The aim of the current investigation was to examine the joint effects of ADH1B variants and childhood adversity on two alcohol phenotypes that represent the underlying continuum of drinking behaviors, maximum drinks consumed in a 24-hour period (maxdrinks), and DSM-IV alcohol abuse and dependence criterion count (AUD symptoms), in a large sample of AA and European-American (EA) women and men. The study extends the existing literature on the moderating effects of childhood adversity on genetic liability to alcohol consumption and problem drinking in several ways. First, we attempted to replicate findings from the only prior study of GxE effects of ADH1B and childhood adversity on alcohol phenotypes. Second, we assessed the generalizability of findings from that study to individuals of African descent. Drawing on results of a GWAS conducted with the current sample, which revealed that rs1229984 was the most significant ADH1B SNP in the EA subsample (p=7.77 × 10−14) and rs2066702 was the most significant SNP in the AA subsample (5.73 × 10−17) (Gelernter et al., 2014), we examined ADH1B variants of greatest effect in each population. Third, we
