Alcohol Misuse Across the Life Span: Insights From Developmental Studies in Behavior Genetics
Year: 2017
Type: article
Abstract: Alcohol misuse, one of today's greatest public health challenges, is a developmentally dynamic, complex behavior at the intersection of genetic and environmental influences. This review examines such influences from a behavior genetics perspective and discusses implications for public policy. Alcohol misuse is moderately heritable with genetic influences accounting for around 50% of its variance, but to date few specific genes have been identified. However, numerous environmental and social factors moderate genetic risk, including parents, peers, romantic partners, family dynamics, employment, laws, and cultural influences. These moderating factors change in salience across development, and, accordingly, no one-size-fits-all approach is suitable for reducing alcohol misuse at a large scale. We provide examples of some effective prevention and intervention programs and discuss a framework for using the behavior genetics evidence to inform future public policy efforts.
Institution: Virginia Commonwealth University
Language: English
Subfield: Epidemiology
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: green
Awards: Drinking Motives in Internalizing and Externalizing Pathways to Alcohol Misuse, Genetics, Romantic Relationships, and Alcohol Misuse in Emerging Adulthood, Cross-species investigation of gene networks for ethanol-related behaviors, Integrating Genetics, Brain Imaging and Phenotypic Subtypes in Binge Drinkers
OpenAlex ID: W2746017374