The goals of this study were to expand on previous work demonstrating strong associations of GABRA2 gene SNPs with alcohol dependence in adulthood (Edenberg et al. 2004; Covault et al. 2004; Lappalainen et al. 2005; Fehr et al. 2006; Drgon et al. 2006; Soyka et al. 2008; Covault et al. 2008; Enoch et al. 2009; Bierut et al. 2010; Olfson and Bierut 2012; Philibert et al. 2009; Ittiwut et al. 2012; Villafuerte et al. 2011; Li et al. 2013; Lind et al. 2008), and replicate work showing a suggestive association with CD in younger samples (Dick et al. 2006; Sakai et al. 2010). This study was an important extension of the Sakai (2010) study; not only was adolescent CD and AAD assessed in a larger sample, but AAD in adulthood as well. This study design enabled the examination of genetic influences on the development of three traits over time.
