Testing Multivariate Models of Outcome
The primary variable of interest was familial loading for alcoholism
and its impact on the age of onset of regular drinking in
offspring. The goal was to model variables hypothesized to
influence the onset of drinking and the onset of problem use of
alcohol and drugs, based on work from this laboratory (Hill and
Yuan 1999) and others. Measures of two personality dimensions,
Extraversion and Neuroticism, from the Junior Eysenck Personality
Inventory (JEPI; Eysenck 1963) were utilized, along with
the child’s anxiety (CMAS; Reynolds and Richmond 1978) and
self-esteem (Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory [SEI; Ahmed et
al 1985]) and an estimate of the child’s family cohesion based on
scores from the Cohesion scale (Family Environment Scale,
Child’s version [CVFES; Pino et al 1984]). Additionally, academic
achievement, measured by the Wide Range Achievement
Test (WRAT), was tested in the model. The neurobiological
variables assessed included postural sway and the amplitude of
the P300 component of the ERP.