Intergenerational relations for drinking motives: invariant for same- and opposite-sex parent-child dyads?

The purpose of this study was to investigate the similarity or dissimilarity of same-sex (e.g., mother-daughter) and opposite-sex (e.g., mother-son) associations for drinking motives across four pairings of parent-young adult child dyads.

Three waves of data spanning approximately 10 years in early to late young adulthood were used in conjunction with mother and father data to examine same-and cross-sex associations for drinking motives. Multiple group structural equation modeling was used to statistically model and evaluate these parent-young adult associations.

Findings indicated strong same-sex intergenerational transmission patterns for mother-daughter dyads relative to father-daughter dyads. The strength of relationships for father-son dyads was also stronger and significantly different than those for father-daughter dyads. There were no statistically significant differences between sex-specific intergenerational patterns for mother-son and father-son dyads or for mother-daughter and mother-son dyads. Although there was some generality and some specificity in the sex-specific intergenerational transmission patterns of drinking motives, when statistically significant, the transmission pattern generalized across all three drinking motives (coping, social, and enhancement).

Intergenerational factors contributing to alcohol phenotypes may not be limited to the modeling of alcohol use or the occurrence of alcohol disorders but may also include cognitive-motivational systems of affective regulation related to the use of alcohol. Future research would benefit by focusing on how biogenetic and socialization factors contribute to same- and opposite-sex intergenerational patterns and how to use this information to strengthen intervention programs.