Alcohol use patterns and personality profiles as functions of gender, family history of alcohol dependency, character type and familial health

This study examined the effects of gender, family history of alcohol dependency, familial health and character type on alcohol use patterns and personality profiles of a non-clinical sample of college students. Subjects were 487 students from introductory psychology courses at a large midwestern university. Results showed minimal differences between adult children of alcoholics (ACOAs) and children of non-alcoholics on the dependent variables, likely reflecting the heterogeneity of both groups. However, variables of gender, family health and character type did differ significantly on the dependent variables. These findings suggest that the identification of persons as ACOAs has limited utility in predicting alcohol use patterns and personality profiles. Alternative conceptualizations of the coping styles of college students, based on family role theories, better reflect the diversity of responses to familial and environmental stressors. The Hero role appears to represent a highly resilient response to life stressors while the Scapegoat role represents a more dysfunctional response