Research on alcoholism indicates that sons of alcoholics are more likely to develop drinking problems than sons of nonalcoholic. Unfortunately, little knowledge exists regarding specific factors accounting for the familial transmission of alcoholism. The purpose of the proposed project is to examine the association between risk status for alcoholism and taste preferences for ethanol. One hundred male children between 6 and 11 years of age will serve as subjects. Fifty subjects will come from families where their biological fathers have received a diagnosis of alcohol dependence or alcohol abuse. The other 50 subjects will come from families where there is no familial history of alcoholism. All subjects will provide taste ratings for beverages that contain alcohol and beverages that do not contain alcohol. Taste ratings will be provided in two double-blind taste-testing assessment sessions. The two taste-testing assessment sessions will be conducted approximately 30 days apart. The principle objective of the proposed research is to examine whether male children with alcoholic fathers rate the taste of beverages containing alcohol more positively than male children who do not have a familial history of alcoholism. In addition, the proposed research will evaluate the stability of children's taste ratings over time.
