The relationship of parent alcohol involvement, depression, and antisocial behavior to self-reported parenting practices in a sample of 79 intact alcoholic families with male children of 3-6 years of age was studied. Child rearing practices were measured with the Block Child Rearing Practices Report. Psychopathology was measured with the Quantity-Frequency-Variability Index, the Lifetime Alcohol Problems Score, the Antisocial Behavior Inventory, the Beck Depression Inventory, and the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression. Data indicated that families of higher social prestige and parent intelligence were associated with reports of parents being more affectively positive toward the child, more child-centered, more encouraging of autonomy, and more in agreement about parenting. Parents' self-reported depression was negatively associated with positive affective parenting and interparent agreement on child rearing. Fathers' history of depression was positively related to child-centered parenting. Mothers' involvement in antisocial behavior was associated with negative affective parenting and encouragement of competitive achievement. Results provide evidence that the spectrum of life circumstances of these parents is associated with a lack of opportunity and achievement, lower intelligence, and increased levels of depressed mood. (RH)