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Tuesday, February 20, 2007

MU Researchers Track Personality Traits to Learn More About Alcoholism

Twenty years into the study, data reveals individuals from alcoholic homes maintain higher risks

Feb 20 2007
Contact:Bryan Daniels
Senior Information Specialist
573-882-9144
DanielsBC@missouri.edu

COLUMBIA, Mo. - A long-term research project at the University of
Missouri-Columbia is producing valuable information about alcoholism and
individuals who are affected by a family history of the disease. MU
psychology researchers, now several years into a multi-year study, have
discovered that individuals from alcoholic homes maintain personality traits
that could eventually lead to alcohol dependency.

Kenneth J. Sher, professor of clinical psychology in the College of Arts and
Science's Department of Psychological Sciences, and psychology graduate
student Jenny Larkins, have compared personality differences of individuals
from alcoholic homes to those from non-alcoholic environments. They are
monitoring the neuroticism and psychoticism levels of individuals from both
groups. The neuroticism scale measures characteristics such as anxiety,
depression, guilt, shyness, moodiness and emotionality. The psychoticism
scale measures traits related to aggression, egocentrism, impulsivity and
anti-social behavior. When the study began in 1987, individuals with family
histories of alcoholism scored higher than their counterparts.

Over time and as participants in both groups aged, the researchers found an
overall decrease in neuroticism and psychoticism levels. However, Sher said
those from alcoholic homes maintained relatively higher levels of deviant
behavioral and emotional traits during adult maturation.

"There are tremendous changes in personality from adolescence to adulthood,"
he said. "We know that people become less neurotic as they get older. One of
the things we looked at in this study was the degree of change and whether
the gap closes or people maintain those differences. What we find are
decreases in neuroticism and psychoticism as people age, but the levels are
still higher for people with family histories of alcoholism. Everybody
becomes more emotionally stable, but the differences are still maintained."

Sher said another goal was to track personality changes after participants
affected by the disease moved out of such environments.

When the study began, the median age of participants was 18. Initially, 489
signed up for the study; 389 currently participate. The participants were
selected during their freshman year at MU. They completed alcoholism
screening tests which measured paternal and maternal drinking habits.
Following interviews, they were categorized as either having a family
history of alcoholism or not. Participants were assessed during each of the
first four years. Follow-ups were conducted during years seven and 11 - with
the most recent providing information for Sher's current discovery.

The study, "Family History of Alcoholism and the Stability of Personality in
Young Adulthood," has been published in Psychology of Addictive Behaviors.

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