Parental problem drinking predicts implicit alcohol expectancy in adolescents and young adults

The present study aimed to investigate the influence of parental problem drinking on implicit and explicit alcohol expectancy of adolescents and young adults (12–24 years). The study was conducted via the Internet, employing a between-subjects design. We measured alcohol expectancy by means of an Implicit Association Test (IAT) and a self-report questionnaire. A short version of the Children of Alcoholics Screening Test (CAST) was used to measure alcohol-related parental problem behavior. Our results showed that increased CAST-scores were correlated with a stronger implicit association between the concepts alcohol and arousal. In contrast, no such relationship was observed between parental problem drinking and self-reported expectancy of alcohol arousal. These findings provide tentative evidence that an implicit cognitive processing bias is implicated in the intergenerational transmission of addictive behaviors.

► Parental problem drinking predicts implicit alcohol expectancy in offspring.
► Implicit and explicit alcohol-expectancy in COA/ChAPAPs are dissociated.
► A transmission of addictive behaviors may be mediated by a cognitive processing bias.