Table 2.
Alcohol and drug dependence among fathers and mothers of high- and low-risk offspring.
| High risk (N=71)
|
Low risk (N=60)
|
|||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yes | No | Unknown | Yes | No | Unknown | |
| Father alcohol dependent | 47 (66.2) | 16 (22.5) | 8 (11.3) | 3 (5) | 49 (81.7) | 8 (13.3) |
| Father drug dependent | 18 (25.4) | 34 (47.9) | 19 (26.8) | 1 (1.7) | 48 (80.0) | 11 (18.3) |
| Mother alcohol dependent | 14 (19.7) | 54 (76.1) | 3 (4.2) | 0 (0) | 54 (90) | 6 (10) |
| Mother drug dependent | 3 (4.2) | 62 (87.3) | 6 (8.5) | 0 (0) | 53 (88.3) | 7 (11.7) |
High-risk target families identified through an affected male proband pair. The affected and unaffected siblings of the pair were also eligible for inclusion. Offspring of the proband pairs and their siblings form the basis of this report.
Although some high-risk offspring did not have an alcohol-dependent father, the familial density of alcohol dependence for these offspring was greater than that typically seen in unselected families of alcohol-dependent individuals because their uncles and grandparents were frequently alcohol dependent.
Low-risk target families were selected for absence of alcohol dependence in two generations. The alcohol- and drug-dependent fathers seen among the control families resulted from these individuals marrying into the target families.