Alcoholism isn't genetic. A predisposition for it is.
This is an easy websearch, keywords "alcohol predisposition genetic". Please inform yourself before you traumatize a ten year old.
this post was submitted on 25 Jan 2026
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That's why they're asking here, yes
And I answered. Find a real source and not a bunch of pseudonymous internet randos with no medical background. Don't get medical advice from social media, people!
Then what's the point of this community?
Not medical advice unless it's to answer with solid sources.
Forums like this are better for opinion-based questions. Like, "do you have advice on how to talk to a 10-year old about our family history of alcoholism?" To which my answer would include getting their facts straight so as not to confuse genetic predisposition for alcoholism and genetic alcoholism. The latter is not a thing.
Fair. Maybe they're hoping that commenters would cite their own answers
There are genetic components that make the condition more likely, but it won't cause someone to become an addict.
I think you are referring to studies like this one: https://nida.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/2023/03/new-nih-study-reveals-shared-genetic-markers-underlying-substance-use-disorders
scientists have identified genes commonly inherited across addiction disorders, regardless of the substance being used. This dataset – one of the largest of its kind – may help reveal new treatment targets across multiple substance use disorders, including for people diagnosed with more than one. The findings also reinforce the role of the dopamine system in addiction, by showing that the combination of genes underlying addiction disorders was also associated with regulation of dopamine signaling
So our genetics will determine how the dopamine pathway runs in each person. Some people might be making more or less dopamine, might be more or less sensitive to dopamine, etc.
There are also social factors that will play a role in this. Someone that is struggling with addiction, might place the child in an environment where they are more likely to become addicted in the future. Even with that, it's not a certainty. There are plenty of former addicts that get the help they need and raise children in wonderful and loving homes :)
Drug addiction (in its broadest sense, alcohol, heroin, perhaps even chocolate or sugar) has a genetic component. So if you have alcoholics in your family you have two risk factors: genetics and the social component, and you should be very careful with addictive substances. But as always, this doesn’t mean that if you are within a heavy drinker family, by definition you will become a heavy drinker too.