Comparison Across Two Generations of Prospective Models of How the Low Level of Response to Alcohol Affects Alcohol Outcomes

Objective:This article presents the first direct comparison of level of response (LR)—based prospective models in two generations of the same families. To accomplish this, we describe results from the first prospective evaluation of potential mediators of how an earlier low LR to alcohol relates to adverse alcohol outcomes in offspring from the San Diego Prospective Study (SDPS).Method:To compare with data from probands in the SDPS, new data were gathered from 86 drinking offspring (age ∼20 years) during the 25-year follow-up of these families. Consistent with the usual effect of a low LR, outcomes 5 years later for both generations focused on drinking quantities as well as alcohol problems during the follow-up. A structural equation model (SEM) was used to analyze the relationships among variables, and the models in proband and offspring generations were compared using direct observations of the model results and through invariance procedures.Results:In these drinking offspring, LR correlated with 5-year...