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The role of parent and offspring sex on risk for externalizing psychopathology in offspring with parental alcohol use disorder: a national Swedish study

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Abstract

Purpose

The substantial literature showing that offspring of parents with alcohol use disorder (AUD) is at increased risk for externalizing psychopathology rarely examines the differential effects of parental and offspring sex. This literature also has other important limitations, such as modest sample sizes and use of unrepresentative samples. Using a large, nationwide Swedish sample, we aim to investigate the roles of parental and offspring sex in externalizing psychopathology among offspring with parental AUD.

Methods

AUD diagnosis and externalizing measures were obtained from national registries. Associations between outcomes and parental AUD were examined using logistic regressions. Parental and offspring sex effects were examined with interaction terms.

Results

Risks for externalizing disorders were increased in sons and daughters with parental AUD, with significant differences between sons and daughters for criminal behavior; maternal AUD had a greater impact than paternal AUD (regardless of offspring sex), but having two parents with AUD increased risk for all outcomes substantially more than having one parent; and maternal AUD increased risk of drug abuse for daughters more than sons, while paternal AUD increased risk of AUD and criminal behavior for sons more than daughters.

Conclusions

Offspring of parents with AUD are at increased risk for externalizing psychopathology. Maternal and paternal AUD differentially affected sons’ vs. daughters’ risks for AUD, drug abuse, and criminal behavior. The transmission of psychopathology within the externalizing spectrum appears to have sex-specific elements.

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Acknowledgements

This project was supported by grants AA0235341 and K01AA024152 from the US National Institutes of Health, the Swedish Research Council (2014-2517), the Swedish Research Council for Health, Working Life and Welfare (in Swedish: FORTE; Reg. no. 2013-1836), and FORTE (Reg. no. 2014-0804) and the Swedish Research Council (2012-2378 and 2014-10134) as well as ALF funding from Region Skåne.

Author information

Author notes

  1. K. Sundquist and K.S. Kendler jointly supervised this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Virginia Commonwealth University, Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics, Box 980126, Richmond, VA, 23298-0126, USA

    E. C. Long & K. S. Kendler

  2. Center for Primary Health Care Research, Lund University, Malmö, Sweden

    S. L. Lönn, J. Sundquist & K. Sundquist

  3. Department of Psychiatry, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA

    K. S. Kendler

  4. Department of Human and Molecular Genetics, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA

    K. S. Kendler

  5. Department of Family Medicine and Community Health, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, USA

    J. Sundquist & K. Sundquist

  6. Department of Population Health Science and Policy, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, USA

    J. Sundquist & K. Sundquist

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  1. E. C. Long
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Correspondence to E. C. Long.

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On behalf of all authors, the corresponding author states that there is no conflict of interest.

Ethical standards

The study has been approved by the appropriate ethics committee and has, therefore, been performed in accordance with the ethical standards laid down in the 1964 Declaration of Helsinki and its later amendments.

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Long, E.C., Lönn, S.L., Sundquist, J. et al. The role of parent and offspring sex on risk for externalizing psychopathology in offspring with parental alcohol use disorder: a national Swedish study. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol 53, 1381–1389 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-018-1563-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-018-1563-5

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