Hyperactivity and alcoholism: familial and behavioral correlates.

This study examined the relationship between childhood MBD/hyperactivity, familial alcoholism, and alcoholism severity, current psychopathology, and performance on three behavioral indices of impulsivity/attentional control. The subjects were 33 men VA alcoholic inpatients carefully screened to be free of complicating neurological, medical, and psychiatric problems. The findings indicated that subjects higher in MBD/hyperactivity reported considerably more psychopathology and tended to suffer more adverse effects associated with alcoholism than low MBD/hyperactivity subjects. Familial alcoholics reported significantly more childhood MBD/hyperactivity than nonfamilial alcoholics, a finding supported by higher MMPI hypomanic scores. Group differences were not found on any of the measures of impulsivity/attentional control.