Wednesday, February 17, 2010

More Policy Based Evidence Making

Aren't these researchers missing something here:

Parents underestimate the influence their own drinking habits have on their children's attitude to alcohol, government research suggests.

A Department for Children, Families and Schools study suggests children from heavy-drinking households are more likely to use alcohol themselves.

Wouldn't a study also find that children from tall families are more likely to be tall themselves? Perhaps children copy their parents growing habits. Quickly googling 'Alcohol' 'environmental' & 'genetic' brings up studies like this which conclude:

genetic factors played a major role in the development of alcoholism among males, with similar influence for alcohol abuse and alcohol dependence. ....... in this population-based sample, environmental factors shared by family members appear to have had little influence on the development of alcoholism in males.

I don't doubt that the influence of parents matters, but it is also beyond question that someone's susceptibility to alcohol is influenced by genetics. In other words you'd expect someone's drinking habits to resemble that of their parents.

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