CHILDHOOD PREDICTORS OF ALCOHOLISM AND VIOLENCE

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Most previous psychophysiological research on alcoholism and violence is limited by the fact that it is cross-sectional, and longitudinal. To address this critical gas in the literature, we propose to conduct a prospective, longitudinal study of alcoholism and antisocial behavior. Two overarching hypotheses will be tested: 1) that non-antisocial alcoholics show autonomic and central nervous system overarousal and 2) that antisocial alcoholics show autonomic and central system underarousal. To test these hypotheses, analyses will be conducted within the context of the Mauritius longitudinal project. Measures of skin conductance and heart rate arousal and orienting were acquired in 1972 on a cohort of 1,795 three-year-old Mauritian children. Males and females are equally represented, while Hindus, Muslims, Creoles, and Chinese are contained in the sample in proportion to their representation on the island. At age 11 years, these measures were repeated, while additional data on resting EEG and event-related potentials were also collected. In the present, we propose to conduct diagnostic interviews on all the subjects who will then be aged 28 years in order to ascertain their alcoholism diagnoses. Information on all DSM-IV Axis I and Axis II disorders will also be obtained using the SCID. In addition, both self-report and official measures of antisocial, and violent behavior, which are currently being collected in a study funded by NIMH, will be available on all subjects. These diagnostic ad antisocial behavior outcome measures will then be related to psychophysiological measures obtained at ages 3 and 11 years. Results of this study will have implications for understanding the development of alcoholism and antisocial behavior. Due to the sound collection of psychophysiological measures taken in early childhood on an extensive cohort which includes females and four ethnic groups, it is felt that this project offers a unique opportunity to assess early psychophysiological risk factors for alcoholism and violence, and to explore ethnic and gender effects. Such research has in turn the potential to address some of the issues raised in four recent RFAs on alcoholism pertaining to youth, violence, women, and minorities.