Alcoholic Fathering and Its Relation to Child's Intellectual Development: A Pilot Investigation

Abstract

In this study, the relationship between being raised by an alcoholic father and intellectual and academic achievement of the child were investigated. One hundred children of non-alcoholic mothers, 50 of whom had alcoholic fathers and 50 of whom had non-alcoholic fathers, were administered age-appropriate IQ, developmental, and achievement tests. Analysis of covariance revealed significant relationships between alcoholic fathering and IQ and achievement scores, independent of a number of possibly confounding variables. When children with alcoholic biological fathers were excluded, a relationship between IQ and alcoholic fathering persisted. Thus children raised by alcoholic fathers are a population at risk, in need of further scientific and clinical attention.