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The children of mothers with drinking problems prefer the smell of rotten eggs to the smell of beer, according to researchers at the Monell Chemical Senses Center. The data are published in the journal Alcohol.
Mothers were identified on the basis of their drinking habits - not on how much they drank, but on why they drank. Children apparently preferred the smell of rotten eggs if their mothers admitted to drinking in order, among other reasons, to relax or to cheer up. Those mothers were classified as ‘escape drinkers’ by the research group, but surely that would make rather a lot of us escape drinkers?
‘Children’s responses to odours provide us with a window into their emotions,’ says lead author Julie Mennella, ‘When given a choice between beer and pyridine – the smell of rotten eggs – children of mothers who drink to relieve tension and worry choose pyridine as smelling better. That’s pretty powerful.’
Other smells the children were presented with included bubblegum, green tea and chocolate. There’s no mention of how children of ‘escape chocoholics’ respond. Or, probably just as likely, the children of "escape green tea drinkers".
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