Parental alcohol use disorder and offspring marital outcomes. (3rd September 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Salvatore, Jessica E.; Larsson Lönn, Sara; Long, Elizabeth C.; Sundquist, Jan; Kendler, Kenneth S.; Sundquist, Kristina; Edwards, Alexis C.
• Is Part Of: Addiction. Volume 114:Number 1(2019)
• Page Start: 81
• Page End: 91
• Publication Date: 2018-09-03
• Subjects: Adult children of alcoholics -- age‐dependent effects -- marital -- marriage -- parental alcohol use disorder -- spousal alcohol use disorder; Alcoholism -- Periodicals; Drug addiction -- Periodicals; 616.86
• DOI: 10.1111/add.14405
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0965-2140

Abstract

Abstract: Aims: We tested whether parental alcohol use disorder (AUD) predicted adult offspring's likelihood of marriage and marriage to an AUD‐affected spouse; whether effects differed as a function of the sex or number of affected parents; and whether they were robust to confounders. Design: Sex‐stratified Cox and logistic regression models. Setting: Sweden. Participants: A total of 1 171 070 individuals (51.40% male) born 1965–75. Measurements: Obtained from legal, medical and pharmacy registries. Predictor was parent AUD. Outcomes were marriage and spouse AUD. Adjustments included offspring birth year and AUD; and parental education, marriage, divorce, criminal behavior and drug abuse. Findings: Male and female offspring of AUD‐affected parents were more likely to marry at younger ages (< 25), illustrative unadjusted hazard ratio (HR)age 20 = 1.22 (1.17, 1.28) and 1.34 (1.20, 1.39) and were less likely to marry at older ages (> 25), HRage 30 = 0.79 (0.78, 0.81) and 0.82 (0.81, 0.84). Parental AUD was associated with higher odds of having an affected spouse for males and females, odds ratio (OR) = 1.47 (1.38, 1.57) and 1.63 (1.56, 1.70). Effects were more pronounced for those with two versus one AUD‐affected parent and adjustments attenuated effects negligibly. Daughters of affected mothers (versus fathers) were more likely to have AUD‐affected husbands, OR = 1.68 (1.54, 1.84) versus 1.56 (1.48, 1.64), while there was no difference in sons. Conclusions: In Sweden, parental alcohol use disorder (AUD) is associated with a higher probability of marriage at younger ages, a lower probability of marriage at older ages and a higher likelihood of marriage to an affected spouse compared with no parental AUD. Most of these effects become stronger when the number of AUD‐affected parents increases from one to two, and most effects hold after controlling for parents' socio‐economic status, marital history, other externalizing disorders and offspring's own AUD status. Daughters of affected mothers are more likely to have an affected spouse.