The influence of childhood disciplinary experience on the development of alcoholism and depression.

In this case-control study, respondents from the general population with a lifetime diagnosis of major depressive disorder, alcohol abuse and/or dependence, or the absence of any psychiatric disorder ascertained by the St. Louis Epidemiological Catchment Area Study were reinterviewed about their early home environments during the period when they were 6 to 13 years of age. Two discipline scales were developed through factor analysis, and logistic regression was used to build a model using all the predictors. Unfair, inconsistent and harsh discipline by parents predicted both alcohol and depressive disorders independently of the influence of parental psychiatric history, the respondent's sex, and childhood behavior problems.