The relationship between age at first drink and later risk behaviours during a period of youth drinking decline
November 2022
Citation:
Livingston, M., Raninen, J., Pennay, A. and Callinan, S. The relationship between age at first drink and later risk behaviours during a period of youth drinking decline. Addiction. 2022.
https://doi.org/10.1111/add.16036
Alcohol consumption among teenagers in many high-income countries has steadily declined since the early 2000s. There has also been a steady increase in the average age at first drink, a reliable marker of later alcohol problems.
This study of 9,500 young adults (aged 20-25 years) measured whether young people who initiated drinking early were at increased risk of alcohol problems in young adulthood in recent cohorts where early initiation was comparatively rare.
Those who first drank at 16 or 17 years compared with those who first drank at age 15 reported lower levels for all outcomes measured – self-reported experiences of memory loss while drinking, risky and delinquent behaviour while drinking, and monthly or more frequent drinking occasions of 11 or more 10g standard drinks.
The study suggests early initiation of drinking may be an increasingly important marker of broader risk taking as alcohol becomes less normative for teenagers.
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