One characteristic related to the development of alcohol dependence is the level of subjective response to alcohol (Schuckit et al. 2001). People who are at high risk of developing alcoholism (e.g., children of alcoholics) more frequently report that they need to consume greater amounts of alcohol to feel alcohol’s effects than do other people. These people are said to have a low level of response to alcohol; this characteristic is a powerful predictor of the subsequent development of alcohol dependence, and twin studies have demonstrated that this trait is genetically influenced.
