Alcohol use disorder and parental alcohol use disorder as predictors ofreproductive timing

Objective: Research suggests associations between adolescent alcohol use and early reproduction, but other findings show that alcohol use disorder (AUD) may actually predict delayed reproduction. However, most studies generally donot consider the effects of parental AUD, which is correlated with AUD and may influence reproductive timing. The present study addressed these gaps by testing whether the individual’s own AUD and parental AUD interacted with sex topredict reproductive timing. Method: In alongitudinally followed community sample that oversampled familial alcohol disorder (n =776), multino-mial logistic regressions estimated the effects of predictors on early (i.e., adolescent), delayed (age 25 years or later), and no reproduction, thus comparing the odds of each timing category totypical age of reproduction (i.e., 19–24 years of age). Results: There were no interac-tions between either individual or parental AUDand sex, so interaction termswere trimmed. Individuals withparentalAUD were more likely to reproduce early, but there was noeffect of AUD onearly reproduction. However, those with AUDwere more likely to have delayedreproductive timing or no children. Conclusions: AUDand parental AUDare unique predictors of reproductive timing. Parental AUD was associated with early reproduction. Children of parents with AUD may be vulnerable to sexual risk behaviors in adolescence regardless of their own AUD dsiagnosis, given the constellation of personality and environmental risk factors associatedwith parentalAUD.Incontrast,replicating prior find-ings, AUDwas associated withdelayedreproductionand theabsenceof reproduction. AUDmay delayreproductive onset througheither biologi-calorpsychosocial mediators, such as delaysinrole transitions.