Although beliefs about drinking have been shown to predict future drinking problems, the drinking beliefs of children at risk for alcoholism have not been investigated. The three studies proposed will provide detailed analyses of the drinking beliefs of children at low and high risk for alcoholism. In study 1,360 kindergarten to sixth-grade boys and girls with (a) alcoholic, (b) controlled drinking and (c) nondrinking fathers will be asked to explain the reasons for several events in which drinking may be involved. A description of behavior linked to parental drinking will emerge, providing new data on children's understanding of how alcohol changes the way people behave. In study 2, the same children will be exposed to several drinking situations in the form of brief vignettes and asked to explain why the people in the vignettes drink. Explanations for drinking, and estimations of the popularity and appropriateness of drinking in these particular situations will be assessed. These findings will provide a developmental map of children's understanding of drinking motives. Finally, in study 3, the same children will be interviewed about (a) the causes, (b) the consequences, and (c) appropriate interventions to remedy alcoholic drinking. Childrens' explanations for why people drink, what happens to them, and how the problem could be prevented or treated, will be examined. The findings are potentially of importance in establishing developmentally-sensitive primary prevention programs. In summary, children at high and low risk for alcoholism will be studied in order to determine their understanding of (a) the effect of alcohol on behavior, (b) why people drink, and (c) how alcoholism arises.
