Cognitive and motoric functioning of sons of alcoholic fathers and controls: The early childhood years.

Abstract

This study compared cognitive and motoric abilities of male preschoolers with alcoholic fathers with matched community comparison boys. Despite meticulous neighborhood searches, socioeco- nomic status (SES) and Home Observation for Measurement of the Environment (HOME) scores of control families were significantly higher than alcoholic families. Among high-risk boys, overall developmental quotient, fine motor, and personal/social development were significantly less ad- vanced than for controls when SES and HOME scores were not considered. In analyses of develop- mental data when HOME scores were considered as a covariate, only personal/social development remained significantly different. Findings suggest that paternal alcohol problems are related to cognitive development of their preschool sons, primarily if they impact on aspects of family envi- ronment related to intellectual abilities. Estimates from the Children of Alcoholics Foundation sug- gest that there are 6.6 million children under the age of 18 years in the United States with an alcoholic parent (Russell, Hender- son, & Blume, 1985). These children of alcoholics (COAs) are at high risk for a host of behavioral and emotional difficulties during childhood, adolescence, and adulthood (Sher, 1987; West & Prinz, 1987; Zucker & Noll, 1982). The risk for the development of difficulties in COAs, along with a body of evi- dence suggesting that specific biogenetic mechanisms for vul- nerability to alcoholism may be inherited, especially between fathers and sons (Cadoret, Troughton, O'Gorman, & Heywood, 1986; Cloninger, Bohman, & Sigvardsson, 1981; Goodwin, Schulsinger, Hermanse, Guze, & Winokur, 1973), has resulted in considerable research evaluating both biological and psycho- social functioning in these children. This work has been spurred by the possibility of specifying childhood risk factors for adult disorders and by the promise that identification of specific vulnerable youths could occur. Investigations have fo- cused on a broad spectrum of factors including static ataxia, rates of ethanol metabolism, platelet enzyme activity, electro- physiological markers, and cognitive abilities.