Abstract
Early alcohol initiation is common and has been associated with the development of alcohol problems. Yet, past research on the association of age of initiation with later problem drinking has produced inconsistent findings. Using prospective data from the Australian Parental Supply of Alcohol Longitudinal Study cohort, this study examined age of alcohol initiation, and of first drunkenness, and associations with subsequent drinking in adolescence. A total of 1,673 parent-child dyads recruited through Australian secondary schools completed annual surveys for 5years (grades 7 to 11). Limiting the sample to those adolescents who had initiated alcohol use by age 17 (n=839), multinomial logistic regression models were used to examine associations between (i) age of initiation to alcohol use (consuming at least 1 full serve) and (ii) age of first drunkenness, and 2 outcomes: (i) binge drinking (consuming >4 standard drinks on a single occasion), and (ii) the total number of alcoholic drinks consumed in the past year, adjusted for a range of potential child, parent, family, and peer covariates. Fifty percent of adolescents reported alcohol use and 36% reported bingeing at wave 5 (mean age 16.9 years), and the mean age of initiation to alcohol use for drinkers was 15.1 years. Age of initiation was significantly associated with binge drinking and total quantity of alcohol consumed in unadjusted and adjusted models. Age of first drunkenness was associated with total quantity of alcohol consumed in unadjusted models but not adjusted models and was not associated with subsequent bingeing. Initiating alcohol use earlier in adolescence is associated with an increased risk of binge drinking and higher quantity of consumption in late secondary school, supporting an argument for delaying alcohol initiation for as long as possible to reduce the risk for problematic use in later adolescence and the alcohol-related harms that may accompany this use.
Highlights
Project Grant (DP:1096668) to RPM, JN, KK, TS, DH, supplemented by funds from: two Australian Rotary. This is the author manuscript accepted for publication and has undergone full peer review but has not been through the copyediting, typesetting, pagination and proofreading process, which may lead to differences between this version and the Version of Record
This study aimed to examine the associations between age of initiation and two adolescent outcomes amongst adolescent drinkers: (a) adolescent binge drinking, and (b) the total number of alcoholic drinks consumed in the past year
Given that there is considerable difference in bingeing once or twice in a year, compared with more frequent bingeing, which is arguably a more problematic behaviour, we examined the impact of age of initiation on three levels of bingeing: no bingeing, infrequent bingeing and frequent bingeing
Summary
: Alexandra Aikena, MPH, Philip Clarea, MBiostats, Monika Wadolowskib, PhD, Delyse Hutchinsonc, PhD, Jackob M Najmand, PhD, Tim Sladea, PhD, Raimondo Brunoe, PhD, Nyanda McBridef, PhD, Kypros Kyprig, PhD, Richard P Matticka PhD aNational. Drug & Alcohol Research Centre, University of New South Wales (UNSW) Australia, Sydney NSW 2052 Australia; bFaculty of Health, University of Technology Sydney, Ultimo NSW 2007. Australia; cDeakin University, Centre for Social and Early Emotional Development, School of Psychology, Faculty of Health, Geelong VIC 3220 Australia; dQueensland Alcohol and Drug Research and Education. University of Queensland, Brisbane QLD 4072 Australia; eSchool of Psychology, University of Tasmania, Hobart TAS 7000 Australia; fNational Drug Research Institute, Curtin University, GPO Box. U1987, Perth WA 6845 Australia; gCentre for Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Newcastle, Newcastle NSW 2308 Australia
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