Almost one-third of any sample of alcoholics has at least one parent who also was or is an alcoholic. Children of alcoholics are more likely than non-COAs to marry into families in which alcoholism is prevalent. Parental alcoholism influences adolescent substance use through several different pathways including stress, negative affect and decreased parental monitoring. Negative affect and impaired parental monitoring are associated with adolescent's joining in a peer network that supports drug use behavior. After drinking alcohol, sons of alcoholics experience more of the physiological changes associated with pleasurable effects compared with sons of non-alcoholics, although only immediately after drinking.
Alcoholism usually has strong negative effects on marital relationships.
Separated and divorced men and women were three times as likely as married men and women to say they had been married to an alcoholic or problem drinker. Almost two-thirds of separated and divorced women, and almost half of separated or divorced men, under age 46, have been exposed to alcoholism in the family at some time. Alcohol is associated with a substantial proportion of human violence, and perpetrators are often under the influence of alcohol. Studies of family violence frequently document high rates of alcohol and other drug involvement. COAs may be more likely to be the targets of physical abuse and to witness family violence.