While there has been considerable research documenting the problems of children born to alcohol-abusing mothers, scientists at UB's Research Institute on Addictions (RIA) have demonstrated that alcohol abuse, depression and other problems in the father can also have a detrimental impact on children's development.

The research-funded by three successive grants from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism for a total of $5.9 million-is being led by Kenneth Leonard, and Rina Eiden, research professors in psychiatry and pediatrics, respectively.

In their studies, Leonard and Eiden have tracked the social, emotional and cognitive development of children of alcohol-abusing fathers and control fathers as the children reached 12, 18 and 24 months of age.

At all three ages, the children were observed with each parent in a naturalistic play setting. In observing the children at 12 months with their fathers, the researchers found that the fathers who abused alcohol spoke less to their child, expressed less positive involvement and had more negative emotions than did control fathers.

Researchers also found that, in comparison to the control fathers, the alcohol-abusing fathers generally were less sensitive in their parenting and were not aware of, or guided by, their child's behavior. In contrast, mothers married to alcohol-abusing fathers behaved with their babies in similar ways as mothers married to control fathers; however, the mother's own alcohol problems and her level of depression were related to less sensitive parenting.

By 18 months, the children of alcohol-abusing fathers were reported to have more symptoms of anxiety and depression than control children. The fathers' alcohol problems also were related to externalizing problems, such as temper tantrums, among the 18-month-olds, but only among families in which depressive symptoms in the mother were absent.

Researchers videotaped the children at 18 and 24 months being asked by their parents to clean up their toys after the play sessions. The researchers then examined the proportion of time children displayed whole-hearted committed compliance, resisted parental requests by saying "no" and defied their parents by having temper tantrums. Most children demonstrated increases in compliance and decreases in noncompliance with age. In contrast, sons of alcohol-abusing fathers did not show increases in committed compliance; instead, they exhibited increasing levels of resistance. Lower compliance among these boys at the earlier ages was associated with their fathers' depression and negative emotions.

"It is important to recognize that these families often have other problems in addition to the father's drinking," Leonard emphasizes. "The alcohol-abusing fathers and their wives often report histories of problem behaviors, as well as symptoms of depression. In fact, these depressive symptoms may be largely responsible for the behavioral problems observed in the children."

"The effects of alcohol abuse in child development cannot be considered in isolation," Eiden cautions. "We have to examine these effects longitudinally and seek to discover sources of resiliency in these families."