There is an ongoing debate regarding how acute alcohol response may convey risk for future drinking problems. Both higher and lower responses to alcohol have been purported to play a role in the development of future alcohol dependence among young adults with family history (FH) of the disorder or who engage in frequent binge drinking (Schuckit 1980; Schuckit and Smith 1996; Newlin and Renton, 2010; Quinn and Fromme, 2011; Schuckit, 2011; King et al., 2011a; Kerfoot 2013 in press; King et al., 2013 in press). For example, while FH has been the most commonly studied risk factor for the development of AUD, findings have varied considerably on how FH may relate to acute response to alcohol (Newlin and Renton 2010). Before drawing firm conclusions on the relationship between acute response and risk for the development of AUD, a consistent and reproducible pattern of acute response in at risk drinkers must be established. Direct replication of reliable subjective and objective alcohol responses across the breath alcohol curve may be crucial to achieving this goal.
