We explored links among adult alcohol consumption, personality, and retrospective childhood relationships with parents using psychometric instruments adapted for use among Dominicans (n=58; 25 men and 33 women).
Compared to women, men consumed more alcohol and cigarettes, reported lower behavioral inhibition, and lower maternal “caringness” (all p<.05).
Results suggest that, with respect to drinking, parenting styles predispose opposite developmental trends for men and women.
Women who recalled their mothers as more caring tended to have higher behavioral activation seeking (BAS) scores and also to drink more. For men BAS was negatively correlated with maternal caring, but did not significantly correlate with alcohol consumption.
Women who recalled their fathers as more controlling tended to drink less (p=.026), but men who recalled their fathers as more controlling tended to drink more (p=.0002).
Maternal controllingness was also positively associated with alcohol consumption in men (p=.002), but showed no association with drinking in women.
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