There were several strengths of this study, including the use of a within-subjects, dose-ranging, and placebo-controlled design with intensive follow-up. Responses were obtained at baseline and repeated at several junctures during the course of the BrAC curve, expectancies were minimized by blinding beverage content, and ecological validity was maintained by using a trained research assistant to interact with the participant in a quasi-social context, albeit a paradigm that did not completely mimic all aspects of social drinking. Drinking outcomes were validated by assessment of alcohol consequences and DSM-IV diagnoses. Finally, the results were observed within a diverse sample of both men and women of various racial backgrounds, which served to increase generalizability, in contrast to prior studies focusing on white male participants.8,18,23 This latter issue may be relevant in terms of the lack of systematic FH effects observed for acute subjective and objective alcohol responses, as reported by Brumback et al67 and Roche and King.74 Given that participants were enrolled regardless of FH, the subgroup of sons of alcoholic fathers was relatively small, potentially reducing statistical power to detect FH
