Personality and EEG beta in older adults with alcoholic relatives

Research indicates that biological relatives of alcoholics are more likely to develop alcoholism than individuals without alcoholic relatives. Most research on these groups had focused on individuals who were relatively young (i.e., under 30 years old). In the present study, we evaluated middle-aged and elderly nonalcoholic men and women who did and did not have alcoholic biological relatives to assess factors that might be involved in a later, rather than an earlier, onset of alcoholism. Psychological characteristics were assessed using the Tridimensional Personality Questionnaire. Biological characteristics were assessed using quantitative measures of the spontaneous electroencephalogram. The psychological measures did not distinguish the groups, but biological measures did. The results indicated that nonalcoholic individuals with alcoholic relatives showed elevated beta as compared with sex- and age-matched control subjects. Factors that might have mediated these findings are discussed, as are the implications of these outcomes.