Prescott Kendler 1999

• Paste quoted text from the Methods section of the article on the next line. Do not include quotation marks or a bullet mark:

Lifetime alcohol abuse and alcohol dependence were assessed by structured interview. Diagnostic criteria were adapted from standard instruments (17, 18) and structured to permit evaluation of both DSM-III-R-defined and DSM-IV-defined diagnoses. 

• Write your translation on the next line:

Specially designed interviews were conducted to see if participants met the standard definition of alcohol abuse and dependence. The interviewers were educated in mental health-related fields.

• Paste quoted text from the Introduction of the article on the next line. Do not include quotation marks:

Studies based on archival data or treatment samples are likely to be weighted toward more severe forms of alcoholism, and cases may be selected for excess comorbidity with other disorders (15). These cases account for only a small proportion of the morbidity and social costs associated with misuse of alcohol (16). 

• Write your translation on the next line:

Studies that rely on data from those who have undergone treatment will probably be skewed towards the more severe cases, which represents only a small part of the issue. 

• Paste quoted text from the Results section in the article on the next line. Do not include quotation marks:

The results in table 2 show that for each diagnosis, the best-fitting model was AE, which assigns all familial resemblance to genetic sources. There was little evidence that environmental factors shared by siblings influence the development of these disorders. 

Note* Table 2 shows: Model parameters: A=additive genetic, C=common environment, E=specific environment.

• Write your translation on the next line:

The best model was the one that grouped genetics with individually specific environments. It seems that sharing a common family environment had little influence. 

• Paste quoted text from the Discussion section of the article on the next line. Do not include quotation marks:

Since the evidence of common environmental effects was stronger for the broader definitions of alcohol abuse and alcohol abuse/dependence than for alcohol dependence, these data suggest that the differences among studies are not due to differences in severity among the subjects but to common environmental effects that influence who is included in treatment-based samples. 

• Write your translation on the next line:

Common environments affect sampling, not severity. The differences found among studies are due to biased sampling from treatment centers.

• What future research should follow up on this work?

The paper notes limitations in representation due to sampling Caucasian American men only, and potential bias with using telephone interviews. The results attribute 48%-58% to genetic factors with the remaining 42%-52%  attributed to individual specific environments. Further research could aim to include samples that are representative of individuals from other regions or ethnic backgrounds while digging deeper into the details of specific environmental factors which could shed light into why some identical twins develop alcoholism while the other twin does not as this could aid in prevention and better mental health outcomes. 

• What did you not understand about this paper that someone else may be able to help you with? Or, if you understood everything, what did you find most challenging to understand?

I understood everything only because  I am currently taking psychology and statistics. The psychology elements could be inferred but the statistics would have been very confusing. I would have needed to have consulted a friend who knows statistics to fully understand this paper.