Paternal alcoholism predicts the occurrence but not the remission of alcoholic drinking: a 40-year follow-up Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica 116 (5), 386–393.
To test the effects of father's alcoholism on the development and remission from alcoholic drinking by age 40.
High Risk subjects were significantly more likely than Low Risk subjects to develop alcohol dependence (31% vs. 16%), but not alcohol abuse (17% vs. 15%). More subjects with alcohol abuse were in remission at age 40 than subjects with alcohol dependence. Risk did not predict remission from either alcohol abuse or alcohol dependence.
Familial influences may play a stronger role in the development of alcoholism than in the remission or recovery from alcoholism.
Reprint Request E-Mail: jk@ipm.regionh.dk
