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Parental Divorce and Family History of Alcohol Disorder: Associations with Young Adults’ Alcohol Problems, Marijuana Use, and Interpersonal Relations
Author(s) -
Windle Michael,
Windle Rebecca C.
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
alcoholism: clinical and experimental research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.267
H-Index - 153
eISSN - 1530-0277
pISSN - 0145-6008
DOI - 10.1111/acer.13638
Subject(s) - offspring , psychology , young adult , interpersonal communication , alcohol , alcohol use disorder , family history , developmental psychology , clinical psychology , psychiatry , medicine , pregnancy , social psychology , radiology , biology , biochemistry , chemistry , genetics
Background This study used prospective data from 706 young adults to evaluate the impact of parental divorce and family history of alcoholism (FH+) on the outcomes of offspring alcohol problems, marijuana use, and interpersonal relationships with parents. Methods Assessments of parental divorce were based on parent reports, and young adult outcomes were collected from an offspring cohort ( n = 706; X age = 33.25 years; females = 53%) via computer‐based individual interviews (CAPI and ACASI). Family history of alcohol disorders for parents was based on assessments by mothers, fathers, and young adults. Results Parental divorce significantly predicted marijuana use but not alcohol problems. Maternal, but not paternal, alcoholism also significantly predicted marijuana use. Two‐way interactions indicated that sex moderated several of the relationships. For example, among those with divorced parents, daughters reported higher levels of conflict with fathers than sons, and sons reported lower levels of maternal support than daughters. Paternal alcoholism was also associated with higher levels of alcohol problems among sons relative to daughters. There was also a significant 2‐way interaction between divorce status and maternal alcoholism indicating that young adults who experienced both maternal alcoholism and parental divorce had the highest levels of marijuana use. Conclusions These findings highlight the role that parental divorce and FH+ have on alcohol problems, marijuana use, and interpersonal relationships in young adulthood, and how sex may moderate some of these more nuanced relationships.