All of the study participants were involved in a larger, longitudinal study (The RISK project27,28) designed to follow offspring of alcohol and drug-dependent fathers over time (along with a comparison group of offspring who had fathers without a substance dependence diagnosis) as the offspring progress from adolescence into adulthood. A total of 338 individuals were recruited for the larger study. This study only includes those who had complete data at all waves of measurement (n=225). At baseline/Time 1 (1993-1998), the participating adolescents (60% girls) were 15-19 years-old (mean age = 16.70 ± 1.36). Most of the adolescents were Caucasian (62%) or African-American (25%) and all were from working class families in Connecticut. Approximately one half of the fathers (53%) had obtained a high school diploma. The mean household gross income was 4.69 (± 2.42) on a scale ranging from 1 = $0-$9,999/year to 9 = $150,000/year or more, which translates to about $40,000/year.
