 episodes of heavy drinking compared to those from the highest SES (RR = 0.58, 95% confidence interval = [0.50; 0.66] and 0.35 [0.27; 0.45]), but no difference for six or more episodes (RR = 0.81 [0.59; 1.12]). A-ERV was more frequent among lowest SES adolescents (RR = 1.86 [1.05; 3.30]), possibly due to drinking larger quantities of alcohol and to more frequent solitary drinking in their last episode (p < .001). SES, parental substance use, and family living arrangement were independently associated with HED.

DISCUSSION

Our findings reveal an "alcohol harm paradox" in late adolescence in France. Lower SES adolescents exhibit reduced HED but were more likely to consume large quantities alone and experience A-ERV. This emphasizes the significance of considering social determinants in alcohol-related research and interventions.

The effect of parental alcohol use on alcohol use disorder in young adulthood: Exploring the mediating roles of adolescent alcohol expectancies and consumption

INTRODUCTION

Parental alcohol use and problems are risk factors for alcohol use disorder (AUD), and these effects may be mediated by adolescent alcohol expectancies and consumption. In the present study, we tested the direct effects of mothers' and fathers' alcohol consumption on young adult AUD, as well as the indirect effects through adolescent maximum alcohol use, alcohol consumption, and alcohol expectancies.

METHODS

Participants were 5160 individuals (49.1% female) and their biological parents from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children, a cohort study of children born in southwestern England during 1991 and 1992. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to test associations of mothers' and fathers' alcohol use (assessed when children were 12 years old) with age 24 AUD. Potential mediator variables included the maximum number of alcoholic drinks consumed within a 24-h period by age 13.5 and alcohol expectancies and alcohol consumption at ages 17 and 20.

RESULTS

Higher maternal and paternal alcohol use were associated with higher levels of alcohol consumption at age 17. Greater alcohol consumption, in turn, was related to a more severe presentation of AUD. The overall indirect effects of mothers' (b = 0.033, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.006, 0.059) and fathers' drinking (b = 0.041, 95% CI = 0.018, 0.064) on AUD were modest but significant, and were primarily comprised of adolescent alcohol consumption rather than alcohol expectancies.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings underscore the importance of both mothers' and fathers' drinking for the development of alcohol use and problems across adolescence and young adulthood.

Peer and Parental Social Norms as Determinants of Gambling Initiation: A Prospective Study

PURPOSE

Despite the potential consequences of gambling during adolescence, the factors involved in the initiation of this behavior are relatively understudied. Using a longitudinal design, the present study analyzed the contribution of parental and peer norms to adolescent gambling initiation.

METHODS

A sample of 440 adolescent non-gamblers (50.9% males, mean_age = 14.85 [standard deviation = 1.41]) completed a baseline survey and a 1-year follow-up questionnaire. The baseline survey included assessments of perceived descriptive and injunctive norms from parents and peers, perceived parent and peer gambling severity, and susceptibility to peer pressure. A multivariate hierarchical logistic regression model was used to assess the contribution of baseline measures to adolescent gambling initiation at follow-up.

RESULTS

Of the 440 non-gamblers assessed at baseline, 160 (36.4%) reported initiating gambling at follow-up. All the peer factors were prospectively associated with gambling initiation, while only the perceived injunctive norms of parents were associated with initiation. Higher susceptibility to peer pressure, perceived gambling by peers, and peer and parental approval of gambling at baseline were associated with higher odds of adolescent gambling initiation at follow-up. In contrast, the likelihood of gambling initiation among adolescents decreased as the perception of peer gambling severity increased.

DISCUSSION

The identification of parental and peer factors associated with adolescent gambling initiation may provide support for relevant preventative interventions aimed at avoiding or delaying gambling initiation among adolescents. Specifically, to reduce the initiation of gambling, preventative programs should focus on helping adolescents to find strategies for resisting peer influences.

Genetics and epigenetics: paternal adolescent ethanol consumption in serotonin transporter knock-out rats and offspring sensitivity to ethanol

RATIONALE

Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is shown to have an overall heritability of around 50%. One of the genes associated with AUD is SLC6A4 (solute carrier family 6 member A4) which codes for the serotonin transporter (SERT). The study looked at serotonin dysfunction on ethanol consumption in adolescents and the subsequent intergenerational effects of drinking by using a rat model: SERT^+/+ (regular functioning), SERT^+/- (50% transporter reduction) and SERT^-/- (complete reduction).

OBJECTIVES

We investigated sex and genotype differences in ethanol consumption in SERT knock-out Wistar rats (F0) followed by studying behaviour in the offspring (F1) of the male drinkers to assess effects of paternal alcohol consumption.

METHODS

An intermittent access two-bottle choice paradigm (IA2BC) was used to yield ethanol drinking behaviour in F0 adolescent Wistar rats. The highest drinking males were mated to alcohol-naive females and their offspring were compared with controls. Drinking behaviour (IA2BC) and ethanol-induced motor coordination effects (via rotarod) were measured in the F1s.

RESULTS

F0 drinking saw no SERT genotype differences in males. However, females consumed higher volumes of ethanol compared to males, with SERT^-/- females showing the highest intake. A clearer genotype effect was seen in the F1 animals, with reduction in SERT activity leading to enhanced ethanol intake in both sexes. Importantly, paternal exposure to ethanol significantly reduced the ethanol induced motor side effects in offspring, independent of sex and genotype.

CONCLUSIONS

These indicate a difference in the way genetic factors may act across sexes and suggest the involvement of epigenetic mechanisms in the intergenerational effects of alcohol.

Nucleus Accumbens Response to Reward among Children with a Family History of Alcohol Use Problems: Convergent Findings from the ABCD Study® and Michigan Longitudinal Study

Having a family history of alcohol use problems (FH+) conveys risk for alcohol use in offspring. Reward-related brain functioning may play a role in this vulnerability. The present study investigated brain function in the nucleus accumbens (NAcc) associated with the anticipation of reward in youth with two biological parents with alcohol use problems (FH+2), one biological parent with alcohol use problems (FH+1), and no biological parents with alcohol use problems (FH-). Participants were from the large, national Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study (mean age: 9.93; 48% female; FH+2 n = 223, FH+1 n = 1447, FH- n = 9690) and the Michigan Longitudinal Study (MLS), consisting of community-recruited families with high rates of alcohol use disorder (mean age: 10.54; 39.3% female; FH+2 n = 40, FH+1 n = 51, FH- n = 40). Reward anticipation was measured by the monetary incentive delay task. Regression models were used to assess associations between FH status and the anticipation of large rewards in right and left NAcc regions of interest. In both studies, FH+2 youth showed blunted anticipatory reward responding in the right NAcc compared to FH+1 youth. In the MLS, FH+2 youth also had blunted anticipatory reward responding in the right NAcc compared to the FH- group. Convergent results across two separate samples provide insights into a unique vulnerability of FH+2 youth and suggest that binary FH+ versus FH- categorizations may obscure important differences within FH+ youth.

Parental binge drinking and offspring's high school non-completion: A prospective HUNT survey and educational registry study

BACKGROUND

Alcohol-use disorders (AUD) in parents are associated with adverse outcomes in offspring. It is less known whether other forms of parental drinking such as binge drinking may also be a risk factor for offspring's outcomes -- specifically, high school non-completion.

METHODS

These questions were examined in a sample of 3101 offspring (M_age = 16.1 , SD = 1.68; 49.5% girls) from 2510 2-parent families who participated in the Nord-Trøndelag Health Study in Norway (HUNT3; Young-HUNT3) in 2006-08 and were followed-up through the National Education Database (NUDB) until 2014. Associations between maternal and paternal binge drinking patterns as reported in HUNT during offspring's adolescence and offspring's subsequent high school completion were examined using logistic regression models while accounting for a comprehensive set of socio-demographic, parental, and offspring characteristics as assessed at HUNT baseline. Effect modifications of these putative associations by offspring characteristics were also explored.

FINDINGS

Approximately 1 in 6 offspring (13.6% girls, 21.1% boys) failed to graduate high school within the officially designated time period, while roughly 1 in 5 mothers (20.4%) and 1 in 2 fathers (51.2%) reported any binge drinking. Weekly or more frequent binge drinking in fathers was prospectively associated with more than doubled odds of high school non-completion in offspring; OR = 2.23, 95% CI = 1.50-3.31. This effect remained substantively identical after adjustment for all covariates (aOR = 2.20, 95% CI = 1.38-3.50) and uniform across offspring characteristics such as gender, academic orientation and performance, anxiety and depression, typical alcohol consumption, and witnessing parental intoxication as assessed at HUNT baseline.

CONCLUSIONS

Weekly or more frequent binge drinking in fathers negatively affected high school graduation prospects in their offspring.

Levels of Parental Drinking in the Presence of Children: An Exploration of Attitudinal Correlates

Aims

This study aimed to examine perceived social norms, the effect of parental drinking on these norms, alcohol use in front of children, and how norms and consumption vary based on child age and gender of the parent.

Methods

A cross-sectional online panel survey was undertaken with n = 1000 Australian adults (including 670 parents) aged 18–59 years. The survey assessed: alcohol consumption in front of children; normative attitudes towards drinking in the presence of children; and perceived social norms.

Results

Overall, 33.9% of parents reported drinking a glass of alcohol each day or a couple of times a week, 18.2% reported getting slightly drunk and 7.8% indicated getting visibly drunk each day or a couple of times a week with their children present. In total, 37.5% reported drinking in front of their children at least weekly. Fathers were more likely to drink in front of children than mothers. Most parents deemed drinking small amounts of alcohol in front of children as acceptable but did not accept drunkenness. Respondents were less concerned about a father drinking one or two drinks in front of their children than a mother. Social expectations were not related to child age, but norms related to others’ perceived behaviour were.

Conclusions

Many parents, particularly fathers consume alcohol in front of their children. There is a need to target health promotion strategies to adults and parents consuming in excess of health guidelines, and to the many parents who are consuming alcohol at higher levels in front of their children.

Problematic familial alcohol use and heavy episodic drinking among upper secondary students: a moderator analysis of teacher-rated school ethos

Objective

Building on findings reported in a previous publication, the objective of this study is to explore if teacher-rated indicators of school ethos modify the association between problematic familial alcohol use and heavy episodic drinking among upper secondary students. Data were based on combined information from two separate surveys conducted in 2016 among 4709 students and 1061 teachers in 46 Stockholm upper secondary schools, with linked school-level information from administrative registers. Multilevel binary logistic regression analyses were performed.

Results

Problematic familial alcohol use was associated with an increased likelihood of heavy episodic drinking among upper secondary students (OR 1.36, 95% CI 1.12–1.65). Cross-level interactions revealed that the association was weaker among students attending schools with higher levels of teacher-rated ethos. This was true for overall school ethos (OR 0.79, 95% CI 0.65–0.97) and for four of five studied sub-dimensions of ethos: staff stability (OR 0.78, 95% CI 0.65–0.95); teacher morale (OR 0.79, 95% CI 0.65–0.97); student focus (OR 0.80, 95% CI 0.65–0.97); and academic atmosphere (OR 0.79, 95% CI 0.65–0.96). The sub-dimension “structure and order for dealing with unwanted behaviour” did however not moderate the association between problematic familial alcohol use and heavy episodic drinking (OR 0.95, 95% CI 0.77–1.18).

Adolescents' Perceived Drinking Norms Toward Alcohol Misuse: An Integrative Review

The purpose of this integrative review is to synthesize prior research on the relationship between adolescents' perceived subjective and descriptive drinking norms and their drinking intention and behaviors. Four databases (CINAHL, PubMed, Cochrane, and Sociological Abstracts) were searched to identify relevant articles. Thirty-one peer-reviewed articles published from 2010 to 2020 were reviewed. The results highlight that adolescents' perceived drinking norms derived from their parents and peers, such as approving or disapproving attitudes, significantly influence adolescents' drinking intention and behaviors. Moreover, pro-drinking messages, advertisements, and postings from electronic media (i.e., TV, movies, and the Internet) and online social networks (e.g., Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter) shape adolescents' drinking intention and encourage adolescents to initiate alcohol consumption early and/or escalate their drinking. Thus, future interventions should focus on subjective drinking norms that stem from interpersonal relationships in combination with perceived descriptive drinking norms derived from various media exposure.

Parental risk constellations and future alcohol use disorder (AUD) in offspring: A combined HUNT survey and health registries study

OBJECTIVE

We examined the risk of developing a future alcohol use disorder (AUD) among offspring of families with different constellations of parental risk factors.

METHOD

We analyzed a sample of 8,774 offspring (50.2% male) from 6,696 two-parent families who participated in the Nord-Trøndelag Health Study in Norway when offspring were 13-19 years old in 1995-1997 or 2006-2008. Based on population registry information and parental Nord-Trøndelag Health Study self-reports, families were classified via Latent Profile Analysis into fiver risk constellations reflecting parents' education, drinking quantities and frequencies, and mental health. Information about AUD-related diagnoses, treatments, and prescriptions for all offspring in the period between 2008 and 2016 was obtained from 3 national health registries and pooled to reflect any AUD. The likelihood of AUD in offspring was examined with a set of nested logistic regression models.

RESULTS

Registry records yielded 186 AUD cases (2.1%). Compared with the lowest-risk constellation, offspring from two constellations were more likely to present with AUD in unadjusted analyses. After adjusting for all covariates, including offspring's alcohol consumption and witnessing parental intoxication during adolescence, AUD risk remained elevated and statistically significant (adjusted odds ratio = 2.34, 95% confidence interval = 1.14, 4.85) for offspring from the constellation characterized by at least weekly binge drinking, low education, and poor mental health in both parents.

CONCLUSION

Weekly binge drinking by both parents was associated with future AUD risk among community offspring in Norway when clustered with additional parental risks such as poor mental health and low educational attainment. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Adolescent Substance Abuse, Transgenerational Consequences and Epigenetics

Adolescence is the transitional period between childhood and adulthood and a critical period in brain development. Adolescence in humans is also associated with increased expression of risk-taking behaviors. Epidemiological and clinical studies, for example, show a surge of drug abuse and raise the hypothesis that the adolescent brain undergoes critical changes resulting in diminished control. Determining how substance abuse during this critical period might cause longterm neurobiological changes in cognition and behavior is therefore critically important. The present work aims to provide an evaluation of the transgenerational and multi-generational phenotypes derived from parent animals exposed to drugs of abuse only during their adolescence. Specifically, we will consider changes found following the administration of cannabinoids, nicotine, alcohol and opiates. In addition, epigenetic modifications of the genome following drug exposure will be discussed as emerging evidence of the underlying adverse transgenerational effects. Notwithstanding, much of the new data discussed here is from animal models, indicating that future clinical studies are much needed to better understand the neurobiological consequences and mechanisms of drug actions on the human brains' development and maturation.

The effect of tobacco and alcohol consumption on poverty in the United Kingdom

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

Tobacco and alcohol use are major risk factors for premature mortality and morbidity. Tobacco and alcohol expenditure may also exacerbate poverty. This study aimed to estimate the financial impact of tobacco and alcohol consumption in low income households in the United Kingdom.

DESIGN

We undertook a cross-sectional study using a secondary dataset. A sample of 5031 households participated in the 2016-17 Living Costs and Food Survey. Measurements We measured the weekly household income and expenditure on tobacco and alcohol, and the proportion of households with expenditure on tobacco and alcohol overall, by income decile and in households in relative poverty (below 60% of the median household income). Estimates were extrapolated using population data to estimate the number of UK households, adults and children that would be classified as living in relative poverty on the basis of net income after subtracting tobacco or alcohol expenditure ('tobacco and alcohol expenditure-adjusted poverty').

FINDINGS

Spending on alcohol was more common in high income groups; 83% of households in the highest and 47% in the lowest income decile purchased alcohol. The reverse was true for tobacco, which was purchased by 8% and 24% of households in the highest and lowest income deciles respectively. Twenty-three percent of households in relative poverty purchased tobacco and 49% alcohol, with a median expenditure of £12.50 and £9.55 per week, respectively. A total of 320 000 households comprising 590 000 adults and 175 000 children were in alcohol expenditure-adjusted poverty, and 230 000 households, comprising 400 000 adults and 180 000 children in tobacco-expenditure adjusted poverty.

CONCLUSIONS

Tobacco and alcohol expenditure appear to exacerbate poverty in low income households in the United Kingdom. Hundreds of thousands of additional households would be defined as living in relative poverty based on their income after subtracting their tobacco and alcohol expenditure.

Parental drinking according to parental composition and adolescent binge drinking: findings from a nationwide high school survey in Japan

Background

Alcohol problems in parents have been revealed to affect adolescent alcohol misuse. However, few studies examine the effects of parental drinking on adolescent risky drinking (including binge drinking) in the general population. In particular, previous study findings are inconsistent regarding the influence of parental drinking according to parental composition. In this study, we aimed to examine the relationship between parental drinking, according to parental composition, and binge drinking among high school students in Japan.

Methods

We performed a secondary analysis of the Nationwide High School Survey on Drug Use and Lifestyle 2018, Japan. A total of 46,848 valid surveys from high school students of 78 schools were included for analysis. Logistic regression analysis with a generalized linear mixed model was conducted with binge drinking as the dependent variable and “parental drinking according to parental composition” (e.g., father’s drinking, mother’s drinking, father’s absence, mother’s absence, both parents drinking, and neither parent at home) as the independent variable, after adjusting with covariates. Binge drinking was defined as five or more alcoholic drinks for male adolescents or four or more alcoholic drinks for females on the same occasion within two hours.

Results

In the fully adjusted models, adolescents whose mothers drink (adjusted odds ratio (AOR): 1.50, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.06–2.12) were significantly associated with adolescent binge drinking. This risk was significantly higher among students with neither parent living at home (AOR: 4.35, 95% CI: 2.10–9.02).

Conclusion

Parental drinking and absence do affect adolescent binge drinking; our findings show that adolescents are more likely to engage in binge drinking if their mothers drink or if they are not living with either parent. Therefore, it is important to engage parents and non-parental family members in future programs and interventions to prevent adolescent binge drinking.

Motives for Alcohol and Marijuana Use as Predictors of Use and Problem Use Among Young Adult College Students

This study examined (a) differences between alcohol-only users and alcohol-marijuana co-users and (b) motives for use in relation to alcohol and marijuana use and problem use. Spring 2016 data among 1,870 past 4-month alcohol users (63.6% female, 69.1% White) from seven Georgia colleges/universities were analyzed cross-sectionally and with regard to problem use measured 4 months later. Correlates of co-use (n = 345; vs. alcohol-only use, n = 1,525) included greater alcohol and marijuana use frequency, problem drinking and marijuana use, and alcohol use motives (p's < .05). Controlling for covariates, alcohol use frequency correlated with greater marijuana use frequency and Coping and Self-enhancement alcohol use motives, but lower Conformity alcohol use motives (p's < .001); greater Coping and Self-enhancement alcohol use motives (p's < .01) predicted problem alcohol use. Marijuana use frequency correlated with greater Coping and Expansion marijuana use motives (p's < .05); greater Expansion marijuana use motives (p = .005) predicted problem marijuana use. College-based substance use interventions should target Coping and Self-enhancement alcohol use motives and Expansion marijuana use motives.

Exposure to drugs of abuse induce effects that persist across generations

Substance use disorders are highly prevalent and continue to be one of the leading causes of disability in the world. Notably, not all people who use addictive drugs develop a substance use disorder. Although substance use disorders are highly heritable, patterns of inheritance cannot be explained purely by Mendelian genetic mechanisms. Vulnerability to developing drug addiction depends on the interplay between genetics and environment. Additionally, evidence from the past decade has pointed to the role of epigenetic inheritance in drug addiction. This emerging field focuses on how environmental perturbations, including exposure to addictive drugs, induce epigenetic modifications that are transmitted to the embryo at fertilization and modify developmental gene expression programs to ultimately impact subsequent generations. This chapter highlights intergenerational and transgenerational phenotypes in offspring following a history of parental drug exposure. Special attention is paid to parental preconception exposure studies of five drugs of abuse (alcohol, cocaine, nicotine, cannabinoids, and opiates) and associated behavioral and physiological outcomes in offspring. The highlighted studies demonstrate that parental exposure to drugs of abuse has enduring effects that persist into subsequent generations. Understanding the contribution of epigenetic inheritance in drug addiction may provide clues for better treatments and therapies for substance use disorders.

Socio-economic differences in factors associated with alcohol use among adolescents in Slovenia: a cross-sectional study

OBJECTIVES

This paper aims to investigate the association of parental, friends, and personal factors with the risk of alcohol use in a sample of Slovenian adolescents, and whether these associations differ by socio-economic status of the school area (SES).

METHODS

The survey involved 2946 students of 44 Slovenian primary schools in the school year 2010/2011. The association between sociodemographic characteristics, parental alcohol use and permissiveness to drink, parental monitoring, perception of friends' alcohol use, beliefs towards alcohol, self-esteem and refusal skills, and the probability of recent alcohol use was evaluated through multiple multilevel logistic regression analysis.

RESULTS

Parental alcohol use, parental permissiveness to drink alcohol, low parental monitoring, perception of friends' alcohol use, positive beliefs towards alcohol use, and low refusal skills were significantly associated with the risk of alcohol use. Parental drinking and permissive attitudes were stronger correlates of alcohol use among adolescents of middle and low SES schools, while friends' alcohol use and personal factors among adolescents of high SES schools.

CONCLUSIONS

Alcohol prevention programs should be tailored to school socio-economic environment taking into account friends and personal determinants among high SES, and parental factors among low SES school students.

Parental Knowledge and Attitude Regarding E-Cigarette Use in Saudi Arabia and the Effect of Parental Smoking: A Cross-Sectional Study

INTRODUCTION

E-cigarette use has been on the rise among children and adolescents. This study aimed to assess the knowledge and attitudes of the health hazards and laws regarding e-cigarette use among parents in Saudi Arabia. In addition, we evaluated the effect of parental smoking on parent's knowledge.

METHODS

This study was conducted with parents of children below 18 years of age in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Jeddah was divided into four areas (north, south, east, and west) and in each area, the largest shopping mall was selected. Data were gathered using a self-administered questionnaire.

RESULTS

Out of 1386 parents, 61.7% were smokers, 13.3% reported that their children used e-cigarettes, and 73.6% did not discuss e-cigarette use with their children. In total, 77.3% of parents thought it was important to be educated about e-cigarette use. However, their ability to discuss e-cigarette use with their children was 13.9% lower than their ability to discuss regular cigarette smoking with their children. Parents who were smokers were more accepting of their children using e-cigarettes (P<0.0001). Mothers who smoked were more accepting than fathers of their children using e-cigarettes (P<0.0001).

CONCLUSION

Parents reported a lack of knowledge and attitudes regarding e-cigarette use. Parental smoking, especially among mothers, was statistically significantly related to their e-cigarette use knowledge and attitudes. Parents agreed that it was important to educate parents regarding e-cigarette use.

The Association Between Adverse Child Health, Psychological, Educational and Social Outcomes, and Nondependent Parental Substance: A Rapid Evidence Assessment

BACKGROUND

Between 5% and 30% of children in high-income countries live with a substance misusing parent, the majority of which is below dependent levels. However, little is understood about the impact of nondependent parental substance misuse upon children.

METHODS

We searched the international literature using rigorous systematic methods to identify studies examining parental substance misuse and adverse outcomes in children. The inclusion criteria were cross-sectional, longitudinal, case-control, and cohort studies; of children aged 0-18 years whose parents are high-risk substance misusers; reporting on their health, psychological, substance use, educational, and social outcomes.

RESULTS

We identified 36 papers (from 33 unique studies), most of which were assessed as being of medium to high methodological quality (N= 28). Parental nondependent substance misuse was found to be associated with adversity in children, with strong evidence of an association with externalizing difficulties (N = 7 papers, all finding an association) and substance use (N = 23 papers, all finding an association) in adolescents and some evidence of adverse health outcomes in early childhood (N = 6/8 papers finding an association). There is less evidence of an association between parental substance misuse and adverse educational and social outcomes. The body of evidence was largest for parental alcohol misuse, with research examining the impact of parental illicit drug use being limited.

CONCLUSION

Methodological limitations restrict our ability to make causal inference. Nonetheless, the prevalence of adverse outcomes in children whose parents are nondependent substance misusers highlights the need for practitioners to intervene with this population before a parent has developed substance dependency.

Transition from nonuse to use of alcohol or binge drinking among adolescents: Secondary analysis of a randomized controlled trial

OBJECTIVE

The objective of this study was to evaluate the predictors of the transition from nonuse of alcohol to the first use of alcohol and the first episode of binge drinking.

METHODS

Data were drawn from a randomized controlled trial conducted with seventh- and eighth-grade students from 72 public schools over a 21-month period in six cities in Brazil. A total of 3298 students who reported that they had never consumed alcoholic beverages and had never engaged in binge drinking at baseline were included in this study. The two binary outcomes were tested concomitantly via structural equation modeling. Maximum likelihood estimates for logistic regression models were performed to evaluate how baseline data regarding risk factors, such as sociodemographic characteristics (socioeconomic status, gender, and age), school experiences (violence and perception of academic performance), and social variables (family and friends), affected the initiation of alcohol use and binge drinking at 9- and 21-month follow-up assessments.

RESULTS

Older age, the perpetration of violent behaviors at baseline and the absence of the father living with the adolescent were predictors of both alcohol use initiation and binge drinking initiation. The #Tamojunto program showed iatrogenic effect for first alcohol use.

CONCLUSIONS

The results indicate the need to develop and implement effective alcohol prevention programs that consider the main characteristics in the prediction model for alcohol consumption and binge drinking, including early intervention for aggressive behaviors at school and parental alcohol use.

Maternal ethanol consumption before paternal fertilization: Stimulation of hypocretin neurogenesis and ethanol intake in zebrafish offspring

There are numerous clinical and pre-clinical studies showing that exposure of the embryo to ethanol markedly affects neuronal development and stimulates alcohol drinking and related behaviors. In rodents and zebrafish, our studies show that embryonic exposure to low-dose ethanol, in addition to increasing voluntary ethanol intake during adolescence, increases the density of hypothalamic hypocretin (hcrt) neurons, a neuropeptide known to regulate reward-related behaviors. The question addressed here in zebrafish is whether maternal ethanol intake before conception also affects neuronal and behavioral development, phenomena suggested by clinical reports but seldom investigated. To determine if preconception maternal ethanol consumption also affects these hcrt neurons and behavior in the offspring, we first standardized a method of measuring voluntary ethanol consumption in AB strain adult and larval zebrafish given gelatin meals containing 10% or 0.1% ethanol, respectively. We found the number of bites of gelatin to be an accurate measure of intake in adults and a strong predictor of blood ethanol levels, and also to be a reliable indicator of intake in larval zebrafish. We then used this feeding paradigm and live imaging to examine the effects of preconception maternal intake of 10% ethanol-gelatin compared to plain-gelatin for 14 days on neuronal development in the offspring. Whereas ethanol consumption by adult female HuC:GFP transgenic zebrafish had no impact on the number of differentiated HuC⁺ neurons at 28 h post-fertilization (hpf), preconception ethanol consumption by adult female hcrt:EGFP zebrafish significantly increased the number of hcrt neurons in the offspring, an effect observed at 28 hpf and confirmed at 6 and 12 days post-fertilization (dpf). This increase in hcrt neurons was primarily present on the left side of the brain, indicating asymmetry in ethanol's actions, and it was accompanied by behavioral changes in the offspring, including a significant increase in novelty-induced locomotor activity but not thigmotaxis measured at 6 dpf and also in voluntary consumption of 0.1% ethanol-gelatin at 12 dpf. Notably, these measures of ethanol intake and locomotor activity stimulated by preconception ethanol were strongly, positively correlated with the number of hcrt neurons. These findings demonstrate that preconception maternal ethanol consumption affects the brain and behavior of the offspring, producing effects similar to those caused by embryonic ethanol exposure, and they provide further evidence that the ethanol-induced increase in hcrt neurogenesis contributes to the behavioral disturbances caused by ethanol.

Risky Alcohol Consumption and Heavy Episodic Drinking among Parents in Germany: Results of a Nationwide Cross-Sectional Study

Introduction

Risky alcohol consumption (RAC) and heavy episodic drinking (HED) by parents can have negative effects on their children. At present, little is known about these forms of alcohol consumption among parents in Germany. The aim of this analysis is to estimate the percentage of parents living in Germany who practise RAC and HED and to study associations between these consumption patterns and sociodemographic factors.

Material and Methods

The data basis comprises the data of the nationwide studies "Gesundheit in Deutschland aktuell" (GEDA) of 2009, 2010, and 2012. The data were collected by means of computer-assisted telephone interviews (CATI). Our analysis included all participants living in a household with at least one child of their own under 18 years of age (n = 16,224). Information on RAC and HED was collected using the AUDIT-C screening instrument. Logistic regression models were used to study the relationship between parental alcohol consumption and sociodemographic variables.

Results

18.4% of the mothers and 29.6% of the fathers exhibited RAC; 8.4% of the mothers and 21.0% of the fathers practised HED. After mutual adjustment, RAC showed a significant association with the level of education, income (only mothers), employment status (only mothers), migration background, relationship status (only mothers), and the age of the youngest child. HED showed a significant association with income (only mothers), the age of the youngest child (only mothers), and the level of education (only fathers).

Conclusions

The presented analysis emphasizes the relevance of preventive measures to reduce parental alcohol consumption. In addition to universal interventions, risk group-specific measures (e.g., for parents with high income) are needed to reduce parental alcohol consumption and thus support a healthy development of children.

Fathers' alcohol use and suicidal behaviour in offspring during youth and young adulthood

OBJECTIVE

To examine the association between various indicators of father's alcohol use and suicidal behaviour in offspring during youth and young adulthood.

METHODS

The study is based on a cohort of 68 910 Swedish citizens who were born between 1970 and 1985 and have fathers who participated in conscription for compulsory military training in 1969/70. Information on fathers' alcohol use was collected during conscription. Offspring was followed for suicide attempts or completed suicides (through linkage with national registers) from age 12 to end of follow-up in 2008.

RESULTS

After adjustment for confounders, the hazard ratio (HR) for offspring to fathers who were heavy drinkers was 1.4 (95% CI 1.02, 1.93) while the associations turned non-significant for offspring to fathers who often drank into intoxication, HR 1.14 (0.68, 1.90). The highest risk for suicidal behaviour was found for offspring to fathers who had been apprehended for drunkenness two times or more, or with an alcohol-related hospitalization, with adjusted HRs of 2.1 (1.4, 3,14) and 1.9 (1.27, 2,85) respectively.

CONCLUSION

Fathers' alcohol use is associated with increased risk of suicidal behaviour among offspring in youth and young adulthood.

Demographic Moderation of the Prediction of Adolescent Alcohol Involvement Trajectories

Several school- and family-based preventive interventions target and effectively reduce adolescent alcohol misuse. However, whether demographic groups achieve equal success with these interventions is unclear. In particular, most interventions target younger adolescents, and program effectiveness tends to be measured with majority White samples; subgroup analyses are rarely reported. We analyze longitudinal data from a sample of N = 6189 adolescents (40% Black, 60% White; 50% female) in 6th through 12th grade to quantify the degree to which age, race, and gender moderate the associations between seven well-known risk and protective factors (RPFs) that serve as common intervention targets. The RPFs that we study are drawn from social learning theory, problem behavior theory, and social control theory, including individual factors (positive alcohol expectancies and deviant behavior), family context (perceived parental involvement, perceived parent alcohol use, and access to alcohol), and peer context (descriptive and injunctive norms). Multilevel growth models allow us to conduct the demographic subgroup moderation analysis. Results suggest that these well-studied RPFs explain alcohol involvement to varying degrees, but they explain substantially more variation in alcohol involvement by White adolescents compared with Black adolescents. We find differential patterns of significance and of leading predictors of alcohol involvement as a function of age, race, and gender and the interactions thereof. These results indicate that the prevention field needs to better understand the RPFs affecting minority and high school youth in order to provide a stronger basis for alcohol prevention efforts.

Offspring of male rats exposed to binge alcohol exhibit heightened ethanol intake at infancy and alterations in T-maze performance

Alcohol use is associated with a variety of negative consequences, including heightened likelihood of cognitive impairment, proclivity to alcohol use disorders (AUD), and alterations in the drinker's offspring. Children and rodents exposed to alcohol during pregnancy, or those whose fathers consumed alcohol prior to mating, often exhibit neurodevelopmental, physiological, and behavioral deficits. The present study assessed cognitive function and alcohol intake in male and female rats that were offspring of alcohol-exposed fathers. Adult male rats were exposed to alcohol or vehicle (0.0 or 2.0 g/kg, respectively; twice daily for 2 days followed by a rest day, for a total of eight alcohol or vehicle exposure days), or were left untreated and then mated with non-manipulated females. The offspring were assessed for alcohol intake, via intraoral infusion, followed by cognitive assessment via an alternating T-maze task. The results indicated that paternal ethanol exposure, prior to breeding, resulted in offspring that consumed significantly more ethanol than vehicle or untreated controls. Furthermore, the offspring of alcohol-exposed fathers exhibited a significant failure to initiate and complete the T-maze performance tests. Although, when they did engage in the tests they performed at the level of controls (i.e., 80% correct). The present results add to a growing body of literature suggesting that paternal pre-conception alcohol exposure can have deleterious effects on the offspring.

Predicting latent classes of drug use among adolescents through parental alcohol use and parental style: a longitudinal study

PURPOSE

The present study examined the roles of parental alcohol use and parental style as predictors of adolescent patterns of drug use.

METHODS

6391 students in the 7th and 8th grades at 72 Brazilian public schools participated in a three-wave randomized controlled trial to evaluate a school drug-use prevention program. Patterns of drug use were identified through two latent class analyses using measures of the adolescents' past-year drug use. Multinomial logistic regression analyses examined whether parental alcohol use and parenting style at baseline predicted patterns of drug use in waves 2 and 3 of the study after controlling for sociodemographic covariates.

RESULTS

In each of the two waves, three latent classes of drug use were identified among the students, defining three different groups of individuals: (1) abstainers/low users, (2) alcohol users/binge drinkers, and (3) polydrug users. First, parenting style (especially monitoring) was the strongest predictor for the prevention of polydrug use among adolescents. Second, occasional alcohol use by parents can act as a central predictor for adolescent alcohol use and binge drinking. Above all, maternal episodes of drunkenness were involved in the predictive models for both drug use classes in both waves.

CONCLUSION

Parental alcohol use and parenting style seem to be important predictors of adolescent's likelihood of belonging to different latent classes of drug use. This conclusion may point to the importance of considering the inclusion of parenting skills and parental alcohol use within the scope of adolescents' preventive interventions.

Fathers' Alcohol Consumption and Long-Term Risk for Mortality in Offspring

Aim

This study examined associations between fathers’ alcohol consumption and risk for total and cause-specific mortality in offspring.

Short summary

We examined the associations between fathers’ alcohol consumption and total and cause-specific mortality in adult offspring. Fathers’ alcohol consumption was associated with increased risk of alcohol-related mortality in offspring. The association appeared to be weaker for causes of death in which alcohol plays a smaller, or less direct, role.

Methods

Data on fathers’ alcohol consumption, and offspring’s risky use of alcohol, smoking, mental health and contact with police/childcare authorities were collected among 46,284 men (sons) aged 18–20 years, during conscription for compulsory military training in 1969/70. Data on offspring mortality were obtained from the National Cause of Death register, 1971–2008. The mortality outcomes included total mortality, alcohol-related causes of death and violent causes of death (categorized into suicides vs violent/external causes excluding suicides).

Results

Compared to sons whose fathers never used alcohol, the risk for total and alcohol-related mortality among sons increased with the father’s consumption level. The risk of violent death was significantly elevated among sons whose fathers drank alcohol occasionally or often, but the risk of suicide increased in the highest consumption category only. After adjustment for covariates, the results remained for alcohol-related mortality whereas they were significantly attenuated, or disappeared, for total mortality, violent death and suicide.

Conclusions

Fathers’ alcohol consumption is associated with increased risk of alcohol-related mortality in the offspring. Alcohol use among fathers also increases the offspring’s risk of later total mortality, suicide and violent death, but these associations appear to be mediated or confounded by factors related to parental drinking and/or adverse childhood psychosocial circumstances.

The relationship between parental heavy drinking and non-fatal overdose among people who inject drugs in Vancouver, Canada

BACKGROUND

Despite the acute drug-related and behavioural risk factors for experiencing a drug overdose, few remote childhood experiences have been examined as risk factors for subsequent later life overdose risk. Parental heavy drinking has been associated with some later life negative outcomes, but little is known regarding the impact on drug overdoses, especially among people who inject drugs. Given the current overdose crisis in North America, we sought to evaluate the impact of parental heavy drinking on later life non-fatal overdose among people who inject drugs in Vancouver, Canada.

METHODS

Data were derived from two prospective cohort studies of community-recruited people who inject drugs in Vancouver between December 2012 and May 2016. We employed multivariable generalized estimating equations to examine the relationship between parental heavy drinking and non-fatal overdose in the past six months.

RESULTS

Among 327 eligible participants, 111 (33.9%) reported parental heavy drinking and 95 (29.1%) reported a non-fatal overdose at least once during the study period. In a multivariable analysis, experiencing parental heavy drinking remained independently associated with non-fatal overdose (adjusted odds ratio: 1.69; 95% confidence interval: 1.07-2.66) after adjustment for a range of socio-demographic and drug using confounders.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings suggest long-term negative impacts of parental heavy drinking, on subsequent risk taking or other mechanisms associated with overdose. Current overdose prevention efforts may benefit from the evaluation of life course vulnerabilities that may be amenable to earlier interventions.

The Relationship Between Parent Drinking and Adolescent Drinking: Differences for Mothers and Fathers and Boys and Girls

BACKGROUND

Gender differences in the relationship between parent drinking and adolescent drinking are poorly understood. As parental alcohol use is a primary early exposure to alcohol for adolescents, it is important to understand how consequences may differ for adolescent males and females.

OBJECTIVES

The aim of this paper was to examine gender differences in the relationship between mother's and father's heavy episodic drinking, and its combination, and adolescent drinking.

METHODS

The sample included 2,800 14-15 year olds (48.9% female) living in two-parent households from the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children. The adolescent outcome measure was having had an alcoholic drink in the past year. Mothers and fathers self-reported their frequency of heavy episodic drinking. Covariates included parents' education, smoking, non-English-speaking background, and symptoms of psychological distress. Logistic regression was used to examine the hypotheses.

RESULTS

After adjustment for covariates, both mothers' and fathers' heavy episodic drinking significantly increased the likelihood of adolescent drinking. Moreover, fathers' heavy drinking was more strongly related to adolescent drinking for girls. However, there were no gender differences in the relationship between mothers' drinking and adolescent drinking, and the combination of mothers' and fathers' drinking was not more risky than heavy drinking in either parent alone.

CONCLUSIONS

Parent heavy episodic drinking is a risk factor for adolescent drinking, after controlling for potential confounding variables. Results suggest that girls may be especially vulnerable to parent heavy drinking in early adolescence. This variation should be considered in the design and evaluation of family-based interventions to prevent adolescent drinking.

Parental drinking as context for parental socialization of adolescent alcohol use

INTRODUCTION

While alcohol-specific parenting practices have demonstrated unique effects on adolescent substance use, their efficacy in the context of parental drinking levels has not been studied. This study assessed the influence of three alcohol-specific parenting practices (rules, punishment, communication) on adolescent alcohol use, and the degree to which those associations varied by parents' own drinking.

METHODS

We conducted logistic regression analyses among US adolescents (N = 1023; 52% female; 12% Hispanic; 76% Caucasian, 5% Black, 8% mixed race, 11% other race/ethnicity; mean age at enrollment = 12.2 years) to examine the relationship between alcohol-specific parenting practices and the odds of ever having experienced two drinking milestones, having a full drink of alcohol and a heavy drinking episode, and whether parental drinking levels moderated those associations.

RESULTS

Strict rules for drinking, higher levels of cautionary communication messages, and punishment for drinking were associated with lower odds of alcohol use. Witnessing parent drinking increased the risk for both alcohol outcomes. Furthermore, parental drinking modified the influence of parental cautionary messages on alcohol use such that the effect was particularly salient for those youth who witnessed and whose parents reported higher levels of alcohol use.

CONCLUSIONS

Family-based preventive interventions should include skills training in alcohol-specific parenting practices with emphasis on reducing parental alcohol use particularly when children are present.

The Influence of Economic Pressure on Emerging Adult Binge Drinking: Testing the Family Stress Model over Time

The Family Stress Model proposes that disrupted family processes may help explain the association between economic adversity and poor child developmental outcomes. In this study, the Family Stress Model was tested across adolescence to emerging adulthood. Participants included 451 rural White youth who participated with their parents from age 13-23 (52% female). The data were analyzed at five developmental time periods with separate pathways for mothers and fathers. The findings reveal for both parents that economic pressure at time 1 (age 13) led to parental emotional distress which was related to harsh couple interaction at time 2 (ages 14 and 15). This marital conflict was related to harsh parenting toward the adolescent (time 2), which was then directly associated with higher levels of offspring drinking when youth were in middle adolescence (age 16) at time 3. Alcohol use in middle adolescence was associated with binge drinking in late adolescence (age 18, time 4) into emerging adulthood (age 23, time 5). Drinking behaviors did not differ for boys and girls. The current results show that economic adversity has an effect on family processes which influence offspring binge drinking patterns in later adolescence that continue into emerging adulthood.

Parents' drinking motives and problem drinking predict their children's drinking motives, alcohol use and substance misuse

The aim of the current study was to test the direct and indirect influence of parents' drinking motives and problem drinking on their children's drinking motives, alcohol use and substance misuse. Cross-sectional analysis of parent and child drinking patterns and motives, derived from the nationally representative Drinkaware Monitor panel survey. The sample comprised a total of 148 couples of parents and child. Path analysis revealed that children's alcohol use and substance misuse were influenced by their own drinking motives and parents' problem drinking. Parents' conformity motives were linked to their children's conformity motives. Finally, parental drinking problems mediated the effect of their coping motives on their childrens' alcohol use and substance misuse. In conclusion, parental drinking styles relate to their children's alcohol use and substance misuse through problem drinking and drinking motives.

Pre-conceptional and Peri-Gestational Maternal Binge Alcohol Drinking Produces Inheritance of Mood Disturbances and Alcohol Vulnerability in the Adolescent Offspring

Although binge drinking is on the rise in women of reproductive age and during pregnancy, the consequences in the offspring, in particular the inheritance of alcohol-related mood disturbances and alcohol abuse vulnerability, are still poorly investigated. In this study, we modeled both Habitual- and Binge Alcohol Drinking (HAD and BAD) in female rats by employing a two-bottle choice paradigm, with 20% alcohol and water. The exposure started 12 weeks before pregnancy and continued during gestation and lactation. The consequences induced by the two alcohol drinking patterns in female rats were assessed before conception in terms of behavioral reactivity, anxiety- and depressive-like behavior. Afterwards, from adolescence to young-adulthood, male offspring was assessed for behavioral phenotype and alcohol abuse vulnerability. At pre-conceptional time BAD female rats showed higher mean alcohol intake and preference than HAD group; differences in drinking trajectories were attenuated during pregnancy and lactation. Pre-conceptional BAD induced a prevalent depressive/anhedonic-like behavior in female rats, rather than an increase in anxiety-like behavior, as observed in HAD rats. In the adolescent offspring, peri-gestational BAD did not affect behavioral reactivity in the open field and anxiety-like behavior in the elevated plus maze. Rather, BAD dams offspring displayed higher despair-behavior and lower social interaction with respect to control- and HAD dams progeny. Notably, only binge drinking exposure increased offspring vulnerability to alcohol abuse and relapse following forced abstinence. This is the first report showing that binge-like alcohol consumption from pre-conceptional until weaning induces relevant consequences in the affective phenotype of both the mothers and the offspring, and that such effects include heightened alcohol abuse vulnerability in the offspring. These findings highlight the need for more incisive public education campaigns about detrimental consequences of peri-gestational alcohol exposure.

Parental monitoring protects against the effects of parent and adolescent depressed mood on adolescent drinking

OBJECTIVE

Parental monitoring is a well-established protective factor for adolescent drinking. This study examined whether parental monitoring protected against three common risk factors for alcohol use in a sample of high-risk adolescents: parental depressed mood, adolescent depressed mood, and parental alcohol use.

METHODS

Participants included 117 adolescents (mean age=15.5; 52% female) who presented to the hospital emergency department due to an alcohol-related event and their primary parent/guardian. Adolescents completed self-report measures of alcohol use frequency, depressed mood, and parental monitoring, while parents completed self-report measures of problematic alcohol use and depressed mood.

RESULTS

Hierarchical regression confirmed that parental monitoring was associated with lower frequency of adolescent alcohol use, even after controlling for the three risk factors. Significant interactions were found between parental monitoring and both adolescent and parental depressed mood. Parental monitoring had significant protective effects against drinking frequency among adolescents with higher levels of depressed mood, but not among adolescents with lower levels of depressed mood. By contrast, parental monitoring only had protective effects among those parents with lower levels of depressed mood. Parental problematic alcohol use did not affect the relationship between parental monitoring and adolescent alcohol use.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results suggest that adolescents with high levels of depressed mood may be more likely to benefit from parental monitoring, whereas parents with high levels of depressed mood may be less likely to monitor effectively. Interventions targeting parental monitoring in high-risk adolescents should take into account the influence of both adolescent and parental depressed mood.

Cortical thickness and trait empathy in patients and people at high risk for alcohol use disorders

RATIONALE

Alcoholism not only affects individuals with alcohol use disorder (AUD) but also their biological relatives. This high-risk (HR) group has a higher probability to develop AUD. The aim of our study was to compare cortical thickness (CT) in AUD patients relative to participants with (HR) and without (non-HR) familial predisposition for AUD. We focused on empathy-related brain areas as sociocognitive impairment represents a known risk factor for AUD.

METHOD

We examined 13 individuals with AUD, 14 HR individuals, and 20 non-HR participants using high-resolution T1-weighted magnetic resonance images (3 Tesla) to investigate differences in CT. CT was correlated with self-reported empathy in empathy-related areas.

RESULTS

AUD patients showed decreased CT in the left inferior and superior frontal gyri, the right precuneus and bilaterally in the middle frontal gyri/the insula relative to the HR group, and in the left insula, the right middle frontal gyrus and bilaterally in the superior frontal gyrus/the precuneus relative to the non-HR group (all ps < 0.036, all ƞ_p² between 0.161 and 0.375). Reduced CT in inferior, middle, and superior frontal gyri was related to cognitive (all ps < 0.036) and reduced CT in the inferior frontal gyrus to affective (p = 0.031) empathy.

CONCLUSIONS

We present preliminary evidence of CT reduction in empathy-associated brain regions in patients with AUD relative to healthy participants with and without familial predisposition for AUD. The results have to be interpreted with caution due to low sample sizes and potential confounding effects of medication, gender, and withdrawal.

The Association of Harsh Parenting, Parent-Child Communication, and Parental Alcohol Use With Male Alcohol Use Into Emerging Adulthood

PURPOSE

This study investigates the association between mother and father harsh parenting, and parent-child communication, and parental alcohol use on males' alcohol use from early adolescence into emerging adulthood.

METHODS

Data come from the Iowa Youth and Families Project, a prospective 28-year longitudinal study of rural Midwestern youth and their families. Mother and father harsh parenting, parent-child communication, and alcohol use were assessed at time 1 when males were in early adolescence (13 years old, n = 215). Target male alcohol use was assessed at time 2 during late adolescence (18 and 19 years old, n = 206, 96% follow-up rate), and at time 3 in emerging adulthood (23 and 25 years old, n = 197, 92% follow-up rate).

RESULTS

Results obtained from structural equation modeling using Mplus, version 7, statistical software indicated that father harsh parenting in early adolescence was directly associated with alcohol use in emerging adulthood. Mother communication was negatively associated while father alcohol use was positively associated with adolescent alcohol use in late adolescence and emerging adulthood. Alcohol use in late adolescence was significantly related to alcohol use in emerging adulthood.

CONCLUSION

This study offers unique insights into how mother- and father-son dyads differ in communication and parenting styles, as well as how these associations influence adolescent male alcohol use continuing into emerging adulthood. Multiple informants utilized in the current study provide a more complex understanding of how each parent uniquely contributes to the role of their adolescent's alcohol use in late adolescence into emerging adulthood.

[Spanish adolescents' low perception of risk in alcohol consumption]

According to recent studies, Spanish adolescents show low perception of risk in alcohol consumption. The current study aims to analyze the factors that favor this low perception based on the opinion of a group of 32 professional experts on adolescence, family, school, mass media, and local policies. A qualitative methodology was used, based on Grounded Theory, using information from 5 focus groups guided by semi-structured interviews. Twelve factors or subcategories were identified, grouped in 4 general categories: short-term risk, immediacy, and perception of invulnerability ("adolescent thinking" category); benevolent view of alcohol, normalization of consumption, and alcohol-entertainment binomial ("social norms" category); parents' habitual consumption, verbal/non-verbal inconsistency in parental model, risk-free consumption depicted in the mass media, consumption with positive results in the media ("social models" category); and excessive health content, long-term risk ("preventive discourse" category). After discussing the results in the context of the current scientific literature, the article offers various proposals for increasing risk perception in adolescents: stronger impact of contents on short-term risks of alcohol; educational strategies targeted to adolescents to include agents of socialization, especially parents; and policies centered on the substance and reduction of supply.

The Influence of Social Circumstances on "Risky" Patterns of Alcohol Consumption Among Mothers With Preschool-Aged Children in England

BACKGROUND

Social factors have been linked to patterns of alcohol use among women. However, conflicting evidence on the ways in which socio-economic circumstances are linked to women's alcohol use impedes our understanding. Interest in women's alcohol use has moved up the policy agenda. Nevertheless, existing research fails to attend to differences among groups of women according to their social circumstances, including whether or not they are mothers.

OBJECTIVES

This study aims to enhance our understanding of "risky" patterns of alcohol use among mothers in the UK during very early motherhood.

METHODS

Secondary analyses of 2000/1 data from the Millennium Cohort Study (MCS) was undertaken. Using a broad outcome measure of "risky" alcohol use, patterns of consumption among a sub-set of mothers recruited in England (n = 7048) were explored according to a number of social and domestic variables. Using logistic regression, mutually adjusted analyses that included adjustment for age were undertaken. Odds ratios were calculated for the likelihood of "risky" drinking according to mothers' social circumstances and level of disadvantage.

RESULTS

"Risky" alcohol use was more likely with increased levels of disadvantage: disadvantaged childhood circumstances, lower levels of educational attainment, lower household income, younger age at first birth, lone parenthood.

CONCLUSIONS

Social gradients were evident for "risky" alcohol use among mothers with 9-month-old babies in England who took part in the MCS. These findings emphasize the importance of exploring patterns of alcohol use among sub-groups of the population that are currently under-represented in the research literature.

Parental divorce and initiation of alcohol use in early adolescence

Parental divorce/separation is among the most commonly endorsed adverse childhood events. It has been shown to increase subsequent risk of alcohol dependence and problems across adolescence and early adulthood, but its influence on early stages of alcohol involvement has only recently been explored. In the present study, we examined whether time to first full drink was accelerated among youth who experienced parental divorce/separation. To determine specificity of risk, models controlled for perceived stress as well as family history of alcoholism, current parental drinking, and internalizing and externalizing problems. Developmental specificity in terms of timing of both parental divorce and first drink was also examined. Participants were 931 middle-school students (488 girls, 443 boys) who were enrolled in a prospective study on drinking initiation and progression (52% female; 23% non-White, 11% Hispanic). Students indicated whether and at what age they had consumed a full drink of alcohol. Parental divorce/separation was coded from a parent-reported life-events inventory and was grouped based on age experienced (ages 0-5, ages 6-9, age 10+). Cox proportional hazard models showed increased risk for onset of drinking as a function of divorce/separation, even controlling for stress, parental alcohol involvement, and psychopathology. There was no evidence for developmental specificity of the divorce/separation effect based on when it occurred nor in timing of first drink. However, the effect of parental divorce/separation on initiation was magnified at higher levels of parental drinking. Given the rates of parental divorce/separation and its association with increased risk of early drinking, investigation of the mechanisms underlying this link is clearly warranted. (PsycINFO Database Record

Does the familial transmission of drinking patterns persist into young adulthood? A 10-year follow up

BACKGROUND

Parental drinking has been shown to be associated with offspring drinking. However, the relationship appears to be more complex than often assumed and few studies have tracked it over longer time periods.

AIMS

To explore the long-term (10-year) transmission of familial drinking during adolescence to offspring drinking patterns in young adulthood.

DESIGN

Swedish longitudinal study, assessing the relationship between familial drinking in 2000 and offspring drinking in 2010 using simultaneous quantile regression analysis (n=744).

DATA

Data on familial drinking was gathered from the Swedish level-of-living surveys (LNU) and from partner LNU in 2000 while data on offspring drinking in young adulthood was gathered from LNU 2010. Drinking among offspring, parents and potential stepparents was measured through identical quantity-frequency indices referring to the past 12 months in 2010 and 2000 respectively.

RESULTS

Young adults whose families were abstainers in 2000 drank substantially less across quintiles in 2010 than offspring of non-abstaining families. The difference, however, was not statistically significant between quintiles of the conditional distribution. Actual drinking levels in drinking families were not at all or weakly associated with drinking in offspring. Supplementary analyses confirmed these patterns.

CONCLUSION

The association between familial drinking and offspring drinking in young adulthood exhibits clear non-linear trends. Changes in the lower part of the familial drinking distribution are strongly related to drinking in young adults, but the actual levels of drinking in drinking families appear less important in shaping the drinking patterns of the offspring in young adulthood.

Tests of the Attachment and Clinical Issues Questionnaire as It Applies to Alcohol Dependence

OBJECTIVES

Although many major theories tie the addictions to specific pathways and neurochemical systems evolutionarily implicated in food and social behavioral systems, there is a paucity of instruments from the psychological level that can measure these important attachment, social, and emotional counterparts. Two studies were designed to examine whether the Attachment and Clinical Issues Questionnaire (ACIQ) could help fill this limitation in psychological measurement.

METHODS

In study 1, the ACIQ was given to patients in a substance abuse unit and control participants funneled to match from a larger population. To address the issue of their hypothesized tendency to blame everything on past experiences, study 2 tested whether the above results would be replicated with high school students predicted to develop alcohol dependence.

RESULTS

In study 1, on the patient population, significant differences were found on the attachment and clinical scales in predicted directions. In study 2, on the high school students, the central predictions were again confirmed with this different and larger population, but with interesting developmental differences.

CONCLUSIONS

The 2 studies using different populations and definitions of alcohol dependence converged on similar results. The ACIQ was found to be a robust battery for measuring attachment and clinical issues displayed by both patient populations and high school students only predicted to develop alcohol dependence. The results were further discussed in terms of how they move us toward Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) approaches to diagnosis and treatment, paying attention to important individual differences in attachments, and clinical issues.

Early Adolescent Alcohol Use: Are Sipping and Drinking Distinct?

BACKGROUND

Sipping alcohol is common during early adolescence, but research has ignored the distinction between sipping and drinking whole alcohol beverages, conflating the 2, or else simply classifying "sippers" as abstainers. Research has not addressed whether sippers are different to drinkers, in relation to variables known to be associated with adolescent alcohol consumption, or considered whether sipping and drinking behaviors may have quite different associations.

METHODS

Parent-child dyads (N = 1,823) were recruited in 3 states from Australian grade 7 classes. Multinomial logistic analyses compared adolescents who had only had a sip/taste of alcohol (sippers) with adolescents who had consumed at least a whole drink (drinkers) in the past 6 months. The multivariate model assessed a broad range of demographics, parenting practices, peer influences, and adolescent externalizing and internalizing behaviors, and controlled for school clustering.

RESULTS

Compared to drinkers, sippers were less likely to come from 1-parent households (odds ratio [OR] = 0.59, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.35 to 0.98); less likely to come from low-socioeconomic status (SES) households (OR = 0.54, 95% CI: 0.31 to 0.94); more likely to come from families where parents provide stricter alcohol-specific rules (OR = 1.21, 95% CI: 1.11 to 1.32), stricter monitoring of the child's activities (OR = 1.10, 95% CI: 1.04 to 1.16), more consistent parenting practices (OR = 1.13, 95% CI: 1.05 to 1.23), and more positive family relationships (OR = 1.56, 95% CI: 1.02 to 2.43); and report having fewer substance-using peers (OR = 0.80, 95% CI: 0.70 to 0.91) and greater peer disapproval of any substance use (OR = 1.30, 95% CI: 1.19 to 1.42). After adjustment for confounders, the associations with household composition and SES were no longer significant, but the familial and peer associations remained significant in the multivariate analysis, χ(2) (40) = 1,493.06, p < 0.001.

CONCLUSIONS

Sipping alcohol has different associations with known predictors of adolescent alcohol use than drinking whole beverages, and sipping may be a distinct or separable behavior. Future research should better define quantities of early consumption and assess the relationship between early sipping and drinking on long-term outcomes separately.

Natural mentors and youth drinking: a qualitative study of Mexican youths

Parental influences on youth drinking are well documented but not the influence of extended family members. This article explores extended family influences on alcohol use among Mexican youths and whether extended family members can be considered natural mentors. We conducted a qualitative study using ethnographic open ended interviews with 117 first year university students in Mexico City. The ethnographic interviews revealed six drinking groups: excessive, heavy, regular, occasional, abstainers and non drinkers. Youths reported close relationships with extended family members who provided counsel and acted as representatives of familial norms and values. The alcohol beliefs and behaviors of these family members, including their alcohol misuse, had a positive influence on youths' alcohol attitudes. The naturally occurring mentoring relationships of Mexican extended family members can positively influence moderate youth drinking. Natural mentoring relationships should be encouraged and facilitated in prevention efforts for Mexican youths, Mexican-American youths and potentially other Hispanic/Latino youths.

The stability of alcohol consumption between age 16 and 26: Evidence from a National Birth Cohort Study

This study examined the association between moderate drinking at age 16 (adolescence) and alcohol consumption at age 26 (young adulthood), whilst controlling for possible confounding effects at the individual and family level (assessed at birth and age 10). Using the British Cohort Study (BCS70), 6515 respondents provided data on their adolescent alcohol consumption and other behaviours. Of these, 4392 also completed the survey at age 26. Consumption patterns established in adolescence persisted, to a large degree, into early adulthood. Those adolescents who drank moderately in adolescence drank significantly less in adulthood than those adolescents who drank to heavy or hazardous levels. Implications for health promotion strategies and guidance are discussed.

Alcohol expectancies in young children and how this relates to parental alcohol use

According to the cognitive model of intergenerational transference, modeling of alcohol use is an indirect process in which parental drinking shapes alcohol expectancies of children, which in turn are associated with later alcohol use in adolescents. The present study examined whether parental alcohol use was related to alcohol expectancies and experimentation with alcohol use in young children. A community sample of 240 children aged 8.02 (SD=1.13) participated. Alcohol expectancies were assessed by means of the Berkeley Puppet Interview. Children reported consistently and reliably on the positive and negative consequences of alcohol use among adults. Their positive and negative expectancies were equally strong. Compared to younger children, older children had more negative and less positive expectancies. For girls, more paternal alcohol use was associated with less negative alcohol expectancies. For older children, more alcohol use of the mother was related to less positive expectancies, while more alcohol use of the father was related to more positive expectancies. The present study showed that young children already have clear ideas about the positive and negative consequences alcohol can have among adults, which can be captured with the Berkeley Puppet Interview. These expectancies are partly associated with alcohol use of their parents.