Are Daughters of Alcoholics More Likely to Marry Alcoholics?

Questionnaire data from 695 female & 661 male Caucasian nonalcoholic students & nonacademic staff at the U of California San Diego, La Jolla, are drawn on to evaluate the relationship between having an alcoholic parent & the presence of a spouse with a similar diagnosis. Data relating to 1,416 parents of the respondents, revealed that even after controlling for the increased rate of alcohol-dependent spouses among alcoholics, assortative mating appears to be associated with positive family histories of alcoholism. Daughters of alcoholics were more than twice as likely to marry an alcoholic as daughters of nonalcoholics, irrespective of the alcoholic parent's gender. In contrast, daughters of alcoholics did not demonstrate a higher rate for having a spouse with another of the more common psychiatric syndromes, a major depressive episode. Sons of alcoholics did not demonstrate an increased rate for marrying an alcoholic when compared to sons of nonalcoholics. 2 Tables, 26 References. Adapted from the source document.