Adolescent sons of alcoholics: neuropsychological and personality characteristics

Adolescent sons of alcoholics and nonalcoholics were compared on a battery of intellectual, neuropsychological, personality, and behavioral measures. The former group demonstrated certain neuropsychological deficits in perceptual-motor ability, memory, and language processing. They also had auditory and visual attentional impairments and a lower level of achievement in reading comprehension. In addition, the sons of alcoholics presented a more neurotic personality profile than sons of nonalcoholics. They were, however, less impulsive than the comparison group. More development and familial problems were noted in the alcoholics' offspring as well. The implications of these findings for understanding the causes and consequences of alcoholism are discussed.