Ducci & Goldman, 2008; Goldman et al., 2005; van der Zwaluw & Engels, 2009). Initial evidence suggests that motives for alcohol use may also be linked to similar genetic factors. Drinking motives involving coping with negative moods appear to be, especially in females, heritable (Agrawal et. al., 2008; Prescott, Cross, Kuhn, Horn, & Kendler, 2004) and a substantial portion of genetic variation in AUDs appears to overlap with drinking to manage mood states (Prescott et al., 2004). Notably, the extent to which genetic variance in drinking motives: a) overlap with genetic variance in theoretically related personality constructs; or b) account for the genetic covariance between personality and alcohol has yet to be documented. However, the extant findings suggest that variance in personality (especially constructs related to behavioral undercontrol), AUDs, and motives for alcohol use are at least partially explained by common genetic factors. Future research should further elucidate genetic factors that relate to these constructs.
