This study investigated the implications of parental alcoholism in 639 male and female alcoholics who were in treatment. In comparison with persons who did not report a parental history of alcoholism (PA-), the 264 offspring of alcoholics (PA+) were characterized by higher levels of alcohol dependency and alcohol-related consequences, increased reports of use of other drugs and higher levels of MMPI-measured psychopathology. Comparisons of PA+ patients with PA- patients with the same age of onset of problematic alcohol use suggested that PA+ persons are characterized more by an early onset of alcoholism than by a more severe form of the disorder. Results with female PA+ alcoholics were similar to those obtained with their male counterparts, although PA+ women exhibited very high levels of MMPI-measured psychopathology in comparison to both PA+ men and PA- women.