To conclude, in this longitudinal sample of adopted participants of Asian descent assessed in adolescence and young adulthood, we re-confirmed the observation that possession of the ALDH2*2 allele, which results in deficient ALDH2 enzyme activity, was also associated with multiple measures of reduced alcohol use, and lower risk for alcohol-related psychopathology. We also observed that the reduction in alcohol use associated with ALDH2*2 genotypes became more pronounced over the course of adolescence and into young adulthood - a period during which alcohol use also typically increases. Finally, we noted that parent and elder sibling alcohol use, as well as peer deviancy, may moderate the protective effect of ALDH2*2 - although moderation by sibling alcohol use and peer deviancy was distinctly less certain than that by parent alcohol use, and none of the potential environmental moderators exhibited a strong and incontrovertible influence across all measures of target participant alcohol use.
