Another consideration for understanding genetic influences on pathways of risk for alcohol problems is the robust finding that the overlap between childhood conduct problems and later alcohol problems is largely the result of shared genetic factors. This finding has been shown across multiple twin samples.24,25,36,37 In addition, an offspring of twins study found increased rates of conduct disorder in alcohol-dependent fathers, with transmission patterns supporting the common-genes hypothesis.38 Specific genes that have been associated with adult alcohol dependence have been associated with conduct problems in younger children and adolescents (rather than early adolescent alcohol dependence),39 again suggesting that childhood behavior problems may be an early manifestation of an underlying predisposition to subsequent alcohol problems. The association with behavior problems may emerge earlier in development because genetic factors are apparent in behavior problems (showing up early in childhood) before their effects on patterns of alcohol use (for which genetic influences assume greater importance later in adolescence).
