The results of the current study should be interpreted in light of the following limitations. Our measure of density relied on maternal report and is therefore subject to bias in reporting. Direct interview of biological relatives was not feasible in the current study. The reports of family history did not extend beyond the use of alcohol so it is possible that other mental health problems in the family are partly responsible for the density effects. Although our active phone recruitment methods should have decreased volunteer bias, the generalizability of our results beyond a community volunteer sample is unknown. Ultimately, however, these new findings suggest that a greater proportion of biological relatives with alcohol problems increases the chances of behavior problems in children, that the association is not large, but that it may be mitigated by effective parenting practices. These findings should be replicated, and they should be re-examined when the children are of drinking age to verify that alcohol use and related problems indeed result from the proposed pathways.
