The assessed risk factors included comorbid psychiatric disorders and stressful life events known to be linked to alcohol outcomes. The psychiatric variables were obtained by self-report from each family member using an adapted Semi-Structured Assessment of the Genetics of Alcoholism-II (SSAGA-II) interview and its companion child (C-SSAGA-C) and adolescent (C-SSAGA-A) interviews. The SSAGA was developed from validated items used in other psychiatric research interviews (see Kathleen K. Bucholz, Cadoret, Cloninger, & Dinwiddie, 1994). Six Diagnostic and Statistical Manual–Fourth Edition (DSM–IV) (American Psychiatric Association, 1994) disorders were included: ADHD (mother’s report on child), ODD, CD, MDD, PTSD, and Panic Disorder (child’s report). The reliability of SSAGA diagnoses has been assessed, and test–retest reliabilities with kappas ranging from .70 to .90 have been reported (Hesselbrock, Easton, Bucholz, Schuckit, & Hesselbrock, 1999). Stressful life events were selected from SSAGA-II self-report items on trauma and adverse family experiences, factors identified in current literature as associated with AD outcomes.
