Timing of Drinking Initiation: A Trend Study Predicting Drug Use among High School Seniors

Abstract

A trend study was undertaken to evaluate the relationship between onset age of drinking and the use of drugs. Despite the fact that drinking is illegal for teenagers, general acceptance of alcohol use in mid-adolescence prompts many underage individuals to drink. However, an early start in drinking not only suggests a general tolerance for deviance, it also indicates a violation of role definitions. As explained by problem behavior theory, individuals' tolerance of drug use—or the lack of it—may exert an impact on lifetime and on current drug-using behavior. It was hypothesized that the younger individuals are when they start to drink, the more frequently they will engage in drinking and also in illegal drug use. Using the repeat survey data collected in the “Monitoring the Future” project, the present study offered a new method of partially evaluating the generality of the deviance hypothesis. By comparing 21 years of trends seen in the effects of onset age of drinking on the use of different drugs, this study derived some support for the generality of deviance.