Participants were 70 right-handed young adults (46 males, 24 females), aged 18.0–22.3 years (mean 20.1 ± 1.3), recruited from the MLS, an ongoing study of families with parental alcoholism (2/3 of sample) and contrast nonalcoholic families (1/3 of sample; Zucker et al., 2000). Parental alcoholism was based on DSM-IV criteria; detailed description regarding MLS recruitment and assessments can be found elsewhere (Zucker et al., 1996, 2000). Families in which the mother reported drinking during pregnancy or in which the target child exhibited signs of fetal alcohol syndrome were excluded (e.g., Loukas et al., 2001; Sokol and Clarren, 1989). Subjects’ substance use, behaviors and personality are assessed annually beginning at age 11, through age 26. Forty-nine participants in this study had one or both parents with a lifetime history of alcoholism (FH+) and 21 participants had no parental history of alcoholism (FH−), consistent with the entire MLS. All participants were Caucasian.
