| The age at which an
individual takes his/her first drink is strongly predictive of a
broad range of future problem behaviors, including alcoholism,
abuse of illicit drugs, conduct and antisocial personality
disorders, nicotine addiction, underachievement in school, and
poor impulse control, according to researchers from the
University of Minnesota. The head of the
Minnesota research team, Dr. Matt McGue, says the team's
findings indicate that there may be a common genetic basis for a
number of behavioral problems, and an early age for the first
use of alcohol could be a "marker" for a genetic risk for these
problems.
The researchers also found that early use of
alcohol tends to run in families, and, at least in males, it is
an inheritable trait. There were |
|
significantly more conduct disorders and other behavioral
problems in the sons than in the daughters of parents whose age
at first drink came before age 15. For girls, shared
environmental factors, rather than age at first drink, appeared
to be more of a determining factor.
 What it means: Age
at first drink may prove to be helpful in identifying teens who
are at risk for future substance abuse and other problems,
permitting them to be targeted for early, intensive prevention
and intervention programs.
The research is published as two separate
papers in the August 15, 2001 issue of Alcoholism: Clinical
and Experimental Research.
NIDA NewsScan, October 16, 2001 |
