Limitations include the cross-sectional design, the use of self-report data, and no information on the sexual behaviors of those younger than 15 years of age. Because we used only paternal drinking behaviors to determine family type, it may be we have inadvertently omitted adolescents’ early AFD and participation in risky behaviors among adolescents whose mothers drink excessively, which was not an exclusion criteria for the parent study. However, alcohol problems are much less common in females, so it is likely there would not be many families where only the mother exhibits excessive drinking. In addition, because of the theory of assortative mating, it is probable the fathers who drink excessively selected mates with similar patterns of alcohol use.
