Alcoholism Prevention Should Target Younger Children

Young people who start drinking before age 15 are significantly more likely to develop alcohol use disorders as adults than those who wait until after age 18, but researchers are not sure if early-onset drinking is a marker for higher risk or a direct risk factor.

"Past studies have often suggested that this association might result from common risk factors predisposing people to both early drinking and alcohol use disorders.

The NIAAA researchers believe that impaired executive cognitive function leads young people to make choices that lean toward the immediate pleasure associated with heavy drinking rather than choices to avoid the long-term risks of alcohol use disorders.

Regardless, the NIAAA researchers conclude that prevention programs and public health policies should be targeted at children under age 15 and underage drinking, in general, to try to delay the onset of drinking alcohol as long as possible.

"The data support the notion of delaying the onset of drinking behavior as late as possible as an important principle for the prevention of alcohol use disorders later in life," said NIAAA researcher Howard B. Moss. "More specifically, these findings provide the scientific basis for those prevention programs that focus on decreasing underage drinking, as well as supporting those public-health policies that are geared towards the prevention of underage drinking."

Source: https://www.verywellmind.com/early-drinking-age-and-the-risk-of-alcoholism-69521