Among African Americans, the sex of the affected parent appeared to have influenced the type of trauma exposure somewhat, with odds of sexual assault higher among offspring of mothers with AUD compared to those whose mothers did not have AUD, or to father-only and dual-parent AUD family types. Previous studies have established a link between the sex of the parent with AUD and type of trauma experienced (Walsh et al., 2003). The specific mechanism for this link is not known; however, findings from prior research that fathers with AUD are in general more likely to physically abuse their children and their spouses (Widom & Hiller-Sturmhofel, 2001; Zilberman, 2005) may partially explain the association between fathers’ AUD and higher likelihood of physical or witnessed violence, via a domestic violence pathway.
