Parental alcoholism is a risk factor for children to become alcoholics themselves, but that risk increases significantly if the children, especially boys, have novelty-seeking personalities, with risk-taking, thrill-seeking and impulsive characteristics. Conversely, a National Institute on Drug Abuse study suggest that children who do not have novelty-seeking personalities have a lower than expected risk of becoming alcoholics, even with a family history of alcoholism.

"High novelty seeking seems to amplify the risk associated with being from an alcoholic family, and vice versa: having a parent with alcoholism amplifies the risk associated with high novelty seeking," said Richard A. Grucza, an epidemiologist at Washington University School of Medicine in an article, "Personality and Parents' Alcoholism Interact to Influence a Person's Risk Of Becoming an Alcoholic." In a family with parental alcoholism, not all children are at equal levels of risk, the study authors said.

Genetics of Alcoholism

Risk Factors: Family History of Alcoholism, Disinhibition
New Genes Found For Excessive Alcohol Drinking
Supportive Family Can Overcome Genetic Alcoholism Risks