is described as starting at a young age, as being coupled with externalizing behavior problems, and as reflecting a dense family history (Babor, 1996; Cloninger, 1987; Zucker, 1987). Unfortunately, the manner in which this inherited liability is expressed phenotypically prior to the onset of alcoholism is not well documented. To the extent that alcoholism is the outcome of a developmental process in which inherited vulnerability is manifested early in childhood and shaped by experience as the child ages (Zucker, 2006), documentation of the early presentation of vulnerability in children at high-risk should prove fruitful both conceptually and practically.
