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  • Q&A with Australian Health Practitioners

    Does alcoholism run in families?

    Related Topics
    Addiction Alcohol Dependence
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    Mark McHugh

    Clinical Psychologist, Psychologist

    Alcoholism does not necessarily run in families. When someone has had alcoholic parents, it can mean the child of alcoholics can be predisposed to alcoholism. Which means that they a more likely than other people not born of alcoholic parents to become addicted to substances.

    Research indicates a brain difference in the children of alcoholics which shows predisposition as a possibility but not a probability.

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    Dr Simon Easterbrook-Smith

    Health Professional

    My research interests include immunology and the mechanisms of amyloid formation. The latter has implications for people who are dealing with Alzheimer's Disease, Parkinson's Disease … View Profile

    The heritability of alcoholism (roughly, how much of the risk becoming an alcoholic correlates with genetic rather than environmental differences) is around 50-60%. This is typical of most complex human behaviours.

    However, and this is a *very* important point, heritability is *not* destiny. Just because one or both of a person's parents are/were alcoholics does not mean that they will become one as well.

    “OMG, it is in my genes, I am doomed” is a common but scientifically *totally* wrong thought especially as far as human behaviour is concerned.

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    Mary-Anne Wallace

    Counselling Psychologist, Psychologist

    Working with individuals and couples including FIFOI possess a Masters degree and am registered with the Psychology Board of Australia with endorsement in the area … View Profile

    Many people use alcohol as a coping mechanism, they might want to escape emotional pain or to manage stress, anxiety or depression. You often hear it being referred to as “self medication”. If one or both parents cope with emotional distress in this way then their children do not have the opportunity to learn healthy coping strategies. This then limits their options when times are difficult and they are at risk of following the behaviour “modelled” by their parent(s). However this does not mean that children of parents with an alcohol problem will also be problem drinkers - it just means they are at more risk of doing so than other people.

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