Liability to alprazolam abuse in daughters of alcoholics

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to determine mood changes in women with a parental history of alcohol dependence (daughters of alcoholics) after challenge does of alprazolam and placebo in comparison with responses in women without a history of parental alcohol dependence. METHOD: Visual analog scales that assess liability to benzodiazepine abuse were administered to 12 adult daughters of alcoholics and 11 comparison subjects after alprazolam challenge. RESULTS: The daughters of alcoholics had greater pleasant mood responses after a single dose of alprazolam than did the comparison subjects despite having similar plasma alprazolam levels. CONCLUSIONS: The findings of this study suggest that the mood-enhancing effects of alprazolam are greater in daughters of alcoholics than in subjects without a history of parental alcohol dependence.