DOI
https://doi.org/10.25772/PVQZ-D245
Defense Date
2012
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy
Department
Human Genetics
First Advisor
Brien Riley
Second Advisor
Kenneth Kendler
Abstract
Alcohol dependence (AD) is a serious and common public health problem that contributes to great societal, medical, and legal costs. It has taken work from multiple disciplines, including developmental psychology, genetic epidemiology, and molecular genetics, to achieve our current understanding of environmental and genetic risk factors for AD as well as its variable developmental trajectories. Nevertheless, there is still much to be learned in order to improve treatment outcomes. One approach to augmenting our understanding of this disorder is through genetically informative study designs that either examine risk in aggregate or assess specific susceptibility variants. In this dissertation, we utilize both study designs and provide support for the idea that they are both important and useful approaches to continue to pursue.
Rights
© The Author
Is Part Of
VCU University Archives
Is Part Of
VCU Theses and Dissertations
Date of Submission
October 2013