Dear Dr. Levy: Is it true that alcoholism is inherited?. I know some people who come from an alcoholic family, but they don't seem to have alcoholism. A: Research has clearly shown that an alcohol problem has a genetic, inherited component. That is, children whose parents are alcoholic are at increased risk of developing an alcohol problem, even if they are raised in a nonalcoholic family. In fact, their risk is greater than children of nonalcoholic parents who were adopted at birth and raised in an alcoholic family. So clearly, genetic, inherited factors are important. However, not everyone with alcoholic biological parents develops an alcohol problem..The genetic loading that gets passed on in the genes may not be carried to a particular person. Also, even if a genetic loading is passed along, an alcohol problem is very complicated, and in addition to biology, psychological and social factors are also very important..In fact, for an alcohol problem to develop, genetic, psychological and social factors must all coalesce to cause the problem.
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