WASHINGTON – A majority of parents in rural Kansas think children should know about problem drinkers in the family, reported Kimber Richter, Ph.D.
Approximately 45% of alcoholism is genetic, and knowledge of family history might help children make better choices about alcohol consumption, said Dr. Richter at the annual conference of the Association for Medical Education and Research in Substance Abuse.
Dr. Richter and a group of medical students in a rural preceptorship program designed a survey to better understand parent-child communication regarding a family history of alcohol problems. They surveyed 24 sets of parents aged 18 years or older living in rural Kansas who had children between the ages of 10 and 20 years.
In response to a two-page questionnaire, 100% of the parents said that they had talked to their children about alcohol, and 100% agreed that a family history of alcohol problems increased children's risk. Most (96%) said they believed that families with a positive history of alcohol problems should inform their children. Of the 83% of parents who reported a family history of problems, 57% said they had informed children in the family about this history. Overall, 63% had family rules concerning drinking, with punishments for breaking the rules. The children were not interviewed about their alcohol use, but they averaged 15 years old, the average age of first alcohol use in Kansas, Dr. Richter noted at the conference, also sponsored by Brown Medical School.