Psychopathology in offspring from multiplex alcohol dependence families with and without parental alcohol dependence: A prospective study during childhood and adolescence

Multiplex families ascertained through multiple alcohol dependent individuals appear to transmit alcohol and drug use disorders at higher rates than randomly selected families of alcoholics. Our goal was to investigate the risk of developing specific psychiatric diagnoses during childhood or adolescence in association with familial risk status (high-risk [HR] or low-risk [LR]) and parental diagnosis. Using a prospective longitudinal design, HR offspring from three generation multiplex alcohol dependence families and LR control families were followed yearly. Data analysis was based on consensus diagnoses from 1738 yearly evaluations conducted with the offspring and a parent using the K-SADS, and separately modeled the effects of familial susceptibility and exposure to parental alcohol dependence. Multiplex family membership and parental alcohol and drug dependence significantly increased the odds that offspring would experience some form of psychopathology during childhood or adolescence, particularly externalizing disorders. Additionally, parental alcohol dependence increased the odds that adolescent offspring would have major depressive disorder (MDD). While it is well known that parental substance dependence is associated with externalizing psychopathology, the increased risk for MDD seen during adolescence in the present study suggests the need for greater vigilance of these children.