The degree of consistency across age cohort, offspring gender, and now the parent's gender with respect to the pattern of associations we have observed is striking. The consistency of findings is likely due in part to the size and representative nature of the MTFS sample. That one item from a long and comprehensive structured interview predicts anything, let alone so consistently, is impressive. In addition, this question is aimed at ascertaining the maximum number of drinks consumed at any time in the parents' lifetime. For the majority of them, the occasion of their maximum alcohol consumption was likely when they were quite a bit younger, even before the birth of their first child. For instance, the median age of onset of heaviest drinking for the mothers in this sample was 20 and the median duration of heaviest drinking was two years. Although reflecting an episode that for most women occurred before their children were born, then, maximum consumption was consistently and independently associated with a variety of mental health and substance-related problems in their adolescent offspring.
