In the current study, density of alcohol problems in community children’s biological relatives was examined as a predictor of child behavior – in this case, behaviors reflecting either disinhibition or conduct problems – using data from the Tween to Teen Project of 452 children in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. Child behavior was assessed comprehensively using parent and teacher reports for a circumscribed elementary-school age range. Thus, this study provides the first test of the association between family density of alcoholism and expressed behavioral risk in childhood in a community sample of children ascertained before the onset of alcohol use (Donovan and Molina, 2008). Moderators and mediators of this association were tested with special attention to parenting efficacy as a potentially protective moderating factor.
