Mother-son interactions in disruptive and nondisruptive adolescent sons of male alcoholics and controls

The goal of the study was to describe mother-son relations in adolescent sons of male alcoholics.

Eighty-two mother-son dyads were observed interacting in a laboratory setting. They were subdivided into four groups: sons of male alcoholics (SOMAs) with and without behavioral problems, boys who were not SOMAs but had behavioral problems, and controls. Disruptive boys were included and distinguished from SOMAs because while there is often co-occurrence of these two problems they are not always found in the same individual.

It was found that the biological mothers of the disruptive boys were less supportive and nurturing of their sons than were the other mothers. They were also rated as less mature, more anxious, and less confident in themselves as parents. There were no significant findings for the SOMAs or their mothers, whose interactions resembled the control group.

It is possible that sons of male alcoholics' differences may be due to the disruptiveness of the boys rather than to their family alcoholic status per se.