Cross-sectional research carried found that among the 826 mostly white adolescents and adults ranging from age 18 to 25 sampled, that youth with a heavy drinking sibling report weaker relationships with their heavy drinking sibling than do those youth with a non-heavy drinking sibling (Stevenson & Lee, 2001). Authors assert that because heavy drinking is associated with behaviors that are considered disruptive by family members, and these behaviors complicate family dynamics, relationships with heavy-drinking siblings tend to be strained.