Young women and alcohol: psychosocial factors associated with their own drinking, their fathers' drinking, and both

Parental alcoholism as a risk factor for DSM-IV-defined alcohol abuse and dependence in American women: the protective benefits of dyadic cohesion in marital communication

Important trends in research over the past decade indicate that women are as greatly affected by familial alcoholism as are men. Although it is increasingly recognized that the adverse drinking outcomes predicted for adult children of alcoholics (COAs) are not inevitable, and only a small percentage develop alcohol dependence or grow up to be alcoholic, relatively little knowledge exists regarding moderating factors that reduce their vulnerability. This study identifies a multiple mediator latent structural model of the intergenerational transmission of risk for DSM-IV-assessed alcohol abuse and dependence among women COAs in adulthood. The effects of both parental alcoholism and family environment are estimated at three time points spanning 10 years across 5-year intervals (1984, 1989, and 1994) using data from a subsample of 4,449 women in the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY). Dyadic cohesion in marital communication (greater marital cohesion, harmony, and less verbal disagreement, discord, and conflict) is a proposed moderating factor that may operate in adulthood to lower the risk of female COAs developing alcohol abuse and dependence. Maximum likelihood standardized estimates of the effects of alcohol mediators measured over time indicate that direct parental effects for adverse outcomes decline when COAs are in their late 20s and early 30s. Indirect parental effects through environmental influences dramatically increase the risk of abuse and dependence among COAs at this time if they have one or more alcoholic siblings, especially an alcoholic sister. Dyadic cohesion and positive interpersonal communication patterns were found to moderate effectively the relationship that existed among parental alcoholism, environmental influences, and adverse alcohol consequences. COAs with satisfactory marital communication also evidenced higher levels of intimacy with their partners, perceived the division of housework to be fairer, shared more responsibilities and burdens of the household, and had less conflict over critical domestic issues than other women COAs. The protective benefits of a good marriage against the risks of alcoholism remained when applied to younger and older subjects, across diverse backgrounds, and after adjusting for other factors such as employment status.

Resilience to drinking vulnerability in women with alcoholic parents: the moderating effects of dyadic cohesion in marital communication

Data from a subsample of women (N = 4,235) in two waves of the National Longitudinal Surveys of Youth (NLSY) are used to examine the relationship between parental alcoholism and alcohol use in adult life. Dyadic cohesion in marital communication (frequency of interaction and agreement on substantive issues that affect couples) is investigated as a resilience factor that could potentially mitigate adverse drinking outcomes in adult children of alcoholics (ACAs). A moderated mediation model is estimated using a Two-Stage Least Squares (2SLS) regression analysis. The results indicated that an imputed transmission of risk for drinking vulnerability in women ACAs, controlling for nonACA status, was effectively moderated by positive dyadic interaction.

The transmission of parent/adult-child drinking patterns: testing a gender-specific structural model

A structural model on parent/adult-child alcohol use patterns was examined. Three analytical blocks were specified: adult-children's alcohol use onset by types of alcoholic beverage, their current use of these alcoholic beverages, and parents' drinking patterns. The model was examined with data collected from drunken driving offenders in California and Maryland treatment programs. The findings indicate that parent/child alcohol use transmission is more gender specific than race specific; fathers' drinking tends to affect sons' drinking and mothers' drinking tends to affect daughters' drinking. Beer use onset is the earliest and more effective in influencing future alcohol use than the onset of wine or liquor.