Longitudinal studies on the development of delinquency have repeatedly identified inadequate parenting in early childhood histories of individuals who subsequently developed antisocial behavior and alcohol abuse during adolescence and adulthood (Fuller et al., 2003). One study that investigated the role of maladaptive parental behavior in the association between parent and offspring psychiatric disorders (Johnson et al., 2001) found that maladaptive parental behavior was associated with increased offspring risk for DSM-IV diagnosed alcohol and drug abuse disorders. These and additional studies suggest that difficulties in the parent-child relationship may be a vital pathway through which various family factors influence child outcomes (Fauber et al., 2003). Future research regarding lifetime alcohol dependence among offspring of divorced/separated parents should explore additional environmental influences occurring before parental divorce/separation (e.g., maternal vs. paternal history of alcohol problems, biological vs. adoptive parental alcohol and other problems, parent conflict, parenting skills, child maltreatment history), during the dissolution period (e.g., meaning of divorce/separation to child), and after parental divorce/separation (e.g., change in income, school, residence, parent-child relationship; parental remarriage; single parent status) that could possibly mediate or moderate offspring lifetime alcohol dependence (Jacob and Johnson, 1997; Jacob et al., 2003; Johnson et al., 2001).
