Family history of alcoholism, family of origin characteristics, individual characteristics and adult alcohol use

Abstract

This project examines the extent to which: (1) perceptions of interactions within the family of origin relates to adult alcohol use, and (2) reports of problems with alcohol in the family of origin and selected individual qualities may mediate the relationship of interactions in the family of origin and adult problems with alcohol. Self-report questionnaire data were collected from a sample of 224 college students. Pearson correlation coefficients and a series of multiple regression analyses were used to examine the extent to which individual variables mediated relationships between family functioning in the family of origin and adult substances use ... Depression, internal locus of control, life satisfaction, and family of origin drinking history were found to be mediating variables between family functioning and adult alcohol use. Work/school satisfaction was found to not meet the criteria of mediation variable. The results suggest that while perceptions of family functioning are significant and positively related to adult alcohol use, interactions targeted at enhancing selected individual characteristics hold potential for reducing the risk for adult alcohol use.