Influence of Parental Alcoholism on Offspring. By Ethel M. Elderton
and Karl Pearson. (Dulan and Co. 4s.)—We may extract from this record of a careful and laborious inquiry some results. " The father's alcoholism has no sensible influence on the health of the child ; the mother's alcoholism has a small but
quite sensible [influence) more in the case of the girl than the boy probably due to increased unfavourable home
environment." As to health : " We are compelled to say that— excepting that phthisis and epilepsy occur less frequently with alcoholic parents—there is no significant association between parental alcoholism and defective health in the offspring!' As to intelligence: "There is no marked relation between filial 'intelli- gence and parental alcoholism!' The same seems to be true of eyesight. When we come to mortality among children, the result i. different. Here there is a difference against parents who drink, especially when the mother drinks in bouts; it is evident, however, that accident has much to do with this effect. The results of the inquiry are perplexing. On the whole, perhaps, it is satisfactory to know that heredity does not count for much in these things. It makes us more hopeful about the race.
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