Parental Problem Drinking and Children’s Adjustment: Attachment and Family Functioning as Moderators and Mediators of Risk Mona El-Sheikh and Joseph A. Buckhalt Auburn University Children’s perceived attachments with parents, and family cohesion and adaptability were examined as predictors, mediators, and moderators in the parental problem drinking– child outcomes link. A total of 216 6- to 12-year-olds (110 boys, 106 girls) participated. Data were obtained from children and their mothers, fathers, and teachers. A higher level of family cohesion and adaptability functioned as (a) a robust protective factor against adjustment and cognitive difficulties otherwise associated with problem drinking and (b) a mediator of adjustment problems. Children’s perceptions of attachments to mothers and fathers were consistent predictors of behavioral, social, and cognitive problems and further moderated relations between problem drinking and child functioning. The results support that child– parent and family functioning variables act as either pathways and/or vulnerability and protective factors for children exposed to a high-risk environment. Parental problem drinking is associated with problematic outcomes for children, including externalizing and internal- izing behavioral and emotional difficulties (Giglio & Kauf- man, 1990; Harter, 2000; Sher, 1991; West & Prinz, 1987), problems in cognitive processing and academic perfor- mance (Harden & Pihl, 1995; Noll, Zucker, Fitzgerald, & Curtis, 1992; Ozkaragoz & Noble, 1995; Sher, Walitzer, Wood, & Brent, 1991), and substance use in adolescence (Chassin, Curran, Hussong & Colder, 1996; Russell, 1990). It has been demonstrated, however, that there is great het- erogeneity in the adjustment outcomes for children from alcoholic homes (Clair & Genest, 1987; Moos & Billings, 1982; Sher, 1991). There is a need for research that exam- ines mediators of risk as well as vulnerability and protective factors in the context of parental problem drinking and child outcomes (Burk & Sher, 1988), including familial processes (Fitzgerald, Zucker, & Yang, 1995; Sadava, 1995; West & Prinz, 1987; Zucker, Ellis, Bingham & Fitzgerald, 1996; Zucker, Fitzgerald & Moses, 1995), for a better understand- ing of mitigation and attenuation of risk for children in these circumstances. The main focus of this study is the investigation of perceived child–parent attachment and family cohesion and adaptability as predictors, moderators, and mediators of risk in the associations between children’s exposure to parental problem drinking and their adjustment and cognitive out- comes. Adjustment of children from problem-drinking fam- ilies is related to the convergence of several risk factors during development, some of which are alcohol-nonspecific influences, including disruptions in family functioning (El- lis, Zucker, & Fitzgerald, 1997; Jacob & Johnson, 1997). It is recognized that there are multiple biological and environ- mental variables that influence outcomes in the offspring of problem drinkers (Windle & Searles, 1990), and in this study we focus on several aspects of family functioning as pathways and moderators of risk. In our model, a mediator is a variable that accounts for the association between parental problem drinking and child outcomes, at least in part, whereas a moderator interacts with the risk factor (problem drinking) to affect the nature of the association between exposure to risk and children’s adjustment and cognitive functioning. Support for a medi- ation model would indicate that family and child–parent functioning are pathways of effects for associations between problem drinking and child outcomes. On the other hand, support for moderation effects would not address why prob- lem drinking is associated with negative outcomes but rather would clarify conditions under which parental prob- lem drinking is most likely associated with child difficulties. Indeed, the same variable or process can function as both a mediator and moderator of risk, and in this study, both are explored to explicate more fully the nature of associations among variables. Poor adjustment outcomes in some children of alcoholic parents (COAs) have been related to disruptions in child– parent relationships both while children are young (Seil- hamer & Jacob, 1990) and also during late adolescence and adulthood (Harter, 2000). For instance, adolescent COAs report more negative attachments to fathers than do non- COAs (Cavell, Jones, Runyan, Constantin-Page, & Velasquez, 1993). Adult COAs are more likely than non- Mona El-Sheikh, Department of Human Development and Fam- ily Studies, Auburn University; Joseph A. Buckhalt, Department of Counseling and Counseling Psychology, Auburn University. This research was supported by the National Institute on Alco- hol Abuse and Alcoholism Grant R29 AA10591. Thanks go to Lindsay Carter, Julie Clow, Jennifer Crockett, Karen Parker, and Patricia Sellers for their assistance in conduct- ing the study. Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Mona El-Sheikh, Department of Human Development and Family Studies, Auburn University, Auburn, Alabama 36849. E-mail: elshemm@auburn.edu Journal of Family Psychology Copyright 2003 by the American Psychological Association, Inc. 2003, Vol. 17, No. 4, 510 –520 0893-3200/03/$12.00 DOI: 10.1037/0893-3200.17.4.510 510 This document is copyrighted by the American Psychological Association or one of its allied publishers. This article is intended solely for the personal use of the individual user and is not to be disseminated broadly.