Parental Drinking and Future Alcohol Dependence among Adolescents with and without Antisocial Personality Disorder

Live Poster Session: Zoom Link

Colin Cobb
Colin Cobb

Colin is a Sophomore at Wesleyan University from Ridgefield, CT. He is a double major in Economics and Government. Colin is a member of the Wesleyan Men’s Ice Hockey Team. Prior to attending Wesleyan, Colin was enrolled at a boarding school in Kent, CT. After graduation, Colin hopes to pursue a career in finance or attend law school.

Abstract:

No child deserves to be raised by parents who prioritize drinking over their well-being, as it obvious that households dominated by alcohol are not functional ones. Many studies have demonstrated that adolescents exposed to drinking at a young age are likely to engage in future heavy consumption. It is important to study the relationship between being raised by parents with a drinking problem and future alcohol dependence because excessive alcohol consumption is responsible for over 95,000 deaths per year (CDC, 2021). Furthermore, suffering from a mental illness, such as antisocial personality disorder, makes an individual more susceptive to alcohol dependence. It is also important to recognize the possible association between antisocial personality disorder and the development of a drinking problem.

The intentions of this analysis consist of 1) establishing the association between parental excessive drinking and future adolescent alcohol abuse; and 2) deciding if the relationship between parental alcohol use and an adolescent developing a drinking problem differs for those with and without antisocial personality disorder. The study will examine if individuals with an antisocial personality disorder are more vulnerable to future alcohol abuse than those without an antisocial personality disorder, and whether these differences are consistent with the impact of parental alcohol usage.