and family history of alcohol use. As mentioned above, even though the sample size was relatively larger than previous studies, an even larger sample size may reveal a heritable association of LR with regular alcohol consumption. Participants were randomly recruited, but eligibility criteria may have also limited the extrapolation of the study findings to the general population. For instance, the sample may have lower drinking levels than the general population within the restricted age range used in this study. Despite these limitations, this analysis possesses a number of strengths. This analysis focused on examining a predominantly African American sibling pair cohort for the predictive nature of SRE on current alcohol drinking patterns as well as levels of heritability, adding to existing knowledge of heritability of LR in a particular ethnic minority group. In contrast to twin studies, the current study observed genetic effects interacting with both shared and unique environmental effects without excluding members of a sib pair who lacked data that the other sibling provided. The age range of participants and their siblings (21–35 years) represented both college students and adults in the community and complemented the diversity to the study cohort. Finally, this cohort displayed many similarities in
