Alcoholic Traits: Like Father, Like Son
Health24News
Andrew K. Whitacre
March 15, 2001
WASHINGTON--Boys whose fathers are antisocial alcoholics (AALs) are more likely to perform worse intellectually, cognitively and academically than their peers, a study says.
Researchers at the University of Michigan (UM) and Michigan State University (MSU) published their findings in Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research. The study looked at the correlation between fathers' alcoholism and the negative, long-term effects on the fathers' sons--everything from low educational achievement to aggressive social behavior.
MSU doctoral candidate Edwin Poon, lead author of the report, and three other researchers picked 198 elementary-age boys who were already participants in a larger MSU-UM study. All the boys came from families with a history of paternal alcoholism and antisocial personality disorders. With tests like the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children and the Wide Range Achievement Test, the researchers were able empirically to measure intellectual functioning and academic achievement.
The tests showed that children of AALs had lower IQ and academic achievement compared to children from control families, and also scored lower than children of alcoholics without antisocial behavior.
People with antisocial personality disorder exhibit a consistent failure to abide by laws, deceitfulness, impulsivity and failure to plan, aggressiveness and repeated fighting, reckless disregard for the safety of self and others and consistent irresponsibility.
Another finding from the research was that low intellectual performance and antisocial behavior can not only encourage alcoholism but can also pass from father to son. This means the behavioral traits that many times lead to alcoholism can pass from generation to generation, much as the genetic basis for alcoholism scientists have studied in recent years. In this respect, the study provides real promise for children of alcoholics, for behavioral pitfalls are generally easier to avoid than genetic defects, say the researchers.
A strength of the study, according to Poon, was that all the children were 6 to 8 years old, unlike children in other studies who tended to be in or near their teens. This allowed the MSU-UM team to identify as early as possible the behavioral symptoms for which they were looking.
Further information is available from the Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research Web site.
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This news story is not produced by the American Psychological Association and does not necessarily represent the opinions of the association.