Differentiation of alcoholics by family history.

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Abstract
Men (155) hospitalized with a primary diagnosis of alcoholism were grouped into 3 categories: 61 having at least 1 grandparent or parent who had misused alcohol, 57 having a relative other than a parent or grandparent (usually a brother or uncle) who drank to excess, and 37 having no blood relative who was an alcoholic. Of all the men, 30% reported that their fathers were alcoholics and 3% that their mothers misused alcohol; men whose mothers were alcoholics also had alcoholic fathers. Of the grandparents, 17% (13% of the grandfathers) drank to excess. In the majority of instances in which a parent (75%) or grandparent (80%) was an alcoholic, at least 1 other relative misused alcohol. The 61 men whose parents or grandparents drank excessively were younger than men having no family history of alcoholism or a history of other relatives'' excessive drinking (mean, 42 vs. 48 and 46 yr, P < 0.006), and started drinking at an earlier age (P < 0.03). The 3 groups did not differ in occupation, education, marital status, employment during the preceding year and number of jobs held during the last 5 yr. Scales of the Eysenck Personality Inventory and 5 of 6 scales of the Profile of Mood States (POMS) did not differentiate the 3 groups, but alcoholics whose parents or grandparents drank excessively scored higher on the Anger-Hostility Scale of the POMS and the Hostility Scale of the Symptom Checklist-90. Only 27% of the patients having a parent or grandparent who was an alcoholic reported parental disapproval of drinking, and none reported parental conflict over drinking, while 41% of those with other relatives who were alcoholics and 51% of those without family history of alcoholism said that their parents disapproved of drinking (P < 0.001). Patients having a family history of alcoholism were almost twice as likely as the others to lose a job because of drinking; patients in the 3 groups did not differ in the likelihood that alcoholism had caused them to separate from a loved one.

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