Static ataxia: a possible marker for alcoholism.

Adolescent sons of alcoholic, depressed, and normal fathers were compared on a measure of static ataxia, or body sway. It was found that the young males at risk for developing alcoholism were more ataxic than the sons of depressed fathers and normal controls. The possibility that static ataxia may be a premorbid marker for detecting males at heightened risk for alcoholism is discussed.