Multi-Generational Study Says Parent Alcohol Use Increases Childrens' Risk
If parents abuse alcohol, there's a greater likelihood their children will, also.
Researchers have long assumed a connection between parental abuse of alcohol and the chances that children will also develop problems with alcohol, but a recent study of Danish parents gives further strength to the assumption as reality.
Overall, the study showed that when parents had problems with alcohol abuse, their children had a higher chance of also expressing alcohol use disorders - especially among girls. The connection between parental alcohol abuse and children seemed stronger for girls than for boys, contradicting some previous research that pointed to a higher risk for boys of developing an alcohol use disorder if their parents abused alcohol.
The study stands out because to date, few research studies have looked at finding answers from among a broad base of the population over a period of extended years, according to a report on the study posted on Science Daily.
University of Copenhagen study author and medical psychology professor Erik Lykke Mortensen says that the Denmark-based study followed families for multiple generations, utilizing information from the country's health registries. More than 7,100 people participated in the study, with birth dates from 1959 to 1961.
Using healthy registries, researchers gathered information about the participants' alcohol use disorders and information about any psychiatric problems or disorders. If their children were also registered with an alcohol use disorder, this was also recorded, as well as information about gender and social factors.
While researchers point out that many elements contribute to a parent's alcohol abuse problem, the study further strengthens the awareness that if parents abuse alcohol, their children have a greater chance, too.
The study report will be published in Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research in July 2011.
